Agency in the formation of West Lake landscape : the governance of Hangzhou 1949-2006

The landscape of West Lake, Hangzhou plays an important role in the formation of Hangzhou city and the modern Chinese nation – its designation of World Heritage Cultural Landscape was regarded as an outstanding achievement which transcended many of its predecessors. However, the formation of West Lake landscape, though has been studied by myriad researchers, has not been fully investigated through the lens of social governance, especially during the years 1949-2006. This paper is devoted to the study of the agencies behind the changing landscape to figure out the interaction between agents. The actions of different governmental, societal and international agents in Hangzhou local politics considering the governance of West Lake during 1949 – 2006 are studied. In this way, it is hoped to unveil the local dynamism in the making of West Lake and the city of Hangzhou, which stresses the background forces behind the evolvement of urban landscape