West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou

UNESCO Cultural Landscape inscribed in 2011 — the designed lakeside landscape of Hangzhou's West Lake, shaped by more than 1,000 years of interaction between natural scenery and human artistic and cultural tradition.

The West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2011, recognising the 10 km² lake and its immediate surroundings as an exemplary designed cultural landscape that has profoundly influenced garden and landscape design across East Asia for over a millennium. The UNESCO citation notes that West Lake influenced garden designers in Japan and Korea and was repeatedly referenced in Chinese poetry, painting and gardening literature from the Song dynasty onwards.

The lake and its islets, causeways and surrounding hills were progressively shaped through the efforts of administrators, poets and imperial patrons. The Bai Causeway was associated with the Tang-dynasty poet-governor Bai Juyi, who served in Hangzhou in the 9th century; the Su Causeway was built during a dredging programme overseen by poet Su Dongpo when he served as governor in 1089. The Leifeng Pagoda, rebuilt on its original foundations in 2002, overlooks the lake from the south; the Lingyin Temple complex sits in the hills to the west.

The 'Ten Scenes of West Lake' — a set of named views established during the Southern Song dynasty when Hangzhou served as imperial capital — continue to define the aesthetic framework through which the lake is experienced. These include Three Pools Mirroring the Moon (viewed from the central island Santan Yinyue), Autumn Moon on the Calm Lake, and Dawn on the Su Causeway in Spring.

The lake itself is largely free to visit, and walking or cycling the causeways and lakeside paths is the primary visitor activity. Boat hire to the central islands is available from the Yue Miao and other docks.