For eight months, Dong Yan, 49, did not take a single weekend off. Her goal was simple yet challenging: to brighten Hangzhou's West Lake for the upcoming G20 Summit.

Anyone who happened to visit the lake at night last year would definitely notice that the southern shore was in virtual darkness - a fact made even starker by the color glow on the north shore and the city skyline to the east.

Dong's mission was to bring light to the dark side. As head of the construction department at Huagang administrative office, one of eight administrative divisions that manage the West Lake area, Dong got orders about 17 months ago to make the lake shine for the G20 Summit, which falls on Sept 4 and 5. For some, especially those in charge of the northern areas, the job might involve changing some existing light bulbs or installing some new fancy effects. For Dong and her colleagues, however, it meant building everything from scratch.