West Lake greeted me gracefully with her charming gardens in early spring of 2007. I have heard about the lake since I was a teenager in Indonesia. My first imagination of the lake was formed by the imported TV drama depicting the legend Lady White Snake. As soon as I indulged myself with the grandeur of the scenery, I realized that Marco polo was not the only admirer of the lake.

Along the lakeside, people are strolling along hand in hand. Some of them are families. Some are elderly people. There are also many couples and groups of tourists, like myself. I think people in China are lucky to still have some open-air public places that are non-commercial and well-maintained. Without money, people can still spend quiet time together with friends or loved ones in an open space, far from the bustling life in urban areas. It is a true luxury in our modern world.

In Indonesia, it is hard for me to find a place outside home or school where I can gather with friends. Most leisure places were out of town, in the beach or in the picturesque hilly countryside. Most cities don not spare an open public space for people to unwind from their daily activities. Shopping malls, street vendors, cafés, and restaurants become the standard hang-out places.

However, these places came with their cost. Even window-shopping in a mall would usually end up with a dine-in inside the mall. Most of the time, we have to spend money. Therefore, access to leisure was not available for every citizen.

In China, most cities still have public parks, even when the price of land are skyrocketing. In the case of Hangzhou, the park is the beautiful West Lake. The lake has been maintained by the city government for centuries. Citizens and visitors could always come, staring at its beauty for free, like a true heaven on earth.

40多位外教逼您说英语

词汇学习：

White Snake  中国神话故事《白蛇传》中的白蛇，传说被压在西湖畔的雷峰塔下
grandeur   壮丽，雄伟
bustling  繁华的，热闹的
picturesque  美丽的，风景如画的
unwind  放松，松弛
hang-out  常去的（地方）
skyrocketing  急升的，剧增的