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The West Lake is known because of Su Dongpo, a highly honored poet living in Song dynasty. He was exiled in Huizhou (In Chinese history, the south china was a desolated place) since he displeased the king. When he came to Huizhou, he found here a paradise in the world, the pure nature and simple people. He even met the beloved woman in Huizhou. In his rest life, he never left here, and wrote many poems to praise this place. So since then more and more people know about Huizhou.
Actually the West Lake is composed by five separated lakes、six bridges and eighteen scenic spots. I highly recommend the ‘Feng Zhu garden’—a traditional Chinese botanical garden. If you are interested in Chinese ancient architecture, it will be an excellent choice. Many lotuses are planted in this garden, so when summer comes, the lotus bloom, the garden is embraced by pink lotus, as a flower sea. And there is an island nor far away the garden, which is the home for many birds. Since people cannot get approach to it, it has been preserved very well. If you want to observe the birds, you can go to the observation tower with a telescope.
Another recommended scenic spot is ‘HongHua Lake’. Along the lake, an 18-miles ‘greenway’ (Bike lanes) is built by the government. You can take exercise meanwhile enjoy the perfect mountain-lake scenery. It is also an awesome choice for family activity. There are bikes to rent for the tourists and the prices are very reasonable. You can choose from different types of bikes as you like and there are even bicycles for two or three persons. In summer, many people like to swim in the lake because the water is cool and clean, but I need to warn you that it is quite dangerous to do that without professional coaches accompanying with you, especially dangerous for children.
In Huizhou, you may pay attention to a special plant, the kapok. The blood red flower is so bright. Actually the kapok is the city flower of Huizhou, as a symbol of diligence and courage. This plant is very unique; it blooms before all the leaves come out. And the blooms last very short period in the spring. Since the blooms can be made for medicines after drying under the sun, when its blooms fall on the floor, many people live nearby come to pick them and bring home. As the people have eaten it say, the flavor of the flowers is not bad.