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Hangzhou

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Monday Robyn did not have any classes, so we decided to venture out to Hangzhou. This city is about 180km (when in Rome...) southwest of Shanghai. But we didn't go there to see the city. Just west of the city is the beautiful West Lake (Xi Hu). It is in this region that the country's most famous tea, Longjing (literally: dragon well) is grown here.

We started the day at the Leifeng pagoda. This enormous tower offered spectacular views of the west lake as well as the city. It was easy to see the contrast between peaceful tranquility and bustling city. JP tried to get a panorama shot, included above.

From there, we traveled west towards the causeway that crosses the lake. We wanted to rent bicycles, but that proved to be a nightmare, so we walked instead. Before we got far along the causeway however, we saw that you could hop on a boat and head to the island in the middle of the lake (Three Pools Mirroring the Moon). We enjoyed some of the local Longjing tea. From there we caught another boat to the north side of the island. We walked through a sort of public park with trails that lead up a hill overlooking the lake. It was breathtaking. It seemed to also be a place that not many tourists go, so it was very quiet and peaceful. We saw locals that trek up into the hills to what were like patios to play cards and chess. There were also temples carved into the rock as seen above.

The path we followed led us through an immense bamboo forest, leading us to Yellow Dragon Cave Dressed In Green. This was an amazing spot with crazy rocks and a waterfall. There are dragons everywhere, and as a result, this spot is associated with good luck. 

By now we were starving, and headed to dinner alongside the lake, followed by a moonlit stroll to catch a taxi back to the train station. Along the way, Robyn took some great night shots of the lit pagodas and temples surrounding the lake.

We spent all day at Hangzhou, and we maybe saw 5% of all the sites. We would like to go again for a multi-day stay, and try to see much more of this amazing area.

If you ever visit Hangzhou, here are a few tidbits we learned along the way:
  • Hangzhou is BIG. You cannot simply walk from one site to the next; you must have transportation figured out BEFORE you get there.
  • Public transportation is TERRIBLE. We waited forever for the right bus to take us to the Yellow Dragon cave. When it got there it was simply a minivan completely packed with people. We couldn't get on. Empty taxis are nonexistent. As a result:
  • Rent a bicycle. But make sure you rent it from the right spot. There are rental places everywhere, but if you don't already have the 'bicycle rental card' in hand, you cannot rent these bikes.
  • Have a plan of what you want to see BEFORE you get there. You cannot see everything in one day, so either for for more than one, or pick and choose your top sites.
  • Hangzhou is BUSY. We went on a Monday and felt lost in a sea of humanity. We were fortunate to stumble upon the bamboo forest paths which were virtually empty. We highly recommend these scenic walkways through the hills.
This link may or may not work...our website is blocked by China, and is also dependent on our computer being on, but give it a shot. Note: If it does work, you must zoom out once on the map... http://jpandrobyn.homelinux.com/China/3.29_Hangzhou/index.html
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  1. UnknownMarch 30, 2010 at 4:23 PM

    Definitely one of the most beautiful place in Shanghai, we loved it there.

    ReplyDelete

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