Hangzhou

After Shanghai, I caught a bus for a 5 hour trip to Hangzhou, which is famous for its West Lake. As the Lonely Planet puts it, “there are 36 lakes in China called West Lake, but this is the West Lake that all others are christened after.” Although it was still busy with tourists, it was still a very peaceful and relaxing place.

My first stop in Hangzhou was actually not the West Lake, but the Xixi National Wetland Park in the north-west of the city. I arrived on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival and heard that this was where the dragon boat races were. Unfortunately, I got there too late to see the races, but I did get to see “the first and only national wetland park in China.”

I was surprised to find hotels and a small newly-built village containing shops and restaurants in the middle of the wetland park.

This tower gives you great views over the Xixi National Wetland Park. It is also a new construction.

The lake is very large. It took a whole day to walk around its 15 km circumference.

The lake is very large with many scenic spots around it.

Although it is a long walk, there are many beautiful places to sit and relax.

There are ten famous spots around the lake. This is called the Broken Bridge. In winter, the snow on it melts on the side facing the sun, causing the half snow-covered bridge to look like it is broken.