By JIALEI TANG, 6/20/2016. Historically, this is the land of love stories, kings, heroes and mythical beauties (most famously war hero Fanli and legendary Great Beauty Xishi). Today, it is also known to be home of Ma Yun (aka Jack Ma), and the Alibaba empire and its affiliates.
The contemporary context brings skyscrapers to the preserved landscape. The historical architecture is preserved aesthetically as capital for tourism, while the original social fabric is completely disintegrated by the engulfing commercialism. A Starbucks sits by the West Lake inconspicuously in Chiang Ching Kuo’s former villa.
