Leifeng Tower stands atop Nanping Hill, on the southern shore of West Lake. Travelers who come here often arrive at dusk, when the glow of sunset bathes the forest in layered hues—hence its name, Sunset over Tower. The Qian clan built many pagodas, yet a pagoda is not the work of a single day, nor is devotion the labor of a single moment. Of old, Lady Meng Jiang's weeping brought down the Great Wall; if devotion alone could raise a pagoda, who is to say that true feeling, in days to come, might not likewise bring a tower crashing down? Upon the cliffs of Nanping Hill are carved many inscriptions, left by travelers who, gazing upon the fading dusk, felt their hearts stir with quiet sorrow, and so carved their thoughts into the rock. Beneath the slanting sun, all who pass are travelers, singing long as they turn homeward, hearts still lingering on gathered ferns of old.
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