Guozhuang Scenic Spot

This guide to Guozhuang Scenic Spot in Hangzhou opens at the moon-shaped gate, where the trick called jiejing, borrowed scenery, frames West Lake through a circle of brick until garden and lake blur together. It follows the silk merchant Song Duanfu, who laid out these ponds, corridors and rockery in 1907 and named the estate after himself, and the later trader Guo Shilin, who took over the property once the Song family's business failed. You'll hear how Guo's name replaced Song's on the gate despite barely touching the layout, while the covered corridor between the two ponds still follows Song's original plan. Stop at the lattice window of Jingsuge and look through it at the water.