In July I took a high-speed train down to Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, and spent five days there.
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Xi Hu - West Lake, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with many temples, pagodas, gardens, and islands.
Leifeng Pagoda, on Sunset Hill at the south end of West Lake, originally built in 975 AD. Connected with the famous Legend of the White Snake. I looked everywhere, but I didn't see Bai Suzhen, the white snake who becomes a beautiful women, falls in love with a young scholar and bears his child, but is imprisoned for eternity inside Leifeng Pagoda by a zealous monk.
Ruins of the original pagoda inside the new tower, opened in 2002. The original pagoda collapsed in part due to a superstition that bricks from the tower could repel illness or prevent miscarriage, so many people stole bricks to grind into powder. In 2001 a mausoleum was discovered under the ruins, containing many treasures, including a gold and silver hair of the Buddha. Unfortunately, Bai Suzhen was not found and set free.
On a boat on West Lake
My boating companions: a university student and her mother
A bridge with a pagoda in the background, at West Lake
There is a famous list: Top Ten Scenes of West Lake. One of the scenes is "Leifang Pagoda in Evening Glow". Here's my attempt - I think it was a little too late and too hazy, so not much glow.
A boat at the Xixi National Wetland Park; over 10 square kilometers of ponds, lakes, and swamps. At Deep Pool Mouth an annual Dragon Boat Contest is held.
An elaborate dragon boat at Xixi National Wetland Park
Liuhe Ta - Liuhe Pagoda, or the Six Harmonies Pagoda, beside the Qiangtang River, original tower built in 970 AD
A pavilion and a pond
Grottos at Peak Flying-From-Afar, in the hills above West Lake
Grottos at Peak Flying-From-Afar
Grottos at Peak Flying-From-Afar
Grottos at Peak Flying-From-Afar
Grottos at Peak Flying-From-Afar
Inside a temple
In a tea shop in the hills above West Lake, near the Lingyin Temple, a Zen Buddhist temple
A bridge and blossoming water lilies
A bridge and blossoming water lilies
A bridge and blossoming water lilies
A bridge on West Lake
A popular activity at West Lake
A pavilion at West Lake
An unusual place for a sculpture, amongst the water lilies on West Lake
The old and the young enjoying West Lake at dusk
An illuminated boat on West Lake
A musical fountain, lit up with colored lights at night, on West Lake