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Hangzhou and Qibao

Oct 7, 2014

Hopping back to China now… Sometimes after even a short time in a big city you need to escape.

First up, I headed to Hangzhou for the day on Wednesday – Hangzhou is a big city in its own right but is famous for West Lake, a serene spot for feeling like you’ve escaped the high rises and Western chain stores, even if the city itself is obscured by fog / pollution. I booked a day trip through Viator for an easy way to see the sites – although you can also take a train from Shanghai to Hangzhou which is quicker and cheaper, the traffic heading out of Shanghai makes the M25 look like a country lane…

After exploring the gardens, taking a boat trip across the lake and visiting a tea plantation we stopped off at a pagoda before heading back to the city feeling ready for the bright lights again.

 

 
On Saturday I headed to Qibao. Qibao is towards the end of Metro Line 9 and is a traditional Chinese watertown. Nowadays its a pretty big tourist destination but it’s beautiful all the same and a nice break from the big city. Despite being touristy its definitely not Westernised and the street food snacks on offer were rather interesting (deep fried ducking on a stick and more)! I had a great day wandering the river banks, climbing the steps of a pagoda and people watching before finding a shady spot and immersing myself in The Secret History before the metro-ride back.
 

4 Comments

  1. celery and cupcakes
    celery and cupcakes on September 3, 2019 at 1:34 am

    All of that dim sum looks amazing! I&#39ve always wanted to visit China, it&#39s definitely on my bucket list.

  2. Rakhshanda Rizvi
    Rakhshanda Rizvi on September 2, 2019 at 5:36 pm

    Lovely clicks <3 The city looks really beautiful with the scenic beauty!!

  3. celery and cupcakes
    celery and cupcakes on October 8, 2014 at 6:37 pm

    All of that dim sum looks amazing! I've always wanted to visit China, it's definitely on my bucket list.

  4. Rakhshanda Rizvi
    Rakhshanda Rizvi on October 8, 2014 at 6:30 am

    Lovely clicks <3 The city looks really beautiful with the scenic beauty!!