Janii in Shanghai

OUR EXAMS ARE OVERR! THE WHOLE EXCHANGE IS OVERRRR!! TODAY I’VE FINISHED MY LAST EXAM! =D FROM NOW ON, IM FREEEEEEE (for 2 months)! Now I finally have time to blog about my trip to Hangzhou, which took place about 2 weeks ago!xD

As the saying goes that Hangzhou is the Heaven on Earth.. I saw it with my own eyes =D It was really amazing!!

Shannon and the Hangzhou tickets!^^ She has organized everything for the trip, including the tickets and accomodation! Thanks Shannon!

Transportation
Its very easy to get around in Hangzhou because of its well organized public transportation system and the availability of taxis.

Taxi
Once we got out of the Railway station, we saw that the taxies in Hangzhou are different compared to the ones from Shanghai! There are a lot of MERCEDEZ BEND brand taxis in the city! The Hangzhou taxi fare is 10 RMB for the first 3 km, 2 RMB for each additional km, which was even cheaper than in Shanghai.

Bus
It is very convenient to travel by bus. Hangzhou has many bus routes, so the bus will get you to many destinations. Besides that, it is very cheap, just 2 RMB and it doesn’t matter how many stops you make! Shanghai it is also 2 RMB, but the bus network is very limited!

Bicycle
Bicycle is one of the best way to explore Hangzhou, particularly the West Lake. There are a lot of bicycle-rental agencies which are located around the West Lake. A deposit of 300 RMB is needed to rent the bike. After you paid this, you will get a Bike Rental Card. With this card you can hire and return bikes at every bike-rental agency. It costs 2 RMB per hour, 3 RMB for 3 hours. At the end when you return the card to the agency, you will get 300 RMB back. So it’s very CHEAP CHEAP!!

The people
Another reason why Hangzhou is HEAVEN is because of the nice and warm-hearted local people. Its really the opposite of Shanghai! Maybe because of the fact that Shanghai is a business city and Hangzhou isn’t.

The food
The most important thing that makes Hangzhou a heaven is the FOOD!! When it comes to food, Hangzhou would definitely not disappoint you! We went to a very famous restaurant in Hangzhou, called “Grandma’s Kitchen (外婆家)”! You can’t get in without waiting in long lines. However, it was worth waiting. We had ordered a lot because everything was so attractive and somehow we managed to eat most of it! <(^Oo^)>

Grandma’s kitchen

Hangzhou dimsum, made of green tea

Famous Hangzhou dimsum

Something with pork? I don’t know how it tastes, but it looks a little spicy

Shrimp potatoes (veryyy delicious)

Black pepper beef

Smiley potatoes

Salted shrimp, served on stones to keep it warm

Deliciouss chicken

Desert made of beans, tastes sweet

It was just 160 RMB in total! So unbelievably cheap!!

Beggar chicken! xD really famous for chinese people! This was the first time I ate it, but it did not really impress me

Lotus leaf rice

The beautiful West Lake of Hangzhou -杭州西湖
Music fountain
Visitors should go to the lakeside to enjoy the Music fountain. It has a big water jet combined with neon lights and traditional music, very beautiful to watch it at night! It starts from 8pm!

Boat ride on the Westlake
With this boat ride you can feel the peace and beauty of the lake. It costs only 160 RMB, max 6 persons, about 45 minutes. A guy will drive you on the lake and introduce some famous places around the lake.

Boatride on the West lake

The boat driver and “guide”

Shannon and me on the boat

Kimmy on the boat

The Golden Dragon Boat! We saw this on the West Lake during our boatride!^^ it was hugee!

Hupao Spring Forest Park -虎跑泉导游词
The Hupao spring is famous for the wonderful quality of its water. The entrance fee was 15 RMB.

Legend says that the temple, which stood at the sight of Hupao Spring, was inhabited by a monk during the Tang Dynasty. There was no water at that place available for drinking, so the monk had planned to move the temple. The night before the move, the monk had a dream that a fountain would appear, which would solve the problem with the lack of water. When he woke up the next morning, two tigers began to dig at the spot. This caused water to spring forth, solving the monks delema. The fountain was named Hupao spring, which means Tiger Running Spring.

The 2 tigers

The tiger spring ?

The spring and the surrounding valley has now become a part of the Tiger Running Spring Forest Park. The park also has a Li Shutong (李叔同) Memorial. Li Shutong (1880-1942), also known as Hongyi Great Master, was a master painter, musician, dramatist, calligrapher, seal cutter, poet, and Buddhist monk.

Poetries of Li Shutong

The flower harbor park - 花港观鱼
There is a large variety of flowers and golden fishes in this park. It is an island surrounded by the West Lake.

Red carp pond

We didn’t have time to visit the Leifeng Pagoda - 雷峰塔
=(( such a shame!

THE END OF OUR TRIP! It was fun!=D

Well, after such a heavy period *eghum* .. I need some rest rite? That means.. TRAVELLINGGG! My beebiejj is on the way to shanghai now! 8,5 hours left before his flight arrives in shanghaii~ YAYY!! I can’t fall asleep because im too happy and excited.. thats why I am updating my blog!=p We have planned to travel in China! What is the plan..?

- From the 21st till the 24th of June: Guilin