Photo left: Detail, Scenic Attractions of West Lake, Li Song, Ink and color on paper,14th century, Gift of Charles Lang Freer, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Photo right: Hangzhou West Lake, Toby Simkin (CC 2.0)

WEST LAKE, HANGZHOUCHINA

Just outside a city of eight million people, this constructed environment has been a haven of harmony and inspiration for more than 1,000 years.