West Lake Museum

This guide to the West Lake Museum in Hangzhou explains why, on some of the most painted shoreline in China, planners chose to bury most of China's first lake-dedicated museum underground when it opened in 2005. It traces the architects' decision to protect the willow-lined view above ground while carving galleries and storage vaults into the earth below. You'll hear how they solved the problem of lighting rooms with no windows, funneling daylight down through skylights cut into a roof of open lawn. Stand on the grass overhead and picture the collection resting beneath your feet.