China: Hangzhou – West Lake

Hangzhou’s West Lake is a UNESCO World Heritage site and it inspired monumental landscape architecture throughout East Asia, including the Summer Palace in Beijing. The lake’s layout is defined by historic, willow-lined pedestrian lanes and a trio of tranquil artificial islands. Among these, the floating stone pagodas of Three Pools Mirroring the Moon are so culturally significant that they are immortalized on China’s one-yuan banknote. Sadly, the weather didn’t really cooperate – high winds and rain made the exploration rather rough.