They say when Marco Polo visited Hangzhou in the 13th century, he declared it one of the greatest cities in the world. I’m not sure if that still rings true, but it is a spectacularly beautiful city.
The weather finally cooperated (well, except for the 30 minutes it downpoured) and Hugh and I took to the city on bicycle and bus. Hangzhou has this amazing public bicycle system where you can rent bicycles for a negligble amount of money (basically $1 a day) and drop them off at various stations located around West Lake. This is very handy if you, say, are super lazy and get on a bike outside of your hotel and cycle about 500m to the bus station and nearest drop-off point.
There are far too many places for us to see in a week, let alone a day, but from what I’ve seen Hangzhou is pretty much up there with beautiful cities I’ve been to. It’s also one of the cleanest cities I’ve been to. I know I’m not the only person who associates China with cleanliness, but neither litter nor errant leaf stays on the ground for more than 15 minutes here.
There was one point when we were walking along a causeway when I spotted a small pavillion atop a hill in the distance. It brought this sense of wonder and enchantment that I don’t recall really feeling since I first came to Japan when I was 16 and spotted temples hidden deep in the hills from a speeding bullet train…
Well, pictures describe it better anyway…
People crossing a bridge over West Lake
This dude is important, Hugh agrees.
Boats
An old restaurant on Qinghefang Old Town District...
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From Joseph:
That’s the second prettiest city I’ve ever seen!
From admin:
What’s the prettiest? =)
From Ben:
those pics of the bridge and restaurant are absolute money!