10/18/07-Hangzhou (West Lake,Yellow Dragon Cave)

After breakfast, we bussed to a very large park in the center of the city called the West Lake, which is considered the 3rd most popular scenic wonders of China. It covers over 3 square miles and is surrounded by a continuous park running the full 10 miles of its circumference. There are beautiful strolling areas and one particular small lake that contains hundreds of beautiful orange and yellow carp. These fish hungrily swarmed to the surface in huge numbers when people drop crumbs off the bridge that spanned a section of the lake. The carp were so thick at that point that one could not see the water.

Our tour that day took us out of the city into a scenic suburban area of rolling hills and deep valleys. Here, we came to the village of Longjing (Dragon Well) to learn about the process of making tea. It is here that the highest level of green tea is produced. We saw the bushes that produce the tea leaves (actually they harvest the shoots). Then we were lectured in our own private room about how tea is harvested and selected by grade. We were then each given a glass (good tea is drunk from clear glasses and not cups) with a few pinches of the highest grade tea shoots inside. Then hot water was poured carefully into each glass and we sipped the tea. It's actually sort of tasteless to the uninitiated palate (count us in that category) but we happily allowed them to refill our glasses 3 times. Then, it was off to the adjoining store to purchase tea and/or many confections made from tea. We bought a Halavah-like candy which everyone liked and a box of tea cookies that were later wonderful with tea in our hotel room.

After another great lunch (yawn again), we were dropped off at a busy 5 block long flee market where we spent an hour walking around.

Then there was another park to visit. It is called the Huanglong Dong Park & Qixia Shan or more popularly, Yellow Dragon Cave. This is a hilly area crisscrossed with many paths and points of interest. There were tea houses, ponds, and bright flowers on display. In addition, there was a wonderful section with various types of bamboo growing.and a pavilion where musicians perform traditional music in the summer. There was also a stage area with seats in the courtyard where a Chinese Opera was being performed as we passed by. A very nice park full of wonderful sights and sounds. And it is restful as well.

For pictures of this day click Hangzhou.

We returned to our hotel, had an hour free time, followed by dinner at another hotel. Then, finally back to our place for bed. This day we learned the 4 most popular scenic places in China are: 1) The Great Wall, 2) The Li River between Guilin and Yangshou, 3) West Lake in Hangzhou, and 4) The Canals at Suzhou (Our next stop).