Over the centuries, Hangzhou – and its famed West Lake, in particular – has captivated and inspired many of China’s greatest poets.
The city was an especially popular subject for writers during the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) Dynasties, two periods of relative prosperity and artistic flourishing which together constitute “China's Golden Age”.
So, what is it about Hangzhou? The still, tranquil waters of West Lake? The lush green hills that surround it? The city’s elegant streets and tree-lined canals? Or its dainty bridges and immaculate gardens? Discover what makes Hangzhou so special through the poems that have immortalised it.
Credit: Ian CuiYi/Getty Images
Credit: Xiaoyue Zhao/Getty Images
From Lake Geneva to the Lake District, lakes – whether for their beauty or their solitude – have always been a magnet for writers. Hangzhou’s West Lake has inspired hundreds of renowned and popular poems, a good deal of which are by Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi.
Sent to Hangzhou to serve as its governor, Bai Juyi fell in love with the city and its mystic waters. In his poem Spring Theme: Above the Lake, he paints a vivid picture of the lake and its surrounding scenery in the vitality and full bloom of spring:
Unruly peaks all round the edge, the water spread out flat
Pines in ranks on the face of the hills, a thousand layers of green
To experience this verdant beauty for yourself, take a leisurely stroll along the banks of the lake, starting at the famed Broken Bridge and crossing Bai Causeway.
Credit: lingqi xie/Getty Images
Credit: lingqi xie/Getty Images
Planning a solo trip? Hangzhou might be your ideal destination. Take it from Lin Bu, a Song Dynasty poet who lived out his later life in solitude on Gushan, a small island within the West Lake.
Devoting himself to a hermetic lifestyle, Lin Bu was known for keeping only plum trees and cranes as companions. The former, which blossom at the end of winter and herald the arrival of spring, feature prominently in his work. In the poem Plum Blossom of Hill Garden, Lin Bu writes:
Their scattered shadows fall lightly on clear water
Their subtle scent pervades the moonlit dusk
Spend an hour or two exploring Gushan – accessible via the Bai Causeway – in late winter, and you’ll understand what it was about the plum tree’s delicate and fragrant pink flowers that Lin Bu found so delightful.