More than 800 years ago Quyuan (Crooked Courtyard) was where wine was brewed for the exclusive consumption of the imperial family. In those days the fragrance of wine mingled with the scent of blossoming lotus plants to earn the place the reputation as one of the 'Ten Sights of the West Lake'. The brewery was moved to its present site three hundred years ago. Today, it has been expanded into a large park known especially for its luxurious lotus plants. While in furious blossom, the lotus flowers show off reds, golds and whites in different figures and forms. Broad leaves spread leisurely on the limpid lake waters and low bridges zigzag among flowers. Such a view makes visitors forget themselves.