The name of West Lake in Hangzhou was first recorded by Ban Gu of the Eastern Han Dynasty in Geography of Han Shu (Volume 28): "Wulin Mountain, Wulin water goes.

East into the sea, 830 miles. "

It is generally believed that Wulin Mountain is the general name of the mountains around Lingyin and Tianzhu. Nanxi and Beixi, which originated here, flow into Jinsha River and flow eastward into West Lake, which is the largest natural water source of the West Lake.

So the name "Wulin Water" is the earliest recorded name of West Lake.

Li Daoyuan's Notes on Water Classics in the Northern Wei Dynasty recorded: "There is a sacred lake in the Ming Dynasty near the Nanjiang River in the county. According to the legend of elders, there are Taurus in the lake. Seeing it in ancient times, it is unpredictable, and the lake is named. "

At this time, two other ancient names of West Lake were derived: Ming Sheng Lake and Jinniu Lake.

The name "West" Lake appeared because the original Qiantang County moved from the west to the east of the West Lake after the Sui Dynasty, that is, Qiantang Lake, which was originally in the east of the city, is now located in the west of the city.

Lake lives in the west of the city, hence the name West Lake, just like other places with the same name in China.

At the latest in the Tang Dynasty, the title of "West Lake" has been frequently used. It is also a poem by Bai Juyi, and the word "West Lake" is often used. For example, his poems include "West Lake Night Return to Gushan Temple to Offer Guests", "West Lake Farewell" and so on.

After Su Shi (Dongpo), a poet in the Northern Song Dynasty, sang the eternal swan song "If you want to compare the West Lake to Chinese calligraphy, light makeup is always appropriate" in his famous poem "Drinking on the lake after the rain", the West Lake has the reputation of Chinese calligraphy lake.

In addition to the names mentioned above, West Lake has many aliases, such as Longchuan, Ganyuan, Hanshi Lake, Fangshengchi, Shang Hu, Gaoshi Lake, Yueming Lake, Ren Mei Lake and so on.

Each alias has its own origin.

2. Changes of scenic spots in several dynasties:

Since the Southern Song Dynasty, it has brought unprecedented prosperity to the West Lake, and the famous "Ten Scenes of the West Lake" has appeared.

Yuan people imitated the "Ten Scenes of the Yuan Dynasty" set by the Song Dynasty: "Liuqiaoliu, Jiuli Yun Song, Lingshiqiao Pavilion, Gushan Xue Ji, Beiguan Night Market, Geling Yuchao, Zhejiang Tao Qiu, Cold Spring Ape Whistling, Two Peaks and White Clouds, and West Lake jathyapple".

In the Qing Dynasty, the following items were added: Hushan Spring House, Gongde Chongfang, Hai Xia Xishuang, Meilin He Jiong, Yuqiu Maqiurong, Lianchi Songshe, Baoshifeng Pavilion, Wan Ting Riding and Shooting, Shi Jiao Qin Ming, Yuquan Yuyue, Fengling Songtao, Lake View, Wu Shan Grand View, Tianzhu Fragrant City, Yun Qi Fan Jing, Low Light Watching the Sea and Xixi Tanmei.

It was not until the modern New Ten Scenes of West Lake was selected as the New Ten Scenes of West Lake at the 2007 West Lake Expo in Hangzhou, China.

The beautiful legend and geological origin of the West Lake;

1. Beautiful legend:

There have been many wonderful legends about Hangzhou and West Lake.

One of the most beautiful and moving is the legend of the White Snake, so that the Leifeng Pagoda and the Broken Bridge have always been the most poetic places for tourists.

But there is actually a well-known legend about the origin of the West Lake.

It is said that in ancient times, a jade dragon lived in the stone kiln to the east of Tianhe, and a golden phoenix lived in the forest to the west of Tianhe. They once found a rough piece of jade on Yinhe Xiandao, so they pondered it together. Years later, this rough jade became a bright pearl.

Wherever the light of this pearl goes, trees are evergreen and flowers are in full bloom.

The news later reached the Heavenly Palace. In order to get the pearl, the greedy Queen Mother sent heavenly soldiers to steal it.

When Yulong and Jinfeng learned about it, they rushed to the Heavenly Palace to ask the Queen Mother for it. The queen mother vowed to protect the pearl, which fell from the heavenly palace to the world during the struggle.

As soon as the pearl landed, it immediately turned into a glittering and translucent green West Lake.

2. Geological origin:

West Lake was called Wulin Water and Qiantang Lake in ancient times, also known as Xizi Lake. At first, it was a bay. Due to the long-term accumulation of sediment carried by river tides, the bay is isolated from the sea, forming a lagoon. After several generations of continuous dredging construction, it finally becomes a semi-closed shallow landscape lake.

The shape of the West Lake is a nearly equiaxed polygon, which is divided into five sub-lakes by artificial dikes in Gushan, Su Causeway and Bai Causeway. There are three islands in the lake: Zhou Xiaoying, Hu Xinting and Ruan Gongdun.

The sub-lakes are connected by bridge opening, and all the lakes can't be fully mixed, resulting in different characteristics of water quality in each lake area.

Most of the runoff recharge first enters the three sub-lakes on the west side, and then enters the Outer West Lake.

The total area of the lake is 6. 145 square kilometers.

The total volume is 0. 1.247 million cubic meters, and the average water depth is 1.235 meters.

3. Human factors:

The West Lake has a history of two thousand years since its formation.

But in the history of the West Lake for more than 2,000 years, three figures played a key role.

In 822 AD, Bai Juyi, who was over 500 years old, came to the beautiful Hangzhou to make a secretariat. Frustrated in officialdom, he saw the landscape of the West Lake, and his spirit did it one brace up.

On the day he arrived in Hangzhou, he couldn't wait to write down "Thank you for the secretariat of Hangzhou", and from then on, the great poet began his eternal love affair with beautiful mountains and rivers.

Bai Juyi's achievements in Hangzhou are numerous, but the most prominent ones are digging six wells and building the West Lake levee.

The first thing he dredged was six wells dug by Qin Li forty years ago, and the second thing was to renovate the West Lake and build the Bai Causeway.

Su Dongpo.

During his stay in Hangzhou, he helped the people and regulated the river.

In A.D. 1090, he personally wrote a letter to Song Zhezong for the West Lake, and wrote a historic document "Seeking the West Lake in Hangzhou". The famous assertion: "There is a West Lake in Hangzhou. If people have eyebrows, they should not abandon them."

After that, an unprecedented transformation of the West Lake began.

From summer to autumn, Su Dongpo mobilized the whole city to raise funds and mobilized 200,000 migrant workers to build the world-famous Su Causeway with silt grass.

During Su Dongpo's stay in Hangzhou, he built dikes and recited thousands of poems. Since then, he has really become a fascinating attraction.

1March 508, Yuan Shengyang used 8,000 civilian workers, which lasted 152 days, and demolished 348 1 mu of land to restore the old scenery of the West Lake.

Part of the dredged sludge was given to Su Causeway, the forerunner of Su Dongpo who appeared in difficult times. He filled the sludge by 20 feet, widened it by 50 feet, and planted willows on both banks. Su Causeway restored the inherent scenery of "six willow bridges".

On the other hand, a dike was built to keep pace with Su Causeway. From Qixialing around Dingjiashan to Nanshan, Hangzhou people are grateful to the village chief for his love for the people of West Lake, so they call it "Yang Gongdi".

West Lake, from a big bay to a lagoon to a beautiful lake, our ancestors lived by the lake and lived endlessly.

It can be said that the history of the West Lake is a history of protection and governance.

It runs through the spirit and concept of China's traditional landscape culture and embodies the continuity of the history and culture of the West Lake.