West Lake & Leifeng Pagoda, Hangzhou

항저우 서호와 뇌봉탑

West Lake, or Xihu, is a freshwater lake in Hangzhou, China. It is about 6.4 square kilometres in area, stretching 3.2 kilometres from north to south. Four causeways cross the water, three artificial islands lie in it, and Gushan is its only natural island. Hills circle the lake, and the Leifeng and Baochu pagodas stand on its south and north shores.

See it on the 3D globe →

At a glance

Country: China
Location: Hangzhou, China
Built: 2002 (pagoda)
Height: 71 m

Quick answers

Where is West Lake & Leifeng Pagoda, Hangzhou?

West Lake & Leifeng Pagoda, Hangzhou is in Hangzhou, China.

How tall is West Lake & Leifeng Pagoda, Hangzhou?

West Lake & Leifeng Pagoda, Hangzhou is about 71 m tall.

The lake of countless poems and paintings, with Leifeng Pagoda, the Su Causeway and the Broken Bridge; a UNESCO World Heritage site.

It has attracted visitors since the Tang dynasty and inspired poets and painters for centuries. UNESCO made it a World Heritage Site in 2011, praising it as an idealised fusion of humans and nature that influenced garden designs in China, Japan and Korea.

A lake of poems and paintings

By the Song dynasty, when the capital moved to Hangzhou, West Lake was a cultural landmark and one of China's most visited places. Marco Polo introduced it to Europeans. It has appeared on Chinese banknotes and in the Chinese passport. Famous temples such as Lingyin and Jingci nestle in the mountains west of the lake. The lake area is crowded on public holidays and has been run by a special management committee for culture and gardening since 2002.

Pagodas and causeways

Leifeng Pagoda on the south shore was rebuilt in 2002; the original, built in 975, collapsed in 1924. The Bai Causeway is linked to the Tang poet Bai Juyi, who is said to have built a stronger embankment here. West Lake was the first major Chinese tourist attraction to stop charging admission, and during the 2024 National Day holiday it welcomed 4.426 million visitors in seven days.