For centuries, the picturesque West Lake in Hangzhou has attracted scholars, artists, lovers and tourists and now, it has garnered worldwide attention as one of five sites newly added to Unesco's World Heritage List.
Regarded by many mainlanders as one of the country's most beautiful natural attractions, the 3,322-hectare site in the capital of Zhejiang province features numerous temples, pagodas, pavilions, gardens and ornamental trees, as well as causeways and artificial islands.
Unesco's World Heritage committee officially added the West Lake cultural landscape and the hills that surround its three sides to its list on Friday after years of lobbying from the local municipality. It is the 41st Unesco-listed heritage site on the mainland.
Yesterday, despite heavy rain, hundreds of locals and tourists flocked to the site to either enjoy its beauty again or to see it for the first time. Couples, young and old, strolled along the promenade and sat by the lotus ponds that dot the lake while cyclists rode on the wide bike paths around the lake's edge.
For one local family, the city would not be the same without West Lake, or Xi Hu in Putonghua. 'It's like a psychological thing, we just love it,' said Li Hui, 41, who was at the lake yesterday with her husband Shao Min, 43, and their teenage daughter.
'If there wasn't a West Lake, Hangzhou could not call itself Hangzhou. It doesn't matter where along the lake we go. Every time we come here, we just feel calm and happy.'