West Lake Museum 西湖博物馆

About West Lake Museum

Its displays connect the lake’s natural formation with successive dredging projects, historical figures and cultural influence. Much of the building sits below ground, with daylight brought into the interior. The lake model provides a useful starting point before moving into the natural-history and human-history material. This page refers to the Nanshan Road West Lake branch, within the wider museum organisation formed in 2020.

The West Lake Museum opened on 1 October 2005 next to the Qian Wang Ci (钱王祠) on Nanshan Road, and is described in the source as China's first museum devoted specifically to a lake (中国第一座湖泊类专题博物馆). In April 2020 it was combined with the Hangzhou Celebrities Memorial Hall (杭州名人纪念馆) and the Southern Song Official Kiln Museum (南宋官窑博物馆) to form the Hangzhou West Lake Museum general museum (杭州西湖博物馆总馆).

The site covers 22,480 square meters, with a total building floor area of 8,500 square meters, of which only 2,000 square meters rise above ground. The natural-history section displays rock and animal specimens illustrating how the lake was formed, while the human-history section presents historical figures and literary and mythological material associated with the lake. The museum includes a research institute and shows a 120-degree stereoscopic film and a 270-degree panoramic film. According to the English-language source, the exhibition hall covers 2,875 square meters with a display length of up to 310 meters, showing 516 pictures and 389 items. Citizen donations have also added to the collection.

What to look for

• The lake model, useful for understanding the causeways, shore and hills.
• Displays on the lake’s formation, dredging and cultural history.

Location & getting there

Getting to West Lake Museum

Go to the West Lake branch at No 89 Nanshan Road beside King Qian’s Memorial. Specify this branch when arranging transport, as the wider museum organisation also includes other sites.