On the grounds of Beijing University, one of China's most revered institution of higher learning, there is a beautiful lake. As of yet, tourists do not know about it.
Businessmen ignore it.
And the general population does not have time to visit. This lake, called Weiminghu, offers a precious enclave of serenity on a campus that year after year graduates China's best and brightest. It is easy in today's Beijing to feel lost amidst the most unappealing aspects of modernization - the incessant blare of horns, the perennial fog of pollution, to say nothing of the unending, implacable armies of taxis, bicycles and people. The lake offers a rare glimpse of peace and a desperately needed break from the chaos of modernization. By the lake, the Chinese characters for Weiminghu are carved in stone.