West Lake or Xī Hú is a famous fresh water lake located in the historic area of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province in eastern China. It evolved from a shallow bay through which the Qiantang River flowed into the East China Sea. In the ancient times it was called Wulin Waters, Golden Buffalo Lake, Qiantang Lake and Xizi Lake.

　　西湖是座落在歷史悠久的中國東部浙江省會城市杭州的著名的一個淡水湖泊，是由古代錢塘江流入東海前的一個淺海灣演變而成的。古稱西湖為“武林水”、“錢塘湖”、“西子湖”等。

　　The name of West Lake was fixed as early as the Tang Dynasty (618-907). In the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the Chinese renowned(著名)poet Su Dongpo wrote a poem to praise the West Lake and compared it to Xizi, a Chinese legendary beauty. Since then, the West Lake has another elegant name Xizi Lake. And as it lies in the west of Hangzhou, it is usually called the West Lake.

　　西湖的名字早在唐朝(618-907)就固定下來。 在宋代 (960-1279 年)，中國著名詩人蘇東坡寫的一首詩來贊美西湖，把它和中國傳說中的美麗西子相比。自那時以來，西湖有另一種優雅的名字西子湖。并且由于它位于杭州市西部，它通常稱為西湖。

　　West Lake covers an area of 6.38 square kilometers. The average depth is 2.27meters with deepest being 5 meters. Three sides of the lake are surrounded by verdant（翠綠的） mountains and one side the prosperous（繁榮的） city. After a large scale reconstruction（重建）, the current West Lake has recovered the panorama（全景） over 300 years before when it reached the most prosperous period in history。

　　西湖水域面積為6.38平方公里ニ深平均2.27米。西湖三面環山，一面瀕城。西湖大規模重建后，目前已恢復全景超過300年之前，它到達最繁華的歷史時期。 Centering around the West Lake, the scenic area is a national scenic area with a total cover of 59 square kilometers. There are over 60 Chinese national, provincial and municipal cultural relic protection sites and over 100 scenic areas. The main attractions include: Ten scenes of the West Lake, Ten New Scenes of the West Lake; Lingyin Temple, General Yuefei’ Temple and Pagoda of Six Harmonies and so on.

　　以西湖為核心的西湖風景名勝區總面積59平方公里，是中國國家級風景名勝區。區內有國家級、省級、市級文物保護單位60多處和風景名勝100余處。其中主要有“西湖十景”、“新西湖十景”有靈隱寺、岳王廟、六和塔等等。

　　The lake is divided into 5 parts by the causeways of Sū Dī (蘇堤), Bái Dī (白堤), and Yánggōng Dī (楊公堤 ). There are numerous temples, pagodas, gardens, and artificial islands within the lake.With ripples on the water’s surface and thickly-wooded hills dotted by exquisite pavilions on its four sides, the West Lake is one of China’s best known scenic spots.

　　西湖被蘇堤、白堤和楊公堤分割成五部分，有許多寺廟、 寶塔、 花園、 和內湖人工島嶼。湖水泛著漣漪，四周山林茂密，點綴著樓臺亭閣，是我國最有名的旅游景點之一。

　　The famous West Lake is like a brilliant pearl embedded in the beautiful and fertile shores of the East China Sea near the mouth of the Hangzhou Bay.

　　The famous Italian traveler Marco Polo was so impressed by the beauty of Hangzhou that he described it as “the most fascinating city in the world where one feels that one is in paradise.” As it is beautiful all the year round, the West Lake was compared by Su Dongpo, a celebrated poet of the Song Dynasty, to a beauty “who is always charming in either light or heavy makeup.”

　　著名的西湖就像一顆璀璨的明珠，鑲嵌在美麗富饒的杭州灣口附近的中國東海沿岸。意大利著名旅行家馬可·波羅曾這樣敘述他印象中的杭州：“這是世界上最美妙迷人的城市，它使人覺得自己是在天堂。”西湖一年四季都美不勝收，宋代著名詩人蘇東坡用“淡妝濃抹總相宜”的詩句來贊譽西湖。

　　And the beauty of the West Lake lies in its lingering charm（韻味）that survives the change of seasons in a year and of hours in a day. Among its beautiful sights, the most famous sites are the Ten Sights in West Lake （西湖十景） .

　　A collection of ten scenic views formed during the Southern Song Dynasty, they are distributed around and within the lake, and serve to show the charms of the West Lake. Each scene is unique, and when taken together, are said to present the essence of West Lake scenery, and form the core of any West Lake tour. Visitors to the lake can plan to spend their time viewing the "Ten Scenes of the West Lake".

　　西湖的美在于它的韻味，存在于它一年四季甚至是每天、每刻的變化之中。在其美麗的景點之中，最著名是西湖十景。

　　在南宋期間，形成了十景的說法，它們分布在附近和內湖，有助于展現西湖的魅力 。每個景點都是獨一無二的，并且當他們結合在一起時，可以說展現了西湖風景的精華，構成任何西湖旅游的核心 。到西湖的'游客可以計劃花一些時間在觀看“西湖十景”中。 The first one is Spring Dawn at Su Causeway （蘇堤春曉）.

　　It is a thin strip of land nearly three kilometers long covered with peach and weeping willow trees. In spring, with the lakeside and dew sparkling(閃閃發光的) in the morning , birds cheerfully chirping among swaying willow branches, the scent of peach blossoms wafting through the air, you'll question whether you're in the midst of paradise.

　　它是一條近3公里長的土地，陸地幾乎被桃和垂柳樹覆蓋 。在春天，湖畔波光粼粼，清晨的露珠閃爍，鳥兒鳴叫在搖曳的柳枝中，桃花在空中飄揚的香味，你會懷疑你是否在天堂之中。

　　The second one is Breeze-ruffled Lotus at Quyuan Garden(曲院風荷）

　　This typical West Lake scene has earned its fame since the Southern Song Dynasty, when the lakeside area with an abundant growth of lotus(荷花) off its shores was known as Crooked Courtyard, and was the location of a brewery（啤酒廠）. People said the smell of lotus flowers and wine blended by the cool lake breezes was intoxicating（醉人的）. There are plenty of lotus plants still bloom off its shores. They stand gracefully erect in the lake, as if they knew they had visitors coming to admire their beauty.

　　這個典型的杭州西湖景點從南宋就贏得了它的名望，當湖邊區域蓮花大量生長的時候，它岸邊叫被稱為作曲院，并且是啤酒廠的地點。人們說蓮花的香味和酒香混合西湖的微風令人陶醉。有很多的荷花仍綻放在湖岸。他們優雅地矗立在湖中，好像知道他們有訪客來欣賞自己的美麗。