The Scent of Hangzhou

As said, "上有天堂，下有苏杭", meaning 'there's heaven up above, down here there are Suzhou & Hangzhou.' Hangzhou, with its greenery and parks, is one of China's most favourite tourist attraction with its scenic star attraction, West Lake, has inspired poets and painters for centuries.

Hangzhou is the capital of the Zhejiang province at the northern part of this region. The Grand Canal ends here, where once it served as the main artery between northern and southern China and was essential for the transport of grain to Beijing and other depleted areas of the north. Home to China's most famous tourist attraction, West Lake, Hangzhou is also famous for its tea and high quality silk.

Hangzhou's history goes back to the start of the Qin Dynasty. When Marco Polo passed through the city in the 13th century he described it as one of the most splendid on the world.

Although Hangzhou prospered greatly after it was linked with the Grand Canal in the AD 610, it really came into its own after the Song Dynasty was overthrown by the invading Juchen, predecessors of the Manchus. Through several changes of power and wars, few monuments survived the devastation, and most of those that did became victims of the Red Guards a century later during the Cultural Revolution. Much of what can be seen in Hangzhou today is of fairly recent construction.



Its most famous site, West Lake was originally a lagoon adjoining the Qiantang River. In the 8th century the governor of Hangzhou had it dredged, later a dyke was built that cut it off from the river completely. The resulting lake is about 3km long and a bit under 3km wide. Two causeways, the Baidi and Sudi, split the lake into sections.





A lot of Hangzhou's attractions are at the surroundings of the lake. So We booked a guesthouse near the lake as it will be easier for us to wander around. Due to our tight schedule in Hangzhou, 3 days 2 nights, we decided just to spend time visiting the attractions around the lake only. We arrived in Hangzhou late. It's almost midnight when we checked in our guesthouse. We woke up early the next morning to start our scenic tour.





It was mid-autumn and hence the weather was really nice. Cool breeze, little sun, and air filled with the nice scent of the the flower trees (gui-hua). This type of flowering trees were planted everywhere in the park and along the road! The flower has been used in the local delicacies just like as we use vanilla beans to flavour our food/dessert. The whole city is smelt of this pleasant fragrance.

One complaint we wished to make is that it's so difficult to find a place for breakfast. We thought we could find some tea houses or shop near the lake for a sumptuous dim sum treat or local delicacies, but we were wrong. As we found out from the local while asking our way around, people in Hangzhou don't emphasize on their breakfast. They would just simply have some light food at home in the morning and will only go out to eat from lunch time only.

We found a part of the lakeside developed for commercial purposed, where we can find food. Locals hang out here as well, sipping tea and chit chatting, under the nice cool autumn weather.


Locals enjoy the great outdoor and we joined in as well.


Food that we order. Soya sauce saute pork with chestnut, 'gui-hua' flavoured yam dessert, and a cup of tea.














Tea plantation can be seen just at the nearby hills.


'Return the mountains & rivers to us!' A massive Yue Fei statue at the Mausolem of General Yue Fei.


'What are you reading?'


Sunset cruise.






'Lonjin' tea flavoured prawn and vinegar sweet fish - dubbed as the imperial dish. But for me, it nothing extraordinary.


These beers, just like Qingdao, quite light.


After dinner, we strolled around the pedestrian street, which is just at the next lane.




Nice scene by the lake.