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| The wonderful West Lake in Hangzhou offers wonderful views relatively unspoiled and so stereotypical Chinese! |
The trite Chinese saying is: "In sky there is Heaven, on earth Hangzhou and Suzhou", also translated "Heaven above, Suzhou and Hangzhou below.".
I believe the saying is much more accurate for Hangzhou than for Suzhou (if you want to read about Suzhou click here).
Hangzhou is reasonably much more unspoiled city, than Suzhou or at least so Hangzhou looks when you just visit the centre of the city avoiding to wander on the always present soviet-style skyscrapers of the suburbs.
The wonderful West Lake in Hangzhou offers wonderful views relatively unspoiled and so stereotypical Chinese!
It can be easily said that the West Lake is the heart of the city, as the most interesting buildings have been built around the shores of the West Lake.
The West Lake in Hangzhou and its surroundings are extremely scenic.
The West Lake reflects the silhouette of beautiful, soft and green hills, little pagodas are scattered all along the lake's banks, little bridges and causeways connect small islands dreamily floating on the water, lotus flowers in bloom decorate the silver mirror of the West Lake, young people walk hand in hand, in Western style, smiling and in love... all this you can see in Hangzhou. Such an idyllic place to be!
Hangzhou is today a city of nearly 9 millions inhabitants and you know what is amazing? You would never say this just visiting the town. You feel the city is much smaller and so the population.
City planners in Hangzhou have been extremely clever in projecting the development of the town so to avoid that most of the cheap and tall residential buildings could be seen from the lake's shores.
Hangzhou has been one of the most renowned and prosperous cities of China for much of the last 1,000 years, due mostly to its beautiful natural scenery.
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| Hangzou is not just beautiful landscape, if it is considered a earthly heaven for Chinese people is even more heavenly for the rich ones. |
At night Hangzhou is even more enjoyable and inspiring: the little pagoda temples are illuminated, reflecting their lights on the calm water of the lake and the long artificial causeways stretching into the water offer a wonderful and relaxing walk and some fresh breeze to enjoy particularly if compared with the too hot and humid air of Shanghai or Suzhou.
Hangzou is not just beautiful landscape, if it is considered a earthly heaven for Chinese people is even more heavenly for the rich ones.
Aston Martin, Lamborghini and Ferrari huge authorized retailers surround the old and inspiring shores of the
Western Lake, completely hidden by the vegetation and the gardens if you are walking along the water, but extremely visible if you are driving along the main streets of the city.Huge supermarket-size fashion boutiques of Armani, Bulgari and Prada concentrate in Hangzhou in front of the most popular and crowded spot along the Lake where the water games are and hundreds of visitor gather everyday.
On the North side of the West Lake, where the modern buildings invade the green belt around the Lake, wonderful water games are entertaining locals and visitors like skillful dancers dancing at the rhythm of the music played at deafening volume all day.
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| On the North side of the West Lake, where the modern buildings invade the green belt around the Lake, wonderful water games are entertaining locals and visitors like skillful dancers dancing at the rhythm of the music played at deafening volume all day. |
The music and the water games are always the same, repeated each half an hour from sunrise to sunset in a mix of traditional and international music, huge sprays of water entertain the amused Chinese in a crescendo of sophistication ending with a breathtaking water ballet on the notes of "Con te Partirò" and the voice of opera singer Andrea Bocelli.
In a Sunday it is the complete mayhem in Hangzhou: all China seems to have gathered on the shores of Hangzou and hundreds of electric mini buses invade the little paths along the water beeping obsessively at every corner.
Best day to visit Hangzhou West Lake is probably Monday when finally the singing of the birds can be heard again and you can easily understand why Hangzhou has been seen such an inspirational and romantic place in China for centuries.
Already in the fourth century after Christ's Birth elegant bridges and long causeway were built and rich, artists and poets were already wondering around the shores of Hangzhou Lake.
What is most amazing is that differently from many other historic town and places in China, in Hangzhou city planners were able through the century to preserve the beauty of this unique place. Maybe they were inspired by the Lake too!
What miracles can make the beauty of Hangzhou inspiring West Lake...
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| Best day to visit Hangzhou West Lake is probably Monday when finally the singing of the birds can be heard again and you can easily understand why Hangzhou has been seen such an inspirational and romantic place in China for centuries. |
Are you planning to travel to China?
Read my page My China Project where you can find the list of all of my posts and the destinations covered in this blog in China.
Read also the page Visit China and the page What to know before to travel to China.
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