Hangzhou Impression West Lake Show with 3 Days Hangzhou Tour

The first thing I have to tell you about Hangzhou tour is that if you are in China to travel, you have to go there. No ifs, buts and maybes just GO! Hangzhou, mutually with Suzhou, is described as heaven on earth. A well deserved description for one of the most charming and lovely cities I've seen in China. Trust me, you will adore Hangzhou tour.

Hangzhou Tour is one of those places you keep hearing people talk about, see on post cards, TV and just about everywhere because it is so graphic and good looking. I was always meeting with people who'd been there and receiving their looks of pity when they heard I had never been there.

Attainment to Hangzhou

The Hangzhou tour trip started from Shanghai Railway Station and the best way to travel to Hangzhou from Shanghai is by train. Our exporter Pick up You forms Shanghai Hangqiao Railway station for Hangzhou leave Shanghai from Shanghai. I had never been to Hangqiao train station before so I was very surprised when I arrived there to catch the 10am train. The train station looks so much like an airport you could easily believe you've taken the wrong turn and ended up at Shanghai airport by mistake. The station was extremely clean, excellent security and had the modern minimalist design so popular with airports.

There is a digital display of the train's speed above every carriage door in kilometres an hour (sorry Americans) and watching the speed sit at 343 km/h or higher was mesmerizing.

Hard to find Hotel

Being a China travel expert (I wish) I had a bed booked in advance at the Touran Hostel and perfect directions on how to get there. The plan was catch the Y2 train from the Hangzhou train station to the zoo, get off, walk 100 meters back down the road and the hostel would be to the left and impossible to miss.

First problem, there was no Y2 bus at the train station. Eventually caught the Y2 bus at a nearby hospital, got off at the zoo, walked 100 meters back down the road and looked left. NO hostel. Finally found the hostel after asking for directions from several people and I swear, I must have walked past it 3-4 times. The hostel was not hard to find, I was just being clueless.

The hostel staffs were friendly, checked me in and escorted me to my room, a 12 bed dorm with only one other guest, Di Tie. Di Tie was from Harbin and was in Hangzhou opening a bar with the hostel owner, a cool guy.

If you need a place to stay in Hangzhou, I recommend you the best Restaurant with luxurious Hotel.

First Day in Hangzhou

First day you Travel with objectives for that day were to explore the West Lake show and to arrange bike hire. Di Tie suggested a trip to Pagoda so that became the third point.

It was pouring rain on the first day which turned out to be a blessing in disguise because I was able to see how enchanting the West Lake looked in the rain. Walking from the hostel to the southern tip of the West Lake took all of 15 minutes.

The closest bike rental station where you could get a digital swipe card for renting bikes was roughly half way up the north east side of the West Lake just before the Yonglin Gate. There are numerous bike rental stations all over Hangzhou but only a few that supply the cards.

The waste lake is big, holds a lot of boats and even has its own dry dock.

Originally we planned on seeing "Hangzhou Impression Westlake Show". An evening performance held on the lake. The ticket prices at $65p/p with 3 hour duration were a bit steep so I gave it a miss. Finished the lake walk at around 6:30pm so decided to call it a night, grabbed a rental bike and headed back to the hostel for dinner and a bottle of beer with Di Tie.

Last Day in Hangzhou

With only the Lingyin Temple left to see, it was time to prepare a departure from Hangzhou. Today's plan was to go to the train station to buy an evening ticket from Hangzhou to Suzhou, treat myself to a Brazilian lunch, visit Lingyin Temple, pack my bag, return the bike rental card and catch the train to Suzhou.

The day's schedule had been organized with excruciating care to make sure there was time for everything. According to the schedule I had over one hour to enjoy the Temple which would be plenty of time. Wrong. The temple is enormous with many really interesting must see buildings AND is a part of a much larger scenic area with many cool places to see. Normally you'd need a full day to see both the temple and the scenic area.

What followed was a whirlwind tour of the temple madly taking pictures and sprinting from one building to the next. I saw every building and was in and out of temple so fast I would have done a Japanese tour group on speed proud.

Tips for Travel in Hangzhou

-2 to 3 days is enough time to visit all the sites and see the West Lake but if you can, stay for 1 or 2 days longer to indulge yourself. My only regret with Hangzhou is I did not stay there longer

-Take mosquito repellent if you plan on seeing the lake at night. The mosquitoes are veracious and everywhere.

-Stay at a hotel in the hills to the west of West Lake. This area of Hangzhou is much more pleasant, relaxing and in touch with the peaceful and natural character of Hangzhou. There are plenty of hostels in the area so finding one will not be hard. For more information you visit our link or website[http://www.chinahangzhoutour.com/]