(Yicai Global) Feb. 19 -- The scenic area of Hangzhou's storied West Lake has re-opened as of today to masked visitors in a further sign of spring and the hope that it brings China is finally gaining the upper hand in its war against the Covid-19 epidemic that has gripped the land since December.

All visitors to the attraction in the capital of China's eastern Zhejiang province, which Marco Polo dubbed "the most enchanting city on Earth" after his visit, are required to wear masks while enjoying the mountain and water vistas and authorities will actively patrol to enforce the rule along the lake's 15-kilometer shoreline.

The Covid-19 pneumonia epidemic had forced the closure of all for-fee attractions and museums in the area from Jan. 24.

Long a muddy, stinking flood basin into which the mighty Qiantangjiang River poured its massive tidal bore -- the world's largest, and which claims unwary victims along its banks almost every year -- successive Chinese imperial dynasties tamed the area over the course of 2,000 years to produce a paragon of humanity and nature working together to create idyllic beauty.

The roughly circular waterway surrounded by pagoda-studded mountain ranges on three sides that spreads across an expanse of roughly 6.4 square kilometers has inspired many poets over the ages, most notably the Tang Dynasty bard Bai Juyi, who as mayor of the town did much to beautify both.

Editor: Ben Armour