Lakeside Scenic Area

Lakeside Scenic Area

The Lakeside area serves as the main gateway from the urban district to West Lake, referred to in the Qing Dynasty as “Qixia Camp.” As a “city living room” that welcomes visitors, the Lakeside boasts a unique geographical location. The newly renovated Lakeside scenic area extends from Shengtang Sluice along Baisha Road, West Ring Road, Lakeside Road, to the lakeside land of Lakeside First Park, covering a total area of 10.85 hectares, with a shoreline stretching 1.2 kilometers. It is mainly divided into two parts: the Shengtang Scenic Area and the Lakeside Scenic Area. Major attractions in the Shengtang Scenic Area include the statue of Bai Juyi, the commemorative installation for Tang Dynasty official Li Bi’s water diversion project, the Marco Polo and Hangzhou memorial sculpture, and Shengtang Sluice. In the Lakeside Scenic Area, the vehicular lanes on Lakeside Road have been moved underground, and the originally narrow, about 20-meter-wide green belt has been transformed into a comprehensive leisure green space over 40 meters wide. New features added along the lake include lakeside docks, laser water screen movies, and dancing fountains. The new Lakeside area fully embodies Hangzhou’s humanistic spirit of being “exquisite and harmonious, as well as grand and open.”

Statue Commemorating Hangzhou Citizens Bidding Farewell to Bai Juyi The poet Bai Juyi served as the prefect of Hangzhou during the second year of the Changqing era in the Tang Dynasty. After taking office, he carried out large-scale dredging and management projects for West Lake, constructed dikes and sluices, and built irrigation systems for farmland. He also restored the Six Wells after Li Bi, earning deep affection from the local people. In May of the fourth year of Changqing (824), when Bai Juyi’s term ended and he was leaving for Luoyang, an emotional farewell scene unfolded as “elderly citizens of Hangzhou blocked his carriage’s path.” The statue titled “Hangzhou Citizens Bidding Farewell to Bai Juyi,” located in the greenbelt along Beishan Road, depicts the heartfelt scene of the city’s residents saying goodbye to their beloved “former mayor” as he departed.