My Trip to Hangzhou
- On my way homeNorth of the West Lake - Bai Causeway ( including Broken Bridge, Solitary Island )
The Bai Causeway cuts the lake into two parts - the outer west lake and inner west lake. There are two stone bridges, "broken bridge" and "Jindai Bridge" on the Bai Causeway. The "Broken Bridge" is well known in China for its link with a famous Chinese love story - White Snake Legend, a Chinese version of Romeo and Julian. The Bai Causeway was built after the name of Bai Juyi, a famous poet and good governor of Hangzhou in Tang Dynasty Dynasty. The Bai Causeway at its best falls in spring. Why "Broken Bridge"? It is connected to the love story of "White Snake". Also in winter when you are lucky enought to see Hangzhou in snow, the snow on the sunny side of the bridge melts first, while the snow on the shady side still lingers. Looked at a distance or from a nearby hill, the bridge appears to be broken, hence the Remnant Snow on the Broken Bridge in Winter, one of the ten most famous scenic spots in Hangzhou. The Solitary Island is actually a peninsula projecting into the West Lake, once a temporary living palace for the imperial emperors who came to Hangzhou either for inspection or leisure sightseeing.
Bai Juyi (772-846), one of the famous poet in Tang Dynasty was remembered as a great governor of Haznghzou for its contribution to the prosperirty of Hangzhou and the beauty of the West Lake. He left Hangzhou for Luoyang in 824. This sculpture reproduced the moving sight when the local people bid farewell to their governor.
It is the " Broken Bridge". A shame that it doesn't snow today!
The inner west lake with the background view of the Baoshu Pagoda
On the Bai Causeway
The Solitary Island is a peninsula ( Gushan ) projecting into the West Lake, once a temporary living palace for the imperial emperors who came to Hangzhou either for inspection or leisure sightseeing. On the Solitary Island, you will find Zhongshan Park, Zhejiang Provincial Museum, Louwailou Restaurant, Xilinyinshe and many more historical and scenic sites.
Zhejiang Provincial Musuem
Zhongshan Park, once the temporary palace for the imperial emperors
Louwailou Restaurant, one of the most famous local restautants in Hangzhou. The other two are Tianwaitian Restautant and Shanwaishan Restaurant. In the Louwailou Restaurant, former US President Richard Nixon once ate there with Premier Zhou Enlai in 1972, savoring the Longjing xiaren (shrimp cooked with Longjing tea) and many more.
Xilengyinshe, a well-known academic groups specialised in the studies of China's stone carving and painting and calligraphy art.
More pictures taken from the Solitary Island
By the Xilin Bridge listed as above, a bridge connecting the Solitary Island and the bank, you will find a tomb of Ms Su Xiaoxiao. Su Xiaoxiao was a famous singsong girl and a poet in Hangzhou in Southern Qi Dynasty (479-502). She was endowed with beauty and talent. her poems enjoyed great popularity. She was buried by the Xilin Bridge after her death. Later a pavilion was built for admiring for her beauty and talent. Su Xiaoxiao's tomb was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution but it was rebuilt in 2004, complete with a brand new pavilion decorated with twelve poetry posts handwritten by famous calligraphers. Su Xiaoxiao's tomb is now again a major tourist site in Hangzhou.
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