西湖, literally West Lake, is a fresh water lake in the western area of Hangzhou in the Zhejiang province of eastern China. Although there are many “West Lakes” in the world, it is almost always referred to as the one in Hangzhou. The lake is divided into five areas (smaller lakes) by three causeways (蘇堤, 白堤, 楊公堤), three man-made islands (小瀛洲, 湖心亭, 阮公墩) and one natural hill known as Gu Shan. Be prepared for a fair bit of disappointment when you first get to the legendary West Lake. It’s nothing like what the Chinese poets have described the lake to be as street peddlers and throngs of tourists crowd your initial sights. But once you venture further away from the masses, you’ll be rewarded with willow-lined banks, ancient pagodas and hills shrouded with mist. And that’s when the real journey starts. You can get around with the cruise boats, but the best way to explore the legendary lake is on foot or bike.