西湖 (Xīhú): West Lake (Hangzhou, Zhejiang)

Meanings

1 West Lake (Hangzhou, Zhejiang)

Characters

西

Examples

西湖是杭州最著名的景点。

Xīhú shì Hángzhōu zuì zhùmíng de jǐngdiǎn.

West Lake is Hangzhou's most famous scenic spot.

春天的西湖特别美。

Chūntiān de Xīhú tèbié měi.

West Lake in spring is especially beautiful.

Tips

culture

A UNESCO World Heritage Site in Hangzhou, West Lake is divided by two famous causeways: 苏堤 (Su Causeway, built by Song poet 苏东坡 when he was Hangzhou's governor) and 白堤 (Bai Causeway, linked in lore to Tang poet 白居易). The 断桥 (Broken Bridge) is the setting for the legend of 白蛇传 (Lady White Snake).

history

Song-era poet Su Dongpo famously compared the lake to the legendary beauty Xi Shi: 欲把西湖比西子，淡妆浓抹总相宜 ('if West Lake were Xi Shi, plain or made up, she would always be beautiful').

In Pop Culture

白蛇传 Báishé Zhuàn

Legend of the White Snake

Classic Chinese folk tale in which the snake-spirit Bai Suzhen falls in love with a mortal at West Lake's Broken Bridge — retold endlessly in opera, film, and TV.