概览
苏堤横贯西湖南北，全长近 3 公里，是北宋苏轼任杭州知州时以疏浚西湖的淤泥葑草堆筑而成。堤上六座石拱桥起伏有致，两侧桃柳相间，春日拂晓烟柳画桥，「苏堤春晓」位列西湖十景之首。苏堤南起南屏山麓、北至栖霞岭下，是西湖上最长的一条堤。它与白堤、杨公堤并称西湖三堤，却最得人心。[1]
历史沿革
北宋元祐四年（1089 年）苏轼再至杭州，时西湖葑草丛生、湖面淤塞，他上疏浚湖，将挖出的淤泥筑成长堤，杭州人感念其功，称「苏公堤」。南宋时「苏堤春晓」已定名入画，位列十景之首；后世历代疏浚西湖皆护此堤，堤上六桥、堤畔花木格局延续至今。明清两代多次整修堤桥，增植桃柳花木。[1]
看点
自南而北，映波、锁澜、望山、压堤、东浦、跨虹六桥依次排开，桥名皆出苏轼诗意；压堤桥畔是眺望全湖的最佳位置，康熙御题「苏堤春晓」碑即立于此。堤南端的花港观鱼、北端的曲院风荷与岳湖可顺势连游，堤上四季皆有花木消息。望山桥畔可观小南湖与花港的另一番水景。[1]
参观贴士
苏堤禁止机动车通行，步行全程约四十分钟，清晨六至八时人最少、光线最柔。推荐从北山街一端上堤、南山路一端下堤，顺游花港观鱼。春季清明前后桃花与垂柳最美，夏季清晨常有荷花露水；堤上无遮阴，夏日正午注意防晒补水。堤上无商店，请自备饮水，桥头两端才有补给点。[1]
Overview
Crossing West Lake from south to north for nearly 3 kilometers, the Su Causeway was built by the poet-official Su Shi from silt dredged during his great lake-cleaning of 1089. Six arched stone bridges rise along its length between alternating rows of peach and willow, and 'Spring Dawn at Su Causeway' ranks first among the Ten Scenes of West Lake.
Returning to Hangzhou in 1089 to find the lake choked with weeds, Su Shi petitioned to dredge it and piled the silt into this causeway — gratefully named 'Lord Su's Dike' by the townspeople. The Southern Song fixed 'Spring Dawn' in paint and verse, and every later dredging preserved the dike. The six bridges — Yingbo, Suolan, Wangshan, Yadi, Dongpu, Kuahong — carry names from Su Shi's own poetry; beside Yadi Bridge stands the Kangxi Emperor's stele for the scene, at the causeway's finest viewpoint.
No vehicles are allowed: the walk takes about forty minutes, best between 6 and 8 a.m. when crowds are thin and light is soft. Start from Beishan Street and exit toward Flower Harbor at the south end. Peach and willow peak around Qingming in spring; bring water and sun protection on summer middays — there is no shade on the dike.
