The West Lake (西湖 Xīhú) is the spirit of Hangzhou and they are intertwined in a way that one cannot exist without the other. At first glance it is just a lake like many others but at closer inspection one sees how culture, people, and history redefine and transform a natural landmark into something more. Is it not the people that give meaning to things in this world beyond what they were at the start? The key word here is definitely "people". In the case of this lake it is the Chinese people. That's what struck me the most beyond the natural landmarks and human made structures. It was the love and the passion that people had for the West Lake. In addition to the multitude of photos everyone took from every single angle and location around the lake, I saw people singing, reciting famous poems about the lake with great emotion, and just enjoying and immersing themselves in what for them was an invaluable part of their cultural identity. Now regarding that cultural identity, many books can be written and probably have already been written. Those books would include the history of this lake, the list of royalty who visited it and sailed its waters, what temples and monuments were built to become beacons of light and beauty spread around the lake, and what poems and tales and myths were woven that added to the meanings of the lake, and many other things I cannot list here. One of the tales I learned about is a love story which takes place at West Lake. It is called The Legend of the White Snake (白蛇传 Báishé Chuán). It is one of China's four greatest folktales. In one scene at the end of the story the lovers reunite on the Broken Bridge (断桥 Duàn Qiáo) that is included in one of my pictures with pink flowers. This bridge has an magical essence that has been passed on by generations telling the tale. In the final part of the story the title character gets imprisoned under Leifeng Pagoda (雷峰塔) which is one of the pagodas in some of my pictures.