200BCE First mention of the city that was to become Hangzhou
326CE, Temple of the Soul's Retreat (Lingyin Si 靈隱寺) established
Southern Qi 南齊 dynasty (479-502)
Su Xiaoxiao 蘇小小, a courtesan from the area of Qiantang 錢唐, is celebrated for her talent. Following her death she is buried on the northern shore of West Lake next to what becomes known as the West Cooling Bridge (Xiling Qiao 西泠橋) that connects to the island of Solitary Hill (Gu Shan 孤山). Some accounts hold that she was frustrated in love and died of a broken heart. It is also said that a young scholar who she had helped by the name of Bao Ren 鮑仁 builds a pavilion over her grave. It is know as the Pavilion of Admired Talent (Mucai Ting 慕才亭). The simple legend on the tomb reads 'The Tomb of Su Xiaoxiao of Qiantang' (Qiantang Su Xiaoxiao zhi mu 錢塘蘇小小之墓). The tomb and the pavilion are said to still be extant in the Southern Song
Fig.1 The Pavilion of Wind on the Waves (
Fengbo Ting 風波亭), West Lake. (Photograph: GRB)
Sui 隋 dynasty (581-618)
Qiantang 錢唐 prefecture renamed Hangzhou 杭州
The Grand Canal (Dayunhe 大運河) links the city with northern China
Tang 唐 dynasty (618-907)
Qiantang 錢唐 is renamed Qiantang 錢塘
766-79, Li Bi (李泌, 722-89), governor of Hangzhou, bores six wells to supply the city with drinking water drawn from the Lake
822, Bo Juyi (白居易, 772-846) serves as governor of Hangzhou; more wells are bored and causeways are built. One of the major causeways is named by the local people after him and is henceforth known as the Bo/Bai Causeway (Bo/Bai di 白堤)
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms 五代十國 (907-60)
Kingdom of Wu and Yue 吳越
907-32, Qian Liu (錢鏐, 852-932)
932-41, Qian Yuanguan (錢元瓘, 887-941)
941-47, Qian Zuo (錢佐, 928-947)
947, Qian Zong (錢倧, d.947)
947-77, Qian Shu (錢俶, 929-988)
The Baochu 保俶塔 and Leifeng 雷峰塔 pagodas are built. During this time sea walls are built to protect agricultural land and inhabitants living along what becomes the Qiantang River from the depredations of tides and floods. Hydraulic works, including cleaning silt from the West Lake, dealing with storm damage and flooding become a major feature of local administration hereafter
Liao 遼 (Khitan 契丹) dynasty (916-1125)
Song 宋 dynasty (960-1279)
Northern Song 北宋 (960-1127)
Lin Bu (林逋, 967-1028) refuses to serve the Song dynasty after it has annexed the Kingdom of Wu and Yue. He lives as a hermit on the northern side of what becomes known as the island Solitary Hill in West Lake his own companions said to be cranes and the plum blossoms of the trees he cultivates. Lin becomes a symbol of purity for future generations and one denoting passive resistance
1079, the Temple of Loyalty Commemorated (Biao Zhong Guan 表忠觀) is built to honour the early rulers of Hangzhou, starting with Qian Liu
Su Shi's (蘇軾, hao Dongpo 東坡, 1037-1101) first posting to Hangzhou, as vice-prefect
1089-91, Su Shi's second posting to Hangzhou as prefect. During this time the Su Causeway is constructed. He writes the most famous poem about West Lake:
The shimmer of light on the water is the play of sunny skies,
The blur of colour across the hills is richer still in rain.
If you wish to compare the lake in the West to the Lady of the West,
Lightly powdered or thickly smeared the fancy is just as apt.
Jin 金 (Jurchen 女真) dynasty (1115-1234)
Southern Song 南宋 (1127-1279)
Hangzhou, now named Lin'an 臨安, serves as capital of the displaced Song court and the 'Great Within' (Danei 大內), the inner quarters of the imperial household, is built on Phoenix Hill. The 'Ten Scenes of West Lake' (Xihu Shi Jing 西湖十景) are first spoken of during this era
1142, general Yue Fei 岳飛 is executed
1147, Han Shizhong (韓世忠, 1084-1151) builds a pavilion on Flew-Here Peak (Feilai Feng 飛來峰) dedicated to the memory of Yue Fei
Fig.2 Lake Heart Pavilion (
Huxin Ting 湖心亭) with Baochu Pagoda (
Baochu Ta 保俶塔) in the distance. (Photograph: GRB)
Yuan dynasty (1260-1368)
1277, Lin'an is renamed Hangzhou. The Song imperial palace is destroyed by fire. Yang Lianzhenjia 楊璉真伽 (Yang Rin-chen-skyabs, fl.1277-88), is given a formal post under the new dynasty. As Duncan Campbell notes, 'Yang Bald One' was a lama of Tangut or Tibetan origins who served as Supervisor of the Buddhist Teaching South of the Yangtze River under Khubilai Khan. He was responsible for the restoration of a large number of Buddhist temples around West Lake but earned the hatred of the native population through his greed in general and his desecration of the Song imperial tombs near Shaoxing in particular [⇒]
1275-92, Marco Polo claims to have visited the city
Ming 明, dynasty (1368-1644)
1366, Zhu Yuanzhang, eventual founder of the Ming dynasty, leads a successful attack on Hangzhou
1442, after a period of drought West Lake dries out
1456, after a period of drought West Lake dries out
1459, Yu Qian (于謙, 1498-1457) is buried at Santai Shan. Yu Qian, a native of Hangzhou, had led Ming forces to repel a Mongol attack on the imperial capital of Beijing, but he was later betrayed and executed. With his honour restored he was celebrated as a hero loyal to the throne. His memory is commemorated in both Beijing and at West Lake
1508, West Lake restored after all but silting up and disappearing
1547, Tian Rucheng (田汝成, 1503-57) produces his West Lake Tourist Gazetteer (Xihu youlan zhi 西湖遊覽志) and its supplement. In it he describes the condition of West Lake during the early Ming as follows: 'West of the Su Embankment the higher elevations became farmland while those lower down were turned into ponds. Patches of land were crisscrossed by roads like fish scales, and there was no room left. East of the embankment all that remained was a narrow waterway that flowed like a belt'
1553-58, pirates attack the East China coast, enter Hangzhou Bay and get as far as Hangzhou
1589, The eunuch official Sun Long (孫隆), Superintendent of the Imperial Silk Manufactory of Suzhou and Hangzhou, has the Temple of the Manifest Blessings (Zhaoqing Si 昭慶寺) rebuilt [⇒]
1597, Yuan Hongdao (袁宏道, 1568-1610), a famous late-Ming essayist and poet, visits West Lake for the first time
Fig.3 The Long Bridge (
Chang Qiao 長橋), a new structure on West Lake. (Photograph: GRB)
1624, Zhang Dai 張岱 studies at Goulou Mountain Hut (Goulou Shanfang 岣嶁山房) [⇒]
1632, Zhang Dai pays a memorable visit to Lake Heart Pavilion (Huxin Ting 湖心亭) [⇒]
1641, drought causes West Lake to dry out and the lake bed to crack
1644, Zhang Dai is forced to flee West Lake by the fall of the Ming
Qing dynasty (1644-1911)
1644, the imperial capital of the Ming dynasty, Beijing, falls first to a peasant army from West China and then to a Manchu-led army from beyond the Great Wall. The latter make Beijing the capital of the Qing dynasty
May 1645, Qing forces take Hangzhou
1648, the new imperial authorities construct a Bannerman garrison city (qiying 旗營) some 7000 mu in size that cuts the walled city of Hangzhou off from West Lake. Ten thousand families are driven from their homes, but required to continue paying tax on the land of which they have been dispossessed
1649, You Tong (尤侗, 1618-1704) laments the decline of West Lake since the Ming
1660, a fire destroys much of the city, and another major fire strikes in 1666
1663, the first literary persecution of the Qing era begins with a case in Hangzhou involving a history of the Ming dynasty
1654, Zhang Dai revisits West Lake
1657, Zhang Dai visits West Lake again
1671, Zhang Dai writes the 'Author's Preface' for Search for West Lake in My Dreams (Xihu mengxun 西湖夢尋) [⇒]
1672, the Hangzhou scholar Gao Shiqi (高士奇, 1644-1704) comes to Kangxi's attention and is appointed to the Southern Study (Nan shufang 南書房) in the imperial palace in Beijing. Gao will accompany the emperor on the first three of this Tours of the South [⇒]
1689, the Qing emperor Kangxi visits West Lake for the first time on his second Tour of the South [⇒]
1699, Kangxi's third Tour of the South and his second visit to West Lake and Hangzhou. He commemorated the Ten Scenes of West Lake with calligraphic inscriptions. Heavy rains result in West Lake overflowing and the causeways being submerged
1703, Kangxi's third visit to West Lake
1705, Kangxi's fouth visit to West Lake
1707, Kangxi's fifth visit to West Lake on his sixth and last Tour of the South
1717, first printed edition of Zhang Dai's Search for West Lake in My Dreams published
1722, Kangxi dies at his favourite garden-palace outside the walled city of Beijing, the Garden of Delighted Spring (Changchun Yuan 暢春園). Many of the buildings, landscaped gardens and ponds are inspired by the scenes and depictions of the Lower Yangtze Valley that the emperor has become familiar during his Tours of the South. He regularly spends up to half a year 'in residence in the garden' (yuanju 園居). His fourteenth son, Yinzhen (胤禛, 1678-1735), ascends the throne under the reign title Yongzheng and continues to live in the Garden of Perfect Brightness (Yuanming Yuan 圓明園), not far from his late father's garden residence
1722, the governor of Zhejiang, Li Wei (李衛, 1687-1738, posthumously canonised as Lord Li Minda 李敏達), is ordered to dredge the Lake and considerable efforts are made during the Yongzheng reign to restore the Lake and its environs [⇒]
Fig.4 The Grave of Wu Song, 'righteous man of the Song'. (Photograph: GRB)
1729, Yongzheng issues an edict instructing local officials 'to pay frequent attention to protecting and repairing the dragon pavilions and imperial stele pavilions built for the imperial ancestor in local places'. A Temple to the Sea God (Haishen Miao 海神廟) at Haining is also constructed on imperial order [⇒]
1731, at Li Wei's suggestion a temple is built to propitiate the tutelary god of West Lake (Hushan Shen 湖山神) on the northern edge of the Lake not far from the Temple of Yue Fei. The temple contains a Garden of Unadorned Bamboo (Zhusu Yuan 竹素園) [⇒]
1751, the Qing emperor Qianlong's first Tour of the South during which he visits Hangzhou and West Lake. At Dragon Well (Longjing 龍井) near West Lake, the emperor watches tea being picked and prepared and, as is his wont, writes a series of poems. This marks the late-dynastic, or early modern fame of this particular tea. During the mid-Qianlong era further scenes from West Lake are created at the Garden of Perfect Brightness
1757, Qianlong visits West Lake for a second time
1762, Qianlong visits West Lake for a third time
1765, Qianlong visits West Lake for a fourth time
1780, Qianlong views the Qiantang tidal bore at Haining before moving on to Hangzhou on his fifth Tour of the South. While there the emperor inquires into the whereabouts of the fifth-century courtesan Su Xiaoxiao, famous for her encounter with a young scholar and her supposed death from a broken heart. This leads to the construction of a formal stone tomb, with a stele on it announcing 'Tomb of Su Xiaoxiao of Qiantang'. 'From that moment on,' Shen Fu (沈復, 1763-1807?) complains, 'it was no longer possible for romantic poets with antiquarian obsessions to search and loiter around the area' [⇒]
1782, the Siku Quanshu 四庫全書 or the Emperor's Four Treasuries is completed and a copy presented to the Wenyuan Pavilion 文淵閣 library on West Lake
1784, on his sixth and final Tour of the South, Qianlong makes a sacrifice to the Sea Spirit (Haishen 海神) and views the Qiantang tidal bore at Jian Shan before moving on to West Lake [⇒]
1797, the official Ruan Yuan (阮元, zi Boyuan 伯元, hao Yuntai 雲台, 1764-1849) undertakes various scholastic activities and also cleans up West Lake
1800, Ruan Yuan establishes a scholastic group on Solitary Island, the Kujing Jingshe 詁經精捨. The outcrop of land know as the Islet of Master Ruan (Ruan Gong Dun 阮公墩) not far from Solitary Island is named after him, having been built up when the Lake was dredged
1806, the Bannerman official Linqing 麟慶 (Wanggiyan Lincing, 1791-1846) visits the Lake and writes about it in Wild Swan on the Snow: An Illustrated Record of My Pre-ordained Life (Hongxue yinyuan tuji 鴻雪因緣圖記) [⇒]
1841, the literati-official and thinker Gong Zizhen (龔自珍, b.1792) dies in Danyang, Jiangsu province 江蘇丹陽. Gong is later commemorated as a pre-modern patriot and his Hangzhou home is made into a museum (Gong Zizhen Jinian Guan 龔自珍紀念館)
1861, Taiping Rebels lay siege to Hangzhou. Ten thousand Qing soldiers die in the defense of the city, and a over three thousand rebels lose their lives. An estimated 800,000 people in the city either stave to death or choose to commit suicide. The population of Hangzhou declines from around one million to just over 800,000
1864, Qing forces retake Hangzhou and in a frenzy of raping and looting the population is further reduced from 800,000 to 70,000
1867, the first foreign-controlled school is established in Hangzhou. It later becomes Zhijiang University (Zhijiang daxue 之江大學)
1875, the Wang Xing fan shop (Wang Xing ji 王星記) is established, becoming the most famous purveyor of traditional fans in the city
24 June 1876, John Leighton Stuart (司徒雷登, d.1962) is born in Hangzhou
1877, the infamous prosecution of Yang Naiwu 楊乃武 and Xiao Baicai 小白菜 is overturned. They had been falsely accused of an improper relationship. Over thirty officials involved in the scandal are demoted or cashiered from government service as punishment. This marked the end of one of the famous 'four cases of outrageous injustice' (si da qi'an 四大奇案) in the late-Qing era
1878, the banker Hu Guangyong (胡光墉, 1823-1885) opens his medicine business, Huqingyu Tang 胡慶余堂, in a large, two-storey building
1883, as part of the Self-strengthening Movement (Yangwu yundong 洋務運動) an armaments factory is established in Hangzhou to manufacture ammunitions, torpedoes and to repair firearms. Also in this year the Hangzhou Telegraph Bureau is established
1888, much of the Hangzhou imperially printed copy of the Siku Quanshu stored at the Wenyuan Pavilion library is lost as a result of warfare
1892, the first modern printery is established
1895, as a result of the Shimonoseki Treaty signed following China's defeat in the Sino-Japanese War, Hangzhou becomes a treaty port and a Japanese colonial concession is granted in the city. The first modern silk weaving factory is founded in Hangzhou
1896, a vast Japanese concession is established, Hangzhou is opened to direct trade and the first post office is opened
Fig.5 Commemorative arch to the Song-dynasty general Yue Fei's loyalty (the
Bixie Danxin Bei 碧血丹心碑) built in 1995. (Photograph: GRB)
1897, the Seeking Truth Academy (Qiushi shuyuan 求是書院) is established in a former temple. This will later become Zhejiang University. The first modern newspapers are founded (these are Jingshi Ribao 經世日報 and Hang Bao 杭報)
1898, the first educational institution devoted to silk production is established
1899, the first modern-style high schools are established
1900, the 'Zhe Society' (Zhe Hui 浙會), an anti-Qing group of educated men who mostly go to Japan, is founded. The following year the first vernacular newspaper in the city is printed
1903, the first meeting of the Hangzhou Unbound Feet Society (Hangzhou Fangzu Hui 杭州放足會) is held at the Zhang Qinguo Temple 張勤果公祠 on West Lake to agitate against the practice of binding women's feet.
The Tide of Zhejiang (Zhejiang Chao 浙江潮), an important pro-revolution publication, is founded by a Hangzhou student studying in Japan Ye Lan 葉瀾, with Sun Yizhong 孫翼中 and Jiang Fangzhen 蔣方震. They pointedly publish photographs of the Yue Fei Temple and tomb as an anti-Qing gesture
1904, the Xiling Epigraphy Society (Xiling Yinshe 西泠印社) is established on Solitary Island. Also in this year the first women's school is founded
1905, Hangzhou merchants organize a nation-wide boycott of US manufactures; the Zhejiang Railway Company is established; Qiu Jin 秋瑾 becomes the Zhejiang representative for the revolutionary anti-Qing Tongmeng Hui that has been set up in Tokyo
1907, Qiu Jin is arrested and executed for her anti-Qing revolutionary activities. Before her execution she composes the poetic line: 'The sorrow of autumn wind and autumn rain kills' (qiufeng qiuyu chou sha ren 秋風秋雨愁煞人) [⇒]
1909, the Shanghai-Hangzhou railroad is completed, reducing travel time between the two cities from a three-day journey by boat to a three-to-four hour train trip; Qiu Jin's body is buried at West Lake
1908, Zhejiang First Normal College (Zhejiangsheng diyi shifan xuexiao 浙江省立第一師範學校) established [⇒]
1910, the photographic album Views of West Lake produced by the Me Myself Studio (Erwo Xuan Zhaoxiang Guan 二我軒照相館) is published [⇒], [⇒]
September 1910, Sun Yat-sen visits Hangzhou and holds meetings with fellow revolutionaries at the White Clouds Nunnery (Baiyun An 白雲庵), the headquarters of the Zhejiang revolutionary party at the foot of the Leifeng Pagoda. He spends the night at Liu Villa 劉莊, later Mao Zedong's favourite West Lake residence
15 September 1911, Hangzhou is taken over by revolutionaries bringing and end to Qing rule
Republic of China 中華民國 (1911-49)
The Manchu-led Qing rulers had occupied a large tract of land between the city of Hangzhou itself and West Lake. This privileged area, the Banner Garrison, was one of the first things to be demolished following the end of the last dynasty.
During the 1910s, whilst Hangzhou's importance as a manufacturing and handicrafts centre suffers a precipitous decline, mainly at the expense of a rapidly growing Shanghai, it begins to develop as 'cultural garden' tourist site for the burgeoning middle class of that port city. On West Lake the prominent Qing general Peng Yulin's (彭玉鱗, 1816-90) villa, Tuisheng Retreat 退省庵, for example, is converted from being a memorial temple dedicated to his memory to become the Shrine of Former Worthies (Xianxian Ci 先賢祠), honoring three Han scholars of Zhejiang: two Ming loyalists and another who resigned from his Qing government post to live as a hermit on West Lake
15 January 1912, over ten thousand people gather in Hangzhou to celebrate the founding of the Republic of China
12 February, the former Qing imperial detached palace is nationalized and becomes a venue for public events
19 July, a ceremony is held to commemorate the martyr Qiu Jin at Phoenix Forest Temple (Fenglin Si 鳳林寺)
22 July, work begins on demolishing the old city wall
9-13 December, Sun Yat-sen travels to Hangzhou and pays his respects at the tomb of Qiu Jin, a compound that includes the Pavilion of Wind and Rain (Fengyu Ting 風雨亭), a reference to her famous line of poetry. After acknowledging her contribution to the revolution as a 'female hero' (jinguo yingxiong 巾幗英雄), Sun visits other sites on and around the Lake. The following day he has lunch at the Louwai Lou 樓外樓 restaurant on Solitary Island. This same month the Zhejiang Public Library is established on Solitary Island and the Emperor's Four Treasuries is removed from the Wenyuan Pavilion and lodged there
April 1913, Sun Yat-sen visits West Lake
10 September, Tides of Hangzhou (Zhejiang Chao 浙江潮) is published. This month a telephone company starts operations
1914, the cultural activist and educator Huang Yanpei (黄炎培, 1878-1965) visits the Lake and makes a series of photographs published the following year [⇒]. Also in 1914, the new market is opened on the grounds of what was the Bannermen Battalion [⇒]
1915, Scenic China Series No.4: West Lake, Hangchow (Zhongguo mingsheng 4: Xihu 中國名勝西湖) edited by Huang Yanpei appears in three volumes through Commercial Press in Shanghai [⇒]. This same year Feng Zikai (豐子愷, 1898-1975) starts his studies at Zhejiang First Normal College and is instructed in art by Li Shutong (李叔同, 1880-1942), later the Dharma Master Hongyi 弘一法師 [⇒]
16-20 August 1916, Sun Yat-sen visits West Lake in the company of his wife Soong Ch'ing-ling and others. The constitutional monarchist Kang Youwei (康有為), on hearing that the revolutionary Sun is coming flees his residence at Jiaoshi Villa (蕉石山莊, part of the Liu Villa 劉莊 complex that Mao Zedong will later occupy). During his tour, Sun is unstinting in his praise of the Lake ('西湖之風景為世界所無 , 妙在大小適中。若瑞士之湖嫌其過大 , 令人望洋興嘆 ; 日本之蘆之湖則又嫌其過小 , 令人一覽無余。唯西湖則無此病 , 誠為國寶 , 當益加以人工之整理 , 使世界之遊客皆來觀賞其真價'). On 18 August he returns to Qiu Jin's tomb and recalls her famous poetic envoi. He has lunch at the Pavilion of Wind and Rain, enjoying the now-famous dishes 'West Lake vinegary fish' (Xihu cuyu 西湖醋魚) and soup with chun leaves (chuncai tang 蒓菜湯) and He also goes to see the tidal bore of the Qiantang River at Liuhe Pagoda (Liuhe Ta (六和塔) during which he lauds the immortal spirit of the loyal minister Wu Zixu (伍子胥, d.484BCE) whom he calls a patriot
January 1917, a warlord leader takes control of Hangzhou and orders a modern road be built for his car and increasing traffic. Thirteen roads are constructed between 1917-19
January 1918, work starts on the first road around West Lake, including the Su and Bao causeways
January 1919, John Leighton Stuart is appointed the head of the new Yenching University (Yenching daxue 燕京大學), which combines three colleges. The campus of the new institution is built on the remains of princely gardens to the south of the Garden of Perfect Brightness and the layout of its gardens, in particular No Name Lake (Weiming Hu 未名湖) is said to be partly inspired by West Lake
April, Jing Hengyi (經亨頤, zi Ziyuan 子淵, 1877-1939), principal of Zhejiang First Normal College founds Tides in Education (Jiaoyu Chao 教育潮) as nationwide student agitation (later known as the May Fourth Movement) is ignited by demonstrations in Beijing against imperialism and traditional authority. The magazine is suppressed by the provincial authorities for its radicalism in January 1920 [⇒]
12 May, an estimated three thousand students gather on the shore of West Lake to demonstrate in support of the student in Beijing
28 September, students boycott the celebrations of the birthday of Confucius and take to West Lake to visit the grave of the anarchist Liu Shifu (劉師復, 1884-1915) at the Grotto of Misty Dusk (Yanxia Dong 煙霞洞) instead. The 'rites controversy' of this period leads to an open confrontation between radical educators and students and the local authorities. In a student publication, Zhejiang New Tide Weekly (Zhejiang xinchao 浙江新潮), a call is issued to 'abandon filial piety' (feixiao 廢孝) and Confucian hierarchies in everyday life
26 December, Zhejiang New Tide Weekly is forcibly closed by the authorities [⇒]
1 January 1920, Qian River Review (Qian Jiang Pinglun 錢江評論), a progressive publication, is founded
10 July, construction work on a permanent lakeside road begins and the arched stone bridges on the causeways are replaced
August 1922, the newly founded Chinese Communist Party holds a special gathering known as the 'Hangzhou Meeting' (Hangzhou huiyi 杭州會議) which leads to the first collaboration between the Communists and Nationalists
September, the first Communist Party cell is established in Hangzhou
1924, Wu Song's Tomb (Wu Song mu 武松墓) constructed to commemorate the fictitious hero Wu Song from the late-Ming novel Water Margin (Shuihu Zhuan 水滸傳) is constructed on the northwest side of the Xiling Bridge (Xiling Qiao 西泠橋) leading to Solitary Island not far from the tomb of the courtesan Su Xiaoxiao dating from 1780
Fig.6 A view over the Lake from the Hupan Ju 湖畔居 teahouse. (Photograph: GRB)
14-16 April 1924, the Bengali writer Rabindranath Tagore visits West Lake and addresses a public gathering
1:00pm, 25 September, Thunder Peak Pagoda collapses, shortly thereafter Lu Xun (鲁迅, penname of Zhou Shuren 周樹人, 1881-1936) published two highly influential essays on the subject. In the second of these he lambasts what he calls the 'ten-sight disease' (shi jing bing 十景病), an expression he uses to characterize a particularly opportunistic and uncreative approach to the world [⇒]
12 April 1925, 60,000 people gather at the Public Sports Ground to mourn the passing of Sun Yat-sen
1927, the imperial garden and former detached palace on Solitary Island is renamed Zhongshan Park to commemorate Sun Yat-sen
December, the Nationalist President of the Republic of China, Chiang Kai-shek, and his First Lady, Soong Mei-ling, spend their honeymoon on West Lake at Cheng Villa (Cheng Lu 澄廬) on Nanshan Road. The building was a wedding gift from Sheng Enyi 盛恩頤, fourth son of the famous industrialist and political figure Sheng Xuanhuai (盛宣懷, 1844-1916). Also during 1927, the Anhui tea merchant and owner of the Wang Yutai Tea Shop (Wang Yutai Chazhuang 汪裕泰茶莊) Wang Tiyu 汪惕予 builds what becomes known as Wang Villa (Wang Zhuang 汪莊) on the southern shore of West Lake at the foot of the hill where the Thunder Peak Pagoda stood
26 January 1928, the artist Lin Fengmen (林風眠, 1900-91) establishes the National Art School (Guoli Yishu Yuan 國立藝術院) at the Luo Garden on Solitary Island (Gu Shan Luo Yuan 孤山羅苑) [⇒]
10 October, the Zhejiang Wireless Station starts broadcasting
6 June-20 October 1929, the West Lake Exposition (西湖博覽會) is held, the main site of the Expo is located on the North Inner Lake of West Lake (Xihu Bei Lihu 西湖北里湖). Various dignitaries from the new Nationalist government in Nanjing attend the opening ceremony. A seaplane from Shanghai scatters pamphlets advertising the Expo over the city and utilises the Lake as a runway. During the four months of the Expo, over two million people visit the eight Expo pavilions, which are divided among three locations [⇒]
March 1935, the writer Zhou Zuoren (周作人, 1885-1967) publishes his essay 'Yue Fei and Qin Gui' (Yue Fei yu Qin Gui 岳飛與秦檜)
1 April 1930, the National Athletics Competition is held with Chiang Kai-shek, Soong Mei-ling and other government dignitaries attending the opening ceremony
2 August, the authorities decided to build a macadamized road from the train station to West Lake
3 November, the first Zhejiang national products exposition is held with over sixty participating factories and some 1400 products on display
October 1932, the Hall of Master Ji (Ji Gong Dian 濟公殿) at Jingci Monastery (Jingci Si 淨慈寺) is destroyed in a conflagration
August 1935, the Qiantang tidal bore washes away docks along the southern shore of the river and sweeps away over twenty-four households [⇒]
Fig.7 The Cloud Pine Studio (
Yunsong Shushe 雲松書社) built in 1994 with funding from the martial arts novelist and Hong Kong media tycoon Jin Yong 金庸 (the penname of Zha Liangyong 查良鏞, b.1924), October 2011. (Photograph: GRB)
March-April 1937, Zhou Enlai and Chiang Kai-shek meet in secret at Chiang's West Lake residence, Cheng Villa, to discuss a cessation to the state of civil war between the Nationalists and Communists so that they can form a united front to resist the Japanese invasion
26 September, the Qiantang Bridge built to accommodate both road and rail traffic is completed
23-24 December, Nationalist forces withdraw from the city and Hangzhou is occupied by soldiers of the Japanese Imperial Army
October 1943, many sections of the sea wall along the Qiantang River are destroyed during the autumn tidal surge [⇒]
15-16 August 1945, Japanese forces surrender
October, the first group of 140 traitors to the Japanese are arrested. 7000 Japanese troops start leaving Hangzhou and celebrations mark the end of the war with Japan
20 February 1946, Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Mei-ling pass through Hangzhou on a trip between Nanjing and Shanghai
5 July, the Emperor's Four Treasuries removed from the Wenyuan Pavilion 文淵閣 library on West Lake for safekeeping in Chongqing during the hostilities is returned
September, the art academy, which had been evacuated during the war, returns to Luo Garden on Solitary Island
1946-49, there is a late flourishing of West Lake tourism and pilgrimages following the war with Japan, and despite the Civil War between the Nationalist and Communists. The city, however, also suffers from hyper-inflation during these years and witnesses continuous worker agitation as well as pro-Communist demonstrations
24 April 1947, the Zhongtianzhu Library at the Temple of the Soul's Retreat (Lingyin Si Zhongtianzhu Cangjing Ge 靈隱寺中天竺藏經閣) burns down
25 August, mass student rallies mark a new phase of student activism as the Civil War between the Nationalists and Communists unfolds
October 1947 onwards, worker protest ('worker surges' or gongchao 工潮) become endemic
26 January 1948, during the coldest winter in years West Lake freezes over. Some forty-five people die due to ice related incidents in Hangzhou during the season
10 May, a wind storm overturns dozens of boats on West Lake
18 August, Mao Zedong publishes 'Farewell, John Stuart Leighton' (Biele, Situ Leideng 别了，司徒雷登), a sarcastic envoi to the Hangzhou-born American ambassador to China who, as the representative of failed US policy in China, now has no choice but 'to pack his bags and leave'
21 January 1949, Chiang Kai-shek visits Hangzhou for the last time on the way to Fenghua
People's Republic of China 中華人民共和國 (1949-)
The Maoist Era, 1949-78
3 May 1949, the Twenty-first Division of the People's Liberation Army under the command of the Chinese Communist Party occupies the city. The People's Republic of China is officially inaugurated in Beijing on 1 October this year
During the early 1950s, the Communist Party authorities (including the state apparatus and the army) occupy key buildings and sites on West Lake for their exclusive use.
17 May 1950, Hangzhou Daily publishes a long article under the title 'West Lake is Being Transformed' (Gaizao zhongde Xihu 改造中的西湖) [⇒]
Spring 1953, on learning of the parlous state of the Temple of the Soul's Retreat Zhou Enlai, premier of the People's Republic, authorizes emergency funding for its repair
September, at a City Planning Meeting the Soviet urban specialist A.C. Maxim's plan to make Hangzhou into the 'Geneva of the East' is discussed [⇒]
27 December, Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, takes up residence in Liu Villa on the Inner West Lake of West Lake (for further details, see 'Mao Zedong at West Lake: a chronology'). The villa has been remodeled by the architect Dai Nianci 戴念慈 [⇒]
January 1954, the Dharma Master Hongyi Memorial Pagoda is built at Running Tiger Temple (Hupao Si 虎跑寺) by Feng Zikai with the support of other lay Buddhists and the Singapore-based monk Guangqia 廣洽 [⇒]
8 June, Premier Zhou Enlai invites the British Prime Minister, Anthony Eden, to a reception and screening of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai 梁山伯與祝英台, 'the Romeo and Juliet of China' [⇒]
October 1956, during a state visit by the Indonesian President Suharto Zhou Enlai and Foreign Minister Chen Yi go to Hangzhou and tour West Lake. When at West Lake again in the company of Soviet dignitaries Zhou goes to Running Tiger Temple (Hupao Si 虎跑寺) and introduces the legends related to Master Ji (Ji Gong 濟公, 1130-1209) who is buried there. Ji, also known as Mad Monk Ji (Ji Dian 濟癲), is legendary for having protected the innocent. During 1956-57, Zhou issues instructions to protect certain 'revolutionary artifacts' and graves on West Lake. In particular, while taking a stroll after a meal at Louwai Lou on Solitary Island he asks local leaders to ensure that the courtesan Su Xiaoxiao's grave, and the pavilion protecting it (the Pavilion of Admired Talent) be preserved. Neither survive the lead up to the Cultural Revolution and they are demolished in December 1964
1957, Zhou Enlai visits Meijia Wu 梅家塢, the home of Dragon Well tea (Longjing cha 龍井茶), and over five trips there becomes closely involved in the revitalization of the local brand
1958, Dai Nianci 戴念慈 is charged with expanding Wang Villa (see 1927) which has been in a state of disrepair since 1937. The guarded complex incorporates Evening Glow Mountain (Xizhao Shan 夕照山), Su Family Hill (Sujia Shan 蘇家山), Evening Glow Temple (Xizhao Si 夕照寺) and White Cloud Nunnery (Baiyun An 白雲庵), which Sun Yat-sen had visited in 1910. The villa is for the exclusive use of Party and international dignitaries. Mao Zedong stays there some twenty-seven times
November 1959, Mao Zedong warns of the dangers of 'peaceful evolution' at a Party meeting held at the Dahua Hotel (Dahua Binguan 大華賓館)
1959-66, every winter Zhu De (朱德, 1886-1976) visits West Lake on what are called 'tours of inspection '(shicha 視察). During these trips Zhu, a robust former Red Army leader, enjoys hiking in the hills around the Lake. He also takes a special interest in the cultivation of orchids, even as the country of which he is one of the leaders lurches towards political radicalism
1962, John Leighton Stuart dies in Washington. He has expressed the hope that he will be buried in Beijing on the campus of the university he helped found
1964, Wu Song's Tomb (Wu Song mu 武松墓) near to Xiling Bridge is demolished; however, the progressive poet, writer and artist Su Manshu (蘇曼殊, 1884-1918), whose grave on the northern side of Solitary Hill caved in during the 1950s, is reburied at Chicken Coop Hill (Jilong Shan 雞籠山) on the southwest edge of West Lake
Fig.8 A view of Breeze Amongst the Lotuses of Brewing Courtyard (
Quyuan Fenghe 麴院風荷). (Photograph: GRB)
1966, the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution is formally launched and a campaign is initiated to obliterate 'the Four Olds', as a result of which many cultural sites and antiquities are damaged or destroyed
August 1966, Zhou Enlai sends a telegram to the Hangzhou authorities ordering the closure of the Temple of the Soul's Retreat to prevent it from being sacked by Red Guards.
August, the philosopher Ma Yifu (馬一浮, wanhao Juansou 蠲叟, 1883-1967) enjoyed state largesse from the 1950s. As a prominent 'fellow traveller' he is permitted to live in Jiang Villa (Jiang Zhuang 蔣莊) on the Su Causeway. Located next to Viewing Fish at Flower Harbour (Huagang Guan Yu 花港觀魚) the villa was built by Lian Huiqing 廉惠卿 in the late-Qing who called it the 'Small Hall of Ten-thousand Willows' (Xiao Wanliu Tang 小萬柳堂). During the Republic it was purchased by Jiang Guobang 蔣國榜, a disciple of Ma's from Nanjing. In 1950, Jiang invited his mentor to take up residence in the spacious, renovated two-storey building, which was now known as Jiang Villa. During the 1950s and early 60s, Ma is courted by and paid homage to by Communist Party leaders including Zhou Enlai and the Shanghai Mayor Chen Yi 陳毅. Denounced by Red Guards as a 'feudal remnant' (fengjian yilao 封建遺老) in Augusts 1966, Ma is ejected from Jiang Villa and dies shortly thereafter
1966, rebels against the old Party organization seize power in Hangzhou and Zhejiang province. One of the victims of the purge is the post-1949 Hangzhou mayor Jiang Hua 江華. Originally from Hunan, Mao's home province, Jiang became provincial head in 1951 and, among other things, tirelessly catered for the Chairman's needs during his numerous trips to West Lake
1966-67, local and non-Hangzhou Red Guards attack various sites on West Lake, in particular the Tomb of Yue Fei. Yue is denounced as a 'representative figure of feudal landlords'. The Dharma Master Hongyi Memorial Pagoda at Running Tiger Temple built in 1956 is also demolished, as are many other sites at the temple. Nonetheless, Red Guards on 'revolutionary link-ups' (geming da chuanlian 革命大串聯) take time out from their destructive political enterprise to visit the sites and enjoy boating on West Lake
Late 1960s and early 1970s, repairs are made to various sites on West Lake and buildings are refurbished due to visits by the Cambodian prince Norodom Sihanouk and Richard Nixon, President of the United States
December 1971, Zhou Enlai orders the repair of the runway at Hangzhou Airport in preparation for Richard Nixon's visit
26-27 February 1972, Richard Nixon in the company of Zhou Enlai stays at Liu Villa, West Lake. While there they finalize the text of the Shanghai Communiqué (formally titled 'The Joint Communiqué of the United States of America and the People's Republic of China'). Zhou also accompanies Nixon to visit Viewing Fish at Flower Harbour and other scenic spots at West Lake
1972, pre-Cultural Revolution leaders are restored to power in Hangzhou following the fall of Lin Biao in September 1971
January 1973, the former Shanghai worker Wang Hongwen 王洪文 who had enjoyed a meteoric rise to national power with Mao's support and wa now a member of the Beijing Cultural Revolution leadership visits Hangzhou. He meets with the formerly disgraced rebel faction leader Weng Senhe 翁森鹤, originally a Silk Printing and Dyeing Factory worker and offers him encouragement and support against the restored Party leaders
August, Weng Senhe attends the Tenth Party Congress in Beijing as a representative from Hangzhou. In his speech at the Congress Wang Hongwen extols the 'spirit of going against the tide'
15-16 September, Zhou Enlai and Ji Pengfei accompany the French President George Pompidou on a state visit that includes a trip to Hangzhou and West Lake. They discuss nuclear armaments while enjoying West Lake at night. During this trip Zhou spoke about a time in the future when the People's Republic, having gained accession to the United Nations, would be able to host international conferences at West Lake
1974, factional struggles involving Party leaders and workers continue throughout the year, occasioning violence
8 February-14 April 1975, Mao's last stay at West Lake. He lives at Building Number One, Wang Villa (Wang Zhuang Yi Hao Lou 汪莊一號樓)
July, factional strife is suppressed by force and the rebel leader Weng Senhe is detained
9 September 1976, Mao Zedong dies and is succeed by Hua Guofeng 華國鋒 as Party Chairman
August-September 1977, celebrations mark Hua Guofeng's calligraphic inscriptions for the provincial Zhejiang Daily (Zhejiang Ribao 浙江日報) newspaper followed by that for Hangzhou Daily (Hangzhou Ribao 杭州日報)
December 1978, the Cultural Revolution era and the politics of class struggle come to an end and are replaced by policies favouring economics, enterprise and trade
The Reform Era, 1978-2000
September 1979, Wang Villa, now renamed Zhejiang Xizi Guest House (Zhejiang Xizi Binguan 浙江西子賓館), which was previously restricted to party-state leaders is opened to foreign travellers. It remains a state guesthouse and is frequently used by visiting dignitaries, local and foreign
During the 1980s, the long and arduous process is undertaken by local city and garden planners aimed at convincing party-state organizations that have occupied prize buildings and sites on or near West Lake to relocate. This continues into the new millennium
1980s, a statue of Lu Xun is located at West Lake Park One (Xihu Yi Gongyuan) on the northeast corner of the lake near a major traffic intersection. This is satirized by local citizens not only for the inappropriate position of a statue of the revered writer, but also in light of the fact that Lu Xun died of tuberculosis. By positioning a statue of him at a polluted intersection this seemed to be an act that added injury to insult. Lu Xun is moved to Solitary Hill and replaced first by a large floral sculpture and then a clock.
1980, the Dharma Master Memorial Pagoda is rebuilt at Running Tiger Temple with funds from the devout
1981, the first phase of the re-development of Breeze Amongst the Lotuses of Brewing Courtyard (Quyuan Fenghe 麴院風荷). Prior to this, the area was surrounded by a wall and devoted to farms for raising chickens and ducks, with employees' temporary housing. Prior to the re-development of Lotus, the area in front of the Tomb of Yue Fei was cut off from West Lake by a wall and sundry structures. These were gradually demolished. Also in this year the tomb of the revolutionary, philosopher and writer Zhang Taiyan (章太炎, ming 炳麟, 1869-1936) is restored
5 August, the State Council issues a report on protecting and redeveloping West Lake
1982, earth is added to Master Ruan's Islet in West Lake just south of Solitary Island. This third island in the Lake proper was formerly too low in the water to be accessible; it is now developed into a tourist spot
20 September 1983, Party General Secretary Hu Yaobang (胡耀邦, d.1989) comments on a report about illegal structures on West Lake that they must be removed. Over time other leaders in Beijing also comment on the need to clean up the Lake and protect it as a cultural property
1984, part of the grounds of the Dahua Hotel and buildings formerly belong to the School of Chinese Medicine are converted in Number One Lakeside Park (Hubin Yi Gongyuan 湖濱一公園). Also in this year a formal organization charged with the redesign of the northwest lakeshore is established
1985-86, Ten New Scenes of West Lake (Xihu Xin Shijing 西湖新十景) are selected under the auspices of Hangzhou Daily, the West Lake parks and gardens administration and a number of local industries. Stelae with the titles of the new scenes inscribed on them are erected in 1986. The scenes were: 1. 雲棲竹徑 (Bamboo-lined Path at Yunqi); 2. 滿隴桂雨 (Osmanthus Rain at Manlong Village); 3. 虎跑夢泉 (Dreaming of Spring Water at Hupao Valley); 4. 龙井问茶 (Searching for Tea at Dragon Well); 5. 九溪煙樹 (Nine-creeks Meandering Through the Misty Forest); 6. 吳山天風 (Heavenly Wind Over Wu Hill); 7. 阮墩环碧 (Master Ruan's Islet Suffused in Emerald); 8. 黃龍吐翠 (Yellow Dragon Cave Filled with Green); 9. 玉皇飛雲 (Clouds Scudding Over the Hill of the Jade Emperor); and, 10. 寶石流霞 (Precious Stone Hill Floating on Roseate Clouds)
January 1988, the Zhang Taiyan Museum (Zhang Taiyan Jinian Guan 章太炎紀念館) just south of Su Causeway opens
Fig.9 Lake Heart Pavilion. (Photograph: GRB)
8 August, a typhoon strikes Hangzhou and 123 of the 142 trees on the Bai Causeway are felled. Local citizens are so distressed that they rush to the scene to save the devastated trees. The local Party authorities are astounded by this spontaneous demonstration of civic concern
1990s, the garish lights that were introduced around West Lake during the previous decade become more dominant
1990, the second phase in the re-development of Lotus. The West Lake Public Security Bureau, previously located on the western edge of the present scenic zone was relocated. Also in this year, Jiang Villa is refurbished as a memorial to the late philosopher Ma Yifu, who had lived there from 1950 until being hounded out by Red Guards in 1966, and opened to the public
1991, various government organizations located to the west of the approach to Yue Fei's Tomb, including the West Lake Traffic Police Force, government offices related to industry and public transportation, as well as the local official travel bureau and some forty-eight households were relocated. After seven years of tortuous negotiations (from 1982-1989) Guo Zhuang (Guo Zhuang Fenyang Bieshu 郭莊汾陽別墅) is opened as a teahouse and public park following refurbishment
1992, the Yue Fei Tomb shopping mall is built
December 1992, Deng Xiaoping visits West Lake and instructs local officials to enhance the tourist value of the area
1993, various government organizations located to the east of the approach to Yue Fei's Tomb, including the education and cultural bureaux, as well as the West Lake Parks and Cultural Artifacts Management Bureau, are relocated
1994, the noted martial arts novelist and Hong Kong media tycoon Jin Yong 金庸 (the penname of Zha Liangyong 查良鏞, b.1924) invests 140 million yuan to build the Cloud Pine Studio (Yunsong Shushe 雲松書社) to the northeast of Nine Li of Clouds and Pines, not far from the offices of the relocated West Lake tourist administration. Completed in June 1996 this garden-studio-restaurant complex is handed over to the Hangzhou government in November and opened to the public in February 1997
1995, the commemorative arch to the Song dynasty general Yue Fei's loyalty (the Bixie Danxin Bei 碧血丹心碑) is finished and the plaza in front of the Yue Fei Temple is completed
1996, after six years of work the Garden of Unadorned Bamboo (Zhusu Yuan 竹素園) to the immediate south-west of the Yue Fei Temple is completed. This garden was originally built in the 1731 as part of a complex dedicated to the tutelary spirit of the Lake, but later allowed to fall into ruin. Also during 1996 the clock at West Lake Park One dating from the 1980s is replaced by an ungainly 'Phoenix Beauty' (Meiren Feng 美人鳳).
1997, Chen Xing 陳星 founds the Master Hongyi and Feng Zikai Research Institute (Hongyi Dashi, Feng Zikai Yanjiu Zhongxin 弘一大師、豐子愷研究中心)
2000, Cheng Villa, Chiang Kai-shek's former West Lake residence, is listed as a municipal cultural property. It opens to the public as the Cheng Villa Café (Cheng Lu kafeiguan 澄廬咖啡館)
West Lake Redesigned, 2001-2011
Fig.10 Recasting West Lake: 'Lively in the South' (南旺). (Source: tourist pamphlet)
Fig.11 Recasting West Lake: 'Tranquil in the West' (西幽). (Source: tourist pamphlet)
6 September 2001, a meeting of the Hangzhou municipal government approves the 'West Lake Westward Expansion' (Xihu xijin 西湖西进) plan proposed by Zhang Jianting 張建庭 and his colleagues. Ten projects along the southern edge of the lake are given priority
July 2001, work on rebuilding the Academy of Ten-thousand Pines (Wansong Shuyuan 萬松書院) to the south of West Lake commences. A temple during Tang period it became a major academy in 1498 during the Ming. Various noted Confucian scholars lectured there; it is also noted for its association with the famous Qing poet Yuan Mei (袁枚, 1716-97), a native of Qiantang
2002-2004, an overall strategy approved and realized with the aim of creating a West Lake scenic zone that is 'busy in the East; lively in the South; tranquil in the West; refined in the North and stunning in the Centre' (dong re nan wang xi you bei ya zhong liang 東熱南旺西幽北雅中靚)
1 February 2002, the Ninth Party Congress of the Hangzhou Municipality is held and during the meeting plans for the redevelopment of West Lake are approved. Thereafter, the West Lake South Periphery Integration Project (Xihu nanxian zhenghe gongcheng 西湖南线整合工程) is launched. It covers an area of over fifty hectares, and some twenty-seven per cent of the road surface area around the lake. The project joins the disparate major parks long the eastern and southern shores of the lake, eliminated entry fees and ticket sales to create the 'Lake Scenic Belt' (shili huanhu jingguandai 十里環湖景觀帶). It is argued that this gives contemporary expression to the old saying that West Lake is 'misty hills on three sides with a city on the fourth' (san mian yunshan yi mian cheng 三面雲山一面城).
As a result during 2002, the 'South Line' of West Lake is constructed joining up all of the lakeside parks and walkways on the east and southern shores of the lake (including the Liulang 柳浪, Yongjin 涌金, Ertong 兒童 and Changqiao 長橋 parks). During this year Qingzhao Pavilion (Qingzhao Ting 清照亭) is built near Qingbo Gate (Qingbo Men 清波門) to commemorate the poet Li Qingzhao (李清照, 1084-1155) of the Southern Song. An couplet at the pavilion reads: 清高才女，流離詞客；照灼文壇，點染湖風.
29 September, electric tourist buses that circle West Lake are introduced. A round trip is 13.5 kilometres
1 October, the 'South Line' is opened to the public and during the National Day holiday 1.29 million tourists visit
28 December, construction work starts on a traffic tunnel along the eastern littoral of the Lake. This and other new tunnels opened to the public the following year
2003, work commences on creating the Master Yang Causeway (Yang Gong Di 楊公堤) along with new scenes of West Lake. At Meijia Wu 梅家塢, the home of Dragon Well tea, a memorial to Premier Zhou Enlai is built in acknowledgement of his contributions to West Lake and the local tea industry.
Fig.12&13 Recasting West Lake: 'Refined in the North' (北雅). (Source: tourist pamphlet)
Construction of the Master Yang Causeway involves relocating over 150 households and work units and the demolition of numerous structures, but eventually it increases the expanse of the Lake by one sixth, to 6.4 square kilometres. This is approximately the size it was in the late-Kangxi reign period three hundred years earlier.
This year the Qian Family Temple (Qian ci 錢祠) located on the eastern shore of West Lake is opened to the public. The temple, which is primarily a museum, commemorates the founders of Hangzhou, and Qian Liu, the King of Wu-Yue who attempted to tame the tidal bore. The first temple celebrating the Qian family was built in the Northern Song. Also in 2003 the despised Beauty-Phoenix at West Lake Park One is replace by a large stone inscribed with the words 'Hangzhou West Lake' in the hand of the Qianlong emperor
30 March, 'Impression West Lake' (Yinxiang Xihu 印象西湖) a Las Vegas-esque song and dance extravaganza directed by the film-maker Zhang Yimou 張藝謀 starts a season in the northwest corner of West Lake
April, work on 'West Lake World' (Xihu Tiandi 西湖天地) designed by international consultants is complete. This dining and entertainment zone on the eastern shore of West Lake between the old Yongjin Gate and the Dahua Hotel was previously a walled compound occupied by party-state officials. Many of their large private homes are converted into restaurants and cafes, including Starbucks and Haagen Daaz outlets
8 September, musical fountains are start operating off the eastern shore of West Lake. The feature Chinese show tunes and a light display
10 September, various statues positioned in the Lake parks are unveiled. They include a statue of Marco Polo. Another statue set up in 1954 to commemorate China's support for Korea against the United States remains in situ
Fig.14 Recasting West Lake: 'Stunning in the Centre' (中靚). (Source: tourist pamphlet)
2004, the 'North Line' of West Lake is completed, including Bei Shan Road and fifteen historical and cultural properties. Also in this year, Wu Song's Tomb (Wu Song mu 武松墓) near to Xiling Bridge built in 1924 and demolished in 1964 is rebuilt with reference to old photographs. At this time the courtesan Su Xiaoxiao's tomb and the Pavilion of Admired Talent are also restored
2005, the plan to refurbish the Two Causeways and Three Islands (Liang di san dao 兩堤三島；兩堤：蘇堤、白堤；三島：小瀛洲、湖心亭、阮公墩) is completed, as is the building of the West Lake Museum
2006, the Six Scenes of Dragon Well (Long Jing Liu Jing 龍井六景) are completed. Also this year, following various investigations it is decided to reintroduce 'Boat Girls' (chuanniang 船娘) to act as guides to the Lake for visitors willing to pay the tariff. Twenty young women are employed who are supposed to be able to speak about the Lake and its history in Chinese and three foreign languages
20 May, Master Ji whose tome is at Running Tiger Spring is listed as part of West Lake's intangible cultural heritage
27 August 2007, following an involved process of popular nomination and expert consultation, another set of 'New Ten Scenes of West Lake' (Xihu Xin Shijing 西湖新十景) are announced at the Ninth West Lake Expo. They are: 靈隱禪蹤、 六和聽濤、岳墓棲霞、 湖濱晴雨、 錢祠表忠，萬松書緣、楊堤景行、 三台雲水、 梅塢春早、 北街夢尋 (or, in simplified characters: 灵隐禅踪、 六和听涛、岳墓栖霞、 湖滨晴雨、 钱祠表忠，万松书缘、杨堤景行、 三台云水、 梅坞春早、 北街梦寻).
17 November 2008, following successful appeals to Chinese Party leaders John Leighton Stuart's ashes are buried in Hangzhou, forty-six years after his death. He had wished to be interred on the campus of Yenching University (now Peking University), which he established
24 June 2011, West Lake is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as the 'West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou, comprising the West Lake and the hills surrounding its three sides' [⇒]
Bai Ding 白丁, collated, 'Major Events in Hangzhou: Yuan, Ming, Qing Eras (1276-1911)' (Yuan Ming Qing shiqi Hangzhou dashi ji [1276-1911] 元明清時期杭州大事記 [1276-1911]), in
Keith Forster, 'Spontaneous and Institutional Rebellion in the Cultural Revolution: The Extraordinary Case of Weng Senhe', The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs, No.27 (January 1992): 39-75.
Zhang Jianting, 'Thirty Years on Hangzhou's West Lake: Deputy-Mayor Zhang Jianting Looks Back on the Development and Protection of West Lake' (Zhang Jingting fushizhang guanyu Xihu fazhan he baohude huigu 杭州西湖三十年: 张建庭副市长关于西湖发展和保护的回顾), recorded by Yan Ge 嚴格 and Gu Qizheng 古其錚.
