The captivating West Lake Day concert by artists from Italy and local musicians
The Italian artists visited West Lake and explored the love-themed bus No. 1314 Photo: Hangzhou West Lake Scenic Area Management Committee
By Zhu Jingning
On the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Italy, Italian artists from Conservatorio Rossini Pesaro and representatives from the business and cultural circles of Verona traveled a long distance to Hangzhou’s West Lake to celebrate this special day together with the local citizens.
June 24 marks the Hangzhou West Lake Day. It was on this day in 2011 that the West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou got inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Continuing the tradition of benefiting the public, all the ticketed attractions within the West Lake Scenic Area were free of charge on this very day.
A window of cultural friendship
The Italian friends excitedly boarded China’s first love-themed bus line No.1314 Bus and enjoyed a boat ride on West Lake, learning about the World Heritage Site in detail. At places like the Huxin Pavilion and Jixian Pavilion, the classical Chinese architecture and picturesque landscapes inspired the Italian artists to take out their violins and saxophones and improvise on the melody. The Italian friends also visited the Hangzhou-Verona Cultural Market, where the lakeside area was filled with various stalls in full swing, among which five stalls by Italian artists stood out with high popularity.
From Spring River Moonlit Night performed against the backdrop of mountains and water, to the interwoven tales of The Butterfly Lovers and Romeo and Juliet, Chinese and Italian artists came together in a harmonious cultural celebration of the two civilizations.
It does not matter if you missed this concert. Starting June 21, the 2025 West Lake Night Tour sets sail once again. The journey centers on Su Shi, the legendary Song Dynasty scholar and once “mayor” of Hangzhou. The performance includes recitation of poems, music, and dance, as well as the application of audio-visual technology. Will you board the night cruise boat and enjoy this bluesy view of West Lake?
West Lake is not only a beloved tourist destination for both residents and international visitors, but also a bridge of mutual learning among civilizations with its unique cultural appeal.
Over the years, West Lake has also been actively going global, strengthening cultural export and international exchanges, and has become a “window of world cultural friendship”. In March 2019, Hangzhou and Verona signed an agreement to promote, develop and share their respective UNESCO world heritage sites, ushering in a new chapter in cultural exchange between the two ancient cities. In November 2024, the pair of sister cities further signed the collaboration protocol.
A joint work of nature and humanity
If Hangzhou is a poem, West Lake represents its poetic soul.
West Lake is currently the only lake-based cultural heritage site among China’s World Heritage Sites. It is the culturally famous lake with the most outstanding spiritual habitation function in Chinese history.
The West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou, comprising West Lake and surroundings on three sides, has inspired famous poets, scholars and artists since the 9th century. It comprises numerous temples, pagodas, pavilions, gardens and ornamental trees, as well as causeways and artificial islands.
Among them, the most renowned ones are the landscape creations “Bai Causeway” and “Su Causeway” resulting from the dredging project of the West Lake organized by the great literary figures of the Tang and Song dynasties, such as Bai Juyi and Su Shi. Additionally, the most classic work of the original Chinese landscape aesthetic design method “inscribed landscape” is “Ten Scenic Views of West Lake”.
The West Lake has influenced garden design in the rest of China as well as Japan and Korea over the centuries and bears an exceptional testimony to the cultural tradition of improving landscapes to create a series of vistas reflecting an idealised fusion between humans and nature.
A shared environment for nature and people
More than 900 years after Su Shi dredged the West Lake, it remains as important to Hangzhou as water is to fish, but its connotation has changed beyond recognition from ancient time. Today’s West Lake culture in the new era is even more splendid and charming, and it plays an even more crucial role in the development of Hangzhou city. The West Lake Scenic Area has always adhered to the concept and practice of “harmony between man and nature”, strictly abiding by the World Heritage Convention, and persistently following a distinctive path of “win-win” between protection and development.
Through a series of innovative measures, a comprehensive, systematic and multi-level heritage protection assessment system capable of early warning monitoring is established for West Lake. Over 180 natural and cultural landscapes throughout the area have been protected, repaired and restored. The entire West Lake area has been fully connected, and all parks, scenic spots, and museums around the lake are open to the public for free, forming a brilliant cultural belt. The water quality of the West Lake has reached the national surface water Class III standard. In a recent biodiversity survey, it was found that 1,223 species of terrestrial higher plants, 238 species of terrestrial vertebrates, and 250 species of aquatic organisms make their home here.
Since 2019, the scenic area has embarked on the digitalization of the scenic area, equipping the West Lake with a “digital brain”. With the help of AI technology, the real-time number of visitors at popular scenic spots can be automatically identified, reminding the management department to take measures such as diversion and flow restriction in a timely manner. Tourists only need to click on their mobile phones to view the comfort level of the scenic spots and can choose to visit during off-peak hours according to the prompts.