Solitary Island (West Lake)

There is an island in the northwest of the West Lake called "Solitary" (Gu Shan), but it isn't lonely anyway nowadays, because it is a key tourist attraction in Hangzhou. The name of it came from the historical fact that the scenery here was so beautiful, ancient emperors loved it so much and occupied the whole island, therefore it was resided by the emperor only. In the Song Dynasty, the Emperor Lizong ordered to build a palace here, which occupied more than a half of the island's area. The two emperors of the Qing Dynasty, Kangxi and Yongzheng have established palaces here too.

The Qiu Jin's Tomb (she was a democratic heroine who took part in Dr. Sun Yatsen's team of fighters in the 1900s), the Xiling Seal Society, the Louwailou Restaurant and "Autumn Moon on a Calm Lake Pavilion" are the attractions on the Solitary Island. Two bridges, the Xiling and the Bai Causeway are linking the island to the land in the northwest and northeast respectively. On the Bai Causeway, the famous scene "Melting Snow on the Broken Bridge" can be seen if you're lucky. You can appreciate the beauty of the island either by taking the West Lake boat services or walking on it or do the both.