As an old Chinese saying says: "While there is heaven up above, there is Suzhou and Hangzhou down here." It is not difficulty to image how beautiful Hangzhou is when compared to heaven. As the capital city of Zhejiang province, Hangzhou is not only a city of over 2200 years old since being set up in the Qin Dynasty; also, it is a representative of economic flourishing areas in the southeast China, vividly called the land flowing with milk and honey.

Located in the west of the Hangzhou City, there is a picturesque scenery of water which covers a vast area of nearly 566 square kilometers. Xihu, the West Lake, is a splendid sight surrounded in three sides by mountains up to 400 m high. As being divided by two dikes, Baidi and Sudi, the lake is traversed by tourists from all over China and the world who are pleasantly surprised at the beauty of the Xihu and get totally obsessed by it.

Four small islands in the Lake, along with the ambient hills and the dainty dikes, Xihu outpours a type of classic eastern beauty everywhere. There are over 40 sights of interest in Xihu vicinity. The Xihu’s main scenic spots known as "the Xihu ten scenery" even have so poetical names with them: Spring Dawn at Su Causeway, Lotus Stirred by Breeze in Quyuan Garden, Autumn Moon over the Calm Lake, Melting Snow Scene on the Broken Bridge, Orioles Singing in the Willows, Viewing Fish at Flower Pond, Leifeng Pagoda Silhouette against the Sunset, Doubles Peaks Kissing the Sky, Evening Bell Ringing at Nanping Hill, and as well, Three Pools Mirroring the Moon. The mountain and water scenery varies throughout the year, forming so much glamorous vision to be complimented by people.

In history, lots of poets such as Bai Ju-Yi and Su Dong-Puo…etc. all wrote pretty poems to describe the charming scenery of Xihu. Even Marco Polo was fascinated with it. This widely-traveled Venetian was infatuated with the splendor of the huge edifices, the wide paved streets and the magnificent grounds along the shores of the Xihu. He called Hangzhou the most distinguished and beautiful city in the world.

There is also a famous legend happened in Xihu which is a touching love story between Xuxian and BaiNiangzi, a beauty transformed from an immortal snake. This gorgeous tragedy of man and fairy adds endless mystic expressions to the lake. In China, Even though you may have never experienced the culture and scenery in Hangzhou, nor have you seen the ten famous landscapes in Xihu, once you hear about the beautiful story you can hardly stop imaging the romantic wind of Hangzhou and Xihu in the mind. No wander Hangzhou has become one of the most beautiful destinations of a trip through China.