A week before the G20 Summit in Hangzhou Province, tourists and photographers flock to the most popular site in the area: the Leifeng Pagoda.
Many are going to the site as a non-working week was declared before the summit. Discounted entrance passes are now being sold.
The Leifeng Pagoda was constructed during the Song Dynasty. It was destroyed in 1923 and reconstructed in 2003. It is a five-storey tower with eight sides, located on Sunset Hill south of the West Lake.
A photography enthusiast, Lin, said, "It has become much easier to get a perfect spot, now that the traffic flow is so much smaller."
The pagoda becomes more scenic as the skies are blue. The government has ordered a shutdown of factories before and after the Summit.
Qiu Jianhua, a professional photographer, said, "The better the air quality, the better the photos will be."
Qiu had 30 of his works shown in Switzerland and has local shows in Hangzhou. He has been taking shots of the pagoda as well as the tourists in the area.
"The prevailing aesthetic for Hangzhou is simple elegance," he said. "But against this backdrop can be a flare-up of passion. You can detect poetry and history in this place."
He has gathered his works on Hangzhou in a digital display to show the beauty of the city to Summit visitors.
The serene lake, however, did not stop tensions from arising in the Summit when U.S. President Obama pushed the Chinese government to abide by the decision on territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
In a statement, the White House said, "The president reaffirmed that the United States will work with all countries in the region to uphold the principles of international law, unimpeded lawful commerce, and freedom of navigation and over-flight."
President Xi Jinping asserted that China will China "will persist in peacefully resolving disputes through consultations with parties directly involved."