HANGZHOU

Hangzhou, lying at the beginning of the Grand Canal of China, is historically well known for the production and trading of silk and tea goods. In the near past it has become internationally even more interesting as a tech and education hub – this is the city where Jack Ma, the founder of alibaba.com, was born.

 

Stay:

Eat:

  • Aside from Qinghefang Street there are several food streets listed here.
  • Two dishes that you might walk up to: CouDouFu means stinky tofu. It is fermented tofu that you can eat with a garlic soy sauce. The taste is not too bad. YuTou is a purple colored root which is a bit like a potato. Sometimes it is served as a whole (big as a human head), steamed in leaves.

Do & See:

  • Xihu – a Unesco World Heritage Site. The biggest sight of Hangzhou is the West Lake. You can stroll and bike around it, take boat trips on it or walk onto the Gushan island.
  • On the Sudi Causeway you can cross the West Lake from North to South, where the Leifeng Pagoda is located. It is a reconstructed pagoda (even modernized so that you can reach it by escalator) from where you can get a good view over the big city.
  • On the North Western shore of the lake you can visit the Yuefei temple, where the mausoleum of general Yuefei is located.
  • Another top attraction is the impressive Lingyin Temple. It is popular with tourists and often crowded but still a grand sight. It is somehow mystic to walk by the buddha statues that are carved in the mountain walls.
  • If looking for some more green, visit the Xixi Wetland Park and the Botanical Gardens, which is said to be very nice.
  • Something you will not miss is TEA. Hangzhou is known for its Dragon Well Tea called Long Jing Cha. There are tea villages and museums you can visit around the city. Meijiawu is one of them (bring a translator app with you because some tea houses do not understand any English).
  • The old town area on Qinghefang street is always busy and popular for getting food, souvenirs and of course tea, e.g. at the Taichi Tea House.