The three pagodas－a scene from dreams

West Lake is the centerpiece of Hangzhou's tourism appeal. [Photo by Wang Jianhua/Xinhua]

Local people－or a Buddhist saint, depending on which version of the folk tale you believe－are said to have carved an incense burner out of a giant rock and finally subdued the fish demon by placing the burner upside down on its body. According to this myth, what project out of the water today are the legs of the stone burner.

Also, if you believe in this tale, you will probably take July 29, 2013, as the night when the fish demon made a desperate attempt to break free.

On that night, one of the pagodas fell into the lake after it was hit by a boat.

Perhaps to forestall the prospect of the story of the missing pagoda from hitting cyberspace, agencies in charge of the lake and its cultural relics took immediate action. They called in frogmen to lift the pieces of the pagoda from the bottom of the lake. Fortunately, they were not damaged and the pagoda was restored before daybreak.

It was also then that many people learned that the pagodas are not single-piece structures, but rather are mortise-and-tenon structures.

No glue or cement was used to build them, say the authorities.

The structures came under the protection of the municipal government in 1992, and were elevated to provincial-level protection in 2005.

In 2013, as part of the Top 10 scenes of West Lake, the pagodas became a State-level relic.

Enchanting as the night scene is, the structures have an ethereal quality in the daytime, too. If you look closely, the pagodas and their perfect reflections are divided by a short and thin line of shimmering water, making them look like spinning tops.

And, if you remember the last scene from Christopher Nolan's film Inception, you'll know that the scene implies a dreamlike state.

Gliding on the storied lake, one is assured that traversing dreams and reality does not require 1,000 years of spiritual pursuits a la Madame White Snake.

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Aquatic bounty of Hangzhou

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