You probably haven't heard of Hangzhou, but it's one of China's most popular tourist destinations and it's only an hour by train from Shanghai. Here are five excellent things to see and do there.
West
Lake
Hangzhou's
biggest draw is an enormous weeping willow-fringed lake with the
power to make you forget you're in a city of 6 million people. Take a
boat ride across to Fairy Island, where you can wander pretty
pathways, admire the Three Pools Mirroring the Moon and then hop over
to the Sun Causeway, from where it's a short walk to the Leifeng
Pagoda.
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| View of West Lake and downtown Hangzhou from the Leifeng Pagoda |
There are fantastic views over the lake and city from this
five-storey tower, whose original dates back to 977 AD (though the
recreation was opened in 2002). Hire a bike to cycle round the edge
of the lake (a distance of around 15km), buy tickets to see
Impression West Lake, a dance spectacular that takes place on a
platform 3cm below the surface of the water, and drop by the downtown
lakeside area at dusk to watch groups of locals ballroom dancing
under the trees.
Lingyin
Temple
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| One of the halls at Lingyin Temple, Hangzhou |
One
of the most important Buddhist temples in southern China, Lingyin
Temple stands on the side of a wooded hill a short drive from
downtown Hangzhou. To reach its numerous pagodas and halls, parts of
which are 800 years old, you walk past the foot of another hill,
known as the Flying Peak (Fei Lai Feng), home to dozens of ancient
carvings of figures from Buddhist mythology.
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| A carving of the Laughing Buddha on Flying Peak, near Lingyin Temple, Hangzhou |
Once in the temple
complex itself, look out for the Skanda Buddha in the Hall of the
Heavenly Kings – while much of Lingyin has been destroyed and
rebuilt over the years, mostly as recently as the 1950s, this statue
is an original from the Southern Song Dynasty (960-1279). Other
highlights include an enormous statue of the Gautema Buddha, the
founder of Buddhism in India, and a statue of the Buddha carved from
one huge piece of rose quartz, which you'll find in the complex's
small gallery.
Former
Residence
of
Hu
Xueyan
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| The garden at the Former Residence of Hu Xueyan, Hangzhou |
Hu
Xueyan, the prominent Qing Dynasty merchant who founded the well
known Chinese medicine company Hu
Qing Yu Tang,
built a grand and sprawling residence on Yuanbao Street between 1872
and 1875. You can visit the complex today. Hidden from the busy
thoroughfare behind a high boundary wall, it's a warren of
courtyards, public reception rooms and residential quarters inhabited
by Hu, his wife and concubines and their children and staff.
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| Detail of an interior at the Former Residence of Hu Xueyan |
There's
plenty to see, including quirky details borne of Hu's interactions
with foreign merchants: the blue stained glass windows, European
style wood carvings and elaborate internal communication system are
particularly striking. Hu's quarters, among them a charming garden to
which his wife and concubines had no access, are a highlight.
Jade
Emperor Hill and Eight Diagram Field
There
are some fantastic walks available in the countryside all around West
Lake, but for something a little different – and tourist free –
head to Yuhuang (Jade Emperor) Hill. Climb the 1,260 steps up through
whispering bamboo forest to the summit (make sure to start early in
the day and take plenty of water if you're there in the summertime),
where you'll find Fuxing Taoist Temple.
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| Prayer candles at Fuxing Taoist Temple on Jade Emperor Hill, Hangzhou |
It was mostly destroyed
during the Cultural Revolution but has been rebuilt since – there's still a charming ramshackle quality about the place.
Admire the views over West Lake on one side and the city and the Qiantang
River on the other but don't miss the
intricately carved ceiling panels in the main temple hall. Then head back
down the hill to Zilai
Cave,
which is delightfully cool even on the hottest day. Lighting is
limited so take a torch with you – there are numerous altars in the
cave worth having a look at. Once you've emerged blinking into the
sunlight, be guided by the click of mahjong tiles and grab an outside
table at the tea house overlooking Eight Diagram Field.
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| Eight Diagram Field from Jade Emperor Hill, Hangzhou |
This
agro-historical curiosity dates back to the Southern Song Dynasty,
when Emperor Gaozong ordered crops to be planted in the form of the
traditional eight-sided digram used to explain the universe in
Taoism.
Song
Town
Hangzhou
was at its most influential around 800 years ago when the rulers of
the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) made the city their capital.
And what better way to celebrate that era of political power,
mercantile dominance and accompanying cultural flourishing than with
a theme park?
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| Map of Song Town, Hangzhou |
At Song Town you can ride roller coasters, buy Song era
tat and watch slapstick historical reenactments, all surrounded by
faux Song architecture. The finale of an afternoon at Song Town is a
show in its gigantic auditorium. The
Legend of Romance
was showing the night of my visit: featuring acrobatics, live horses,
elaborate fight scenes, waterfalls, aerial work and choruses of
scantily clad dancing girls, the show that curiously calls itself
“one
of the three best shows in the world” tells
the legend of Xuxian
and Bainiangzi,
who supposedly met and fell in love on a visit to West Lake. It's a
spectacle to make you oooh and aaah that also offers fascinating
insights into cultural tastes in contemporary China.
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| Scene from The Legend of Romance at Song Town, Hangzhou |
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