We headed out to 西湖 for our second site visit on Thursday to look at the surrounding landscapes. The visit started at 郭庄, an old mansion that was preserved and restored, now open for viewing by visitors. Apart from the rustic charm of the old Chinese architecture and furniture in the manor, the beauty of the place was further enhanced by the well maintained gardens within. Shapes were carved out of the walkways which acted as frames to view certain sights through.

An assortment of trees and bright, colourful flowers lined the walkways and guided us to the main open square garden. Surrounding a pond at the centre was a beautiful array of different flora. I could only imagine how great it would be to wake up to a sight like this every day.

We followed a trail surrounded by tall trees along 西里湖, a small part of the lake that was segregated when  a walking trail cutting across the lake was built. The monotony of the trail was broken up by small pavilions and walkways which increased the aesthetics and gave the trail the feel of a park. We happened to see a photography exhibition as well along the way. There was parts of open fields as well as clusters of different trees, varying the treeline and skyline.

We visited the landscape of 孤山 as well. Although it’s lonely hill, it was only 38m in height. There we saw many people sketching and doing painting of the surrounding landscapes. The slightly elevated height allowed us a different view overseeing the lake.

As we walked on along 西湖 we visited the various touristy sites, including walking across 断桥 and 长桥, before ending off the visit by watching the light and water show at the 音乐喷泉.

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In recent years, people living in the city have been suffering from much anxiety and inconvenience due to the increasing urban population, expanding industry, transportation and excessive concentration of the city that caused various bad results. Meanwhile, it brings about impact on the operation of cities. Urban life imprison people in the city of reinforced concrete, which bound your heart like a cage. Mouse and man in the world need to slow down the pace of life to pursue the cozy field scenery in countryside and comfortable resting space, enjoy the baptism of nature and the sunshine bathing. We hope that the design of this project is to enable you who are long-term in a state of tension in the city life to relax yourselves, and to return to nature, experience culture, perceive life.

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