West Lake
| West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou | |
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| Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List | |
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| Location | China |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | ii, iii, vi |
| Reference | 1334 |
| UNESCO region | Asia-Pacific |
| Coordinates | 30°14′54″N 120°08′38″E / 30.2482°N 120.1439°ECoordinates: 30°14′54″N 120°08′38″E / 30.2482°N 120.1439°E |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2011 (35th Session) |
 Location of West Lake in China.
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| West Lake | |||||||||||||||||||||
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"West Lake" in Chinese characters
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| Chinese | 西湖 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Literal meaning | "West Lake" | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Xī Hú |
| IPA | [ɕí xǔ] |
| Wu | |
| Romanization | Si平 wu去 |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Yale Romanization | Sāi wùh |
| Southern Min | |
| Tâi-lô | Se ôo |
West Lake (Chinese: 西湖; pinyin: Xī Hú; Wu: Si-wu) is a freshwater lake in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province in eastern China. It is divided into five sections by three causeways. There are numerous temples, pagodas, gardens, and artificial islands within the lake.
West Lake has influenced poets and painters throughout Chinese history for its natural beauty and historic relics, and it has also been among the most important sources of inspiration for Chinese garden designers. It was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011, described as having "influenced garden design in the rest of China as well as Japan and Korea over the centuries" and reflecting "an idealized fusion between humans and nature".
The earliest recorded name for West Lake was the "Wu Forest River" (武林水, Wǔlín Shuǐ). The Book of Han's "Geography Column" says, "Qiantang, affiliated to the western governor general. Wu Forest Mountain (Wǔlínshān) is the origin of the Wu Forest River. Running east into the sea, it covers 830 li" (roughly, 350 km or 220 mi). Other former names include the "Qian River", "Qiantang Lake", "Mingsheng Lake", "Jinniu Lake", "Shihan Lake", "Shang Lake", "Lianyan Lake", "Fangsheng ", "Xizi Lake", "Gaoshi Lake", "Xiling Lake", "Meiren Lake", "Xianzhe Lake", and "Mingyue Lake". But only two names were widely accepted in history and recorded in historical documents. One is "Qiantang Lake", due to the fact that Hangzhou was called "Qiantang" in ancient times. The other name is "West Lake", due to the lake being west of the city. The name "West Lake" first appeared in two poems of Bai Juyi, "Bestowed on guests as returning from West Lake in the evening and looking back to Gushan Temple" (西湖晚歸回望孤山寺贈諸客) and "On the returning boat to Hangzhou" (杭州回舫). Since the Northern Song dynasty, most poems and articles of scholars used the name "West Lake", while the name "Qiantang Lake" was gradually deprecated. "The request of dredging West Lake" written by Su Shi was the first time that "West Lake" appeared in an official document.
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