West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou

• Impacts of tourism / visitor / recreation (Visitor management arrangements)
• Buildings and Development (Encroachment/changes to skyline)

On 19 June 2017, at the request of the World Heritage Centre, the State Party submitted a progress report outlining actions undertaken to meet the recommendations made by the Committee at the time of inscription of the property, in Decision 35 COM 8B.25 (UNESCO, 2011). The State Party reported the implementation of:

• Regulations on the Protection and Management of the property;
• A visitor monitoring and flow management system for the approximate 28 million annual visitors;
• An impact assessment system for new construction in the property and a large number of impact assessments for new construction having been undertaken.

ICOMOS assessed this report in May 2018, and its technical review concluded that:

• Further information was required on the requested demolition or height reduction of the eastern pavilion of the Shangri-La Hotel;
• Inventories of the key visual attributes of the property were required;
• The visitor monitoring system does not include the monitoring of visitor impacts;
• It remained unclear how the State Party informs the World Heritage Centre on projects within the area.

On 15 March 2019, the State Party submitted a follow-up report in response to a World Heritage Centre request, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1334/documents/ and provides the following information:

• The elevator room and the two top floors (6th and 7th) of the Shangri-La Hotel were demolished in March 2019. A report on the demolition was provided. In preparation for the demolition, the State Party first identified sensitive viewpoints over the property and graded them into three categories of importance. It also defined the ideal state for these views, based on the Statement of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). From the predefined viewpoints, a line-of-sight analysis was conducted and three demolition options were visually simulated and evaluated by an expert panel. Of the three options, the most dramatic, involving the removal of the elevator room and two floors, was chosen as the preferred option. The proposals included camouflage of the building by painting it in a colour that would blend with its surroundings. An analysis was undertaken to develop landscaping options to mitigate the residual visual impact of the remainder of the hotel. The solution involves screening by planting tall trees, which would have to reach 25–30 metres in height to achieve the desired effect while harmonizing with the natural environment. The State Party expressed its commitment to implementing this landscape option;
• Further details were also provided on the delineation of 17 sensitive viewpoints of the West Lake Cultural Landscape. These consist of primary viewpoints related to the “Ten Scenes of West Lake” codified in the Song Dynasty, as well as to the two causeways and three islands. Secondary viewpoints protect the “three-sided hills” and control the transition space between mountain, city, and the highly-sensitive viewpoints of Jindai Bridge and Lakeside Wharf. Tertiary viewpoints aim to strictly control the height of urban buildings behind the “three-sided hills” and analyse the harmonious relationship between the skyline of urban areas to the east of West Lake and the “three-sided hills”. For each viewpoint, the 360-degree horizon is divided into four parts. These important viewpoints are monitored as a basis to protect spatial patterns of the landscape surrounding the Lake in all directions and to avoid the negative impact of new construction in and around the urban areas.

The State Party’s actions to implement the recommendations made by the World Heritage Committee in Decision 35 COM 8B.25 are welcomed.

At the time of inscription, the local authority acknowledged that the construction of the 7-storey Shangri-La Hotel in 1961 had a considerable negative impact on the sublime views of the forested hills from certain parts of West Lake.

The State Party has now provided full details of the impact analysis undertaken of the hotel from seven viewpoints around the West Lake, and of three options to reduce its visual impact, the most extreme being the removal of two stories, which was considered the most beneficial.

Following the expiration of the hotel lease in October 2018, the demolition of the elevator room and two top floors of the east pavilion of the Shangri-La Hotel was undertaken in March 2019. The reduction in height, combined with proposals to paint the building a colour that would blend with its surroundings, has mitigated the negative visual impact of this building on certain key views from West Lake, as is demonstrated by the before and after images provided. Although some negative visual impact remains, as the buildings are still partially visible from four viewpoints (Gushan North viewpoint, Crane-releasing Pavilion viewpoint, Bai Causeway on the lake viewpoint and Jindai Bridge viewpoint), the State Party proposes to mitigate these remaining impacts by planting large trees on the plaza near the east side of the building and in the sloping fields on the south side of the building. The commitment of the local authority to follow through this major transformation is to be commended.

The report also provides a clear rationale for the identification of important viewpoints, their monitoring, and their relation with development proposals. This ensures that the skyline and the lines of the intermediate hills, around the West Lake and outside the urban zone, are strictly protected.

At the time of inscription, the challenges of controlling urban development pressure were noted, as was the potential negative impact of visitor pressure. The Committee recommended that the State Party ensure that protection is adequately applied, so that incremental change does not impact the overall harmony of the landscape. In particular, it highlighted the need to ensure that there is no encroachment of the city behind hills that are visible from the lake, that all relevant development is subject to Heritage Impact Assessments, which take into consideration the impact on the attributes of OUV, and that visitor management arrangements are strengthened.

As it is essential that Hangzhou City does not spread to meet the slopes of the hills that frame views of West Lake from the causeway, the Committee may wish to reiterate its recommendations and add that management of the urban setting of the property should reflect the 2011 UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape. Finally, as highlighted in the 2018 ICOMOS technical review, it is important that the State Party include the monitoring of the impact of visitors in the management framework for the property.