The Yao Dai: Connecting Hangzhou's Past, Pesent and Future with a Tramline Promenade

1200 years ago, the Song dynasty poet Shu Dong Po composed a beautiful poetry expressing his love for Hangzhou’s West Lake. Since then, the themes of water, the West Lake, and the strong Chinese identity it embodies, have deeply influenced the development of the culture, politics and urban communities of Hangzhou. The city’s identity is inextricably bound to water and the West Lake. A thousand years later, however -- and given the violent historical events of the past century -- what kind of value and identity should be given to Hangzhou in today’s contemporary globalized world? Among all these environmental and social challenges, what is needed in Hangzhou in the 21st century? This thesis will introduce a platform that connects Hangzhou to a confident future.