Its first Western visitor – Marco Polo arriving during this
zenith – describes it as ‘the most beautiful and magnificent in
the world’. Poets, politicians, and philosophers came to visit;
mesmerised, they stayed for the rest of their lives. In the
words of famed Song Dynasty literary master and statesman Su
Dongpo, Hangzhou is ‘always alluring’. Today, Hangzhou’s
illustrious past still gleams in the reflection of its
celebrated waters. The pearl that is West Lake, shrouded in
legend, paints a different picture depending on where you are
standing and when. Names like Lingering Snow on Broken Bridge
and Lotus in the Wind in Crooked Courtyard evoke just some of
the romantic stories engraved against the lake’s numerous scenic
views. The classic world-renowned dramas of The Butterfly Lovers
and Madam White Snake have their beautiful origins and tragic
endings here, which is why Hangzhou is also China’s capital of
love. West of West Lake sprawls Xixi wetlands, with 1800 years
of history in its dense tapestry of cri