A City Built Along the Shores of a Historic Lake
Disappointed as I was with the lobby of the Leifeng Pagoda, I reason that since I already paid for it, I might as well explore the rest of the pagoda. I decided not to take the lift but instead I took the stairs. The pagoda was a couple of stories high and I wasn’t surprised to see a viewing deck on top of the pagoda. Now, the Leifeng Pagoda was built on top of a hill and it probably the highest point in the area. Naturally, you can see a great deal from here.
View of West Lake from Leifeng Pagoda 雷峰塔
The Leifeng Pagoda has a great view of the the West Lake. Visitors can climb up from to the top and admire the view. I guess it is much better than viewing it from the shore. The lake was quite large considering that it wasn’t even a lake before. It used to be part of the river whose outlet silted up a thousand years ago. From here you can also see the modern city of Hangzhou, which practically looks like any other Chinese city. I guess the entrance fee was worth it if only for the view. Much of the authenticity of the pagoda was lost due to the collapse of the original some decades ago.
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