Painting of the Broken Bridge over the West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang (China)

Tall willows shade the long embankment,
Through scattered leaves leak the rays of a waning moon.
With confident stride I pace the sand beneath the pines,
Thinking for a moment that perhaps it is snow upon which I tread

Poem by Zhang Dai about the Broken Bridge

translated by Duncan Campbell

Painting of the Qiantang River Bridge in Hangzhou, Zhejiang (China)

Great waves roll up like snowbanks white
The river extends till lost to sight
Jewels and pearls at the Fair on display
Satins and silks in splendid array

Poet Liu Young about Hangzhou

Painting of the Yudai Bridge over the West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang (China)

The West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou, comprising the West Lake and the hills surrounding its three sides, has inspired famous poets, scholars and artists since the 9th century. It comprises numerous temples, pagodas, pavilions, gardens and ornamental trees, as well as causeways and artificial islands. These additions have been made to improve the landscape west of the city of Hangzhou to the south of the Yangtze river.

West Lake Cultural Landspace of Hangzhou

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Broken Bridge across the West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang (China)

Two great snakes transform themselves into two young girls Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing. They travel to Hangzhou, where they meet a young man, named Xu Xian. Xu Xian and Bai Suzhen fall in love and got married. The abbot of Jinshan Temple tells Xu Xian that his wife is a snake and that he should have her drink realgar wine. Bai Suzhen unsuspectingly drinks the wine and reveals her true form as a snake. Xu Xian dies of shock. Bai Suzhen travels to dangerous Kunlun, where she steals a magical herb to give life to Xu Xian. But back to life, Xu Xian, fearful of his wife, travels to Jinshan Temple, where the abbott imprisons him in order to save himself from the snakes. When Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing fight with the abbott to rescue him, Xu Xian realizes his wife's love for him is genuine and no longer cares if she is a snake. He reunite with his wife on the Broken Bridge. Xiaoqing still furious, intends to kill him, but Bai Suzhen stops her. Xu Xian expresses his regret, and both girls forgive him.

Chinese legend about this bridge

Fuxing Bridge (Qiangjiang 4th Bridge) over the Qiantang River in Hangzhou (China)

Thunder heard a hundred miles,
The song of the lute falls still.
Horsemen stream from the compound gate
And riverside watch for the tide.
The sun hangs far in the autumn air,
Clouds float on the vastness of sea.
Then an egret wave like a surge of snow
All at once, a frost-born chill.

Poet Meng Haoran 

about Qiantang River weekly tide

Gongchen Bridge over the Grand Canal in Hangzhou, Zhejiang (China)

Remembering the Fair South,
As always, it is Hangzhou I most recall:
Amongst the mountain temples
I search for the osmanthus petals
From which the moon did fall.

Bai Ju Yi, VIII century

Bridges over a pond in Qu Yuan Garden, Hangzhou, Zhejiang (China)

Breeze in spring,

flowers in summer

moon in autumn,

snow in winter.

Qualities of a good garden 

according to a Chinese proverb