SHANGHAI: Ancient China Revisited...Hangzhou Excursion (Day 8)

Early in the morning, we headed out for a day trip to Hangzhou (杭州), an ancient capital famous for its natural beauty and praised by countless number of poets and artists. We took a rapid train from the newly built Shanghai South Station (上海南站). The station seemed much more like a typical airport than a train station (in my mind much better than Pudong Airport).

Waiting lounge at Shanghai South Station

Walkway towards the waiting lounges

Waiting lounge

The train for Hangzhou

The 44RMB one-way ticket (rapid train with reserved soft seats and air conditioning) got us to Hangzhou in about 1.5 hours. Upon arrival, we headed for Hangzhou's major scenic area and also China's most famous lake right away, West Lake (西湖).

Willow tree by the lakeside

Lakeside pavillion

A path of willow trees

Up on a mountain about 10 to 15 minutes by taxi from the lake, Lingyin Temple (靈隱寺, or literally "Temple of the Soul's Retreat") is by no means as quiet and as peaceful as the name might suggest. Although the temple grounds and the temple itself is deemed well worth a visit while in Hangzhou, it is terrifyingly packed by tourists. To make matters worse, numerous tour guides use loudspeakers to "inform" the visitors about the temple itself, and the temple is not much different from a market.

Relaxation...with loudspeakers in the background

Tourists climbing on the rocks and going into the caves

Resting place for those who choose to refrain from the temple itself, which costs an extra admission

When we first entered the grounds we bought a ticket that costs 35RMB thinking that it gave us admission into the temple as well. Only when we got to the temple was there yet another admission gate, another 35RMB thank you very much. Not that I could not afford it, but I was angered by the fact that this was set up as a kind of "trap" and so lingered outside while some of my fellow mates went in.

Afterwards, we decided to go back to the lake for some real "soul's retreat". We realized that dozens of other tourists were also trying to get a cab as well. We had no luck, most of the taxis that were waiting in the area had been specially requested by others by phone already. It started to rain and we gave up and headed for the buses.

We got off on the north side of the lake where there is a lotus garden and walked towards the Su Causeway (蘇堤, which stretches from north to south on the western side of West Lake) from there. It was raining lightly but at least we were away from the noise and crowds.

Lotus garden

Su Causeway seen from a distance

The main path on the willow tree lined Su Causeway

West Lake seen from Su Causeway

We called it a day after the almost 3-km walk from end to end, and, after many attempts, flagged a taxi down for the train station. The return trip was not as pleasant as we did not buy tickets in advance and had to stand on a crowded train all the way back to Shanghai, but it was still an unforgettable experience nonetheless.

Here's the day's lunch in Hangzhou:

Chinese tea, Dongpo Rou (pork slices), and a special thick soup

Fried meatballs

A mobile hawker selling lotus roots (refreshing, edible seeds inside)