Surrounded by hills on three sides, Hangzhou’s West Lake has inspired poets and artists for centuries. Following in their footsteps today is Chinese director Zhang Yimou.

Zhang, who is famous for directing the Olympic opening ceremonies, as well as movies like Hero, is now working on an outdoor musical production entitled "Impression West Lake." Zhang previously directed two other outdoor musicals, “Impression Liu Shanjie," and “Impression Lijiang.”

"The beauty of the West Lake goes far beyond its natural scenery. Its stories and cultural heritage make the place more appealing. It's meaningless to replicate the plant and hills,” Wang Chaoge, Zhang Yimou’s co- director, said. “Instead, we try to create a space for imagination. It is a great challenge for us to turn real nature into an imaginary fairyland in people's minds. "

"The preparation involves a lot of research. It's not something you can do by reading a couple of traveling pamphlets,” Zhang said. "Instead, you have to consult with local scholars and industry officials to understand the essence of the cultural legacy. We have to see what is most representative of the west lake. Otherwise, we wouldn't even know where to start."

The basis of the performance is "the Legend of the White Snake", a story set in the Southern Song Dynasty in the West Lake. The story is about a female snake demon who assumes mortal, human form and a scholar who fall in love, but are separated when a monk casts the lady into a well near Leifeng Pagoda in order to save the scholar’s soul.

The show takes advantage of the lake’s beautiful scenery to create a dramatic spectacle, which has fascinated audiences around the world.

"I'm from Taiwan. I'm deeply touched by "The legend of the White Snake". It is such a splendid production. I've never seen anything like it anywhere else in the world,” one audience member said.

"I'm from Poland. I'm here for the second time. It's so fantastic, so beautiful. I'm coming back once more for sure. Because each time, it's completely different,” another audience member said.

Another aspect of the show is its creators environmental consciousness. "The environment of the West Lake does not only belong to the city of Hangzhou, or China. It belongs to the whole world,” Zhang said.

"The performance is just a small example when one takes into account the large environmental issue. We've spent a year on environmental protection. Even the route for the audience to enter and exit the site is designed to be environmentally friendly."

"Every night, we are in for a quality performance. But during the day time, removable seats are stashed away, the stage descends under the water and the boat and light pull away,” Fan Yue another co- director of the show said. “The originality of the West Lake is kept intact. We spare no effort to protect the environment."