Regarded as one of China's most popular tourist destinations, Hangzhou appears to be just another Chinese city when you arrive: wildly swerving taxis, concrete boxes masquerading as buildings - Great. I've come for a weekend away from the city and I could easily confuse my new environment with Shanghai. However, twenty minutes later and out by West Lake it seemed almost a different world. Although still busy, this time with tourists and their cameras, I soon found that the famous West Lake inspired something more serene and satisfying in me.

 

Given its world-renowned status, I reckoned a walk around West Lake was practically obligatory. To walk the whole circumference, without stopping, would probably have taken a few hours, but of course it's much nicer to stop every so often for a cup of tea or a snack. I found the Ming Jian Lou Tea House had a good atmosphere, a pleasing view of the Lake and an admirable selection of teas (at the usual steep prices) - a good place to relax half way round, or perhaps to watch the sun set.

 

I feel I'd be doing a disservice if I didn't mention that the weather during your time in Hangzhou is really crucial to whether you'll agree with others "heavenly" comparisons: a cloudy day will make for very disappointing views in comparison to a lovely, warm, sunny day. Regardless, for a great view of the whole Lake and the surrounding hills and city, the Leifeng Pagoda is a good place to go. The artwork inside as you work your way up is interesting; depictions of the view in a variety of mediums, such as mosaics and wooden carvings. It's fun to try and spot the parts of the view you can see in the pictures. The pagoda is also worth checking out just because in spite of its old appearance, the top of it can be reached using escalators and elevators, which seemed rather surreal. When you tire of West Lake, try venturing out to the Tea Museum (about fifteen minutes away by taxi) which is based in a tea plantation and deserves a brief tour. It has sufficient English descriptions to engage you in how different teas are prepared and look out for the picture of the Great Wall made from tea leaves too. Another non-Lake based option is Hefang Street, which has a bustling tourist market and a host of Chinese medicine shops (single roots going for 61000rmb!) Close by, hidden on Zhongshan Nan Road is the Chinese Medicine Museum. It's kept in a lovely old building and again has sufficient English to help you learn about how Chinese medicine developed. It also has some real stuffed animals, parts of which were used in medicines, and whose facial expressions are really quite entertaining.

 

Overall, I would recommend Hangzhou for a weekend visit, but I'm not sure it lives up to the hype. Yes, it may be smaller than Shanghai and have a beautiful lake rather than a commercial river, but it's still a city of six million, so can never be that peaceful. But if you're looking for somewhere close to Shanghai yet different and with more natural beauty, then Hangzhou is a great place to spend a couple of days.

 

Need to know:

 

Hangzhou is the capital of Zhejiang Province and was one of China's seven ancient national capitals. Being only 180km from Shanghai has made it a popular weekend getaway from the city for many years, but it's also famous all over China for its West Lake. West Lake is a large freshwater lake, constructed 2,000 years ago as the tidal waters of the Qiantang River silted up, and is bordered on three sides by beautiful hills.

 

Need to go:

 

West Lake (Xi Hu) is by far the biggest reason people flock to Hangzhou. There are supposedly ten different views to sample, but you can get the idea adequately from wandering around the Lake, then taking a ferry to some of the islands.

 

General Yue Fei's Mausoleum is easily reached and quite interesting, even if he's no Chairman Mao. Yue Fei was a national hero who was betrayed by his four closest associates in the 12th century.

 

Six Harmonies Pagoda can be found slightly away from the Lake, through several interesting tea fields. The park next to it contains many replicas of the most famous temples and pagodas.

 

Linyin Temple is an active Buddhist temple. At the top of the hill behind it is another temple, easily reached by either a cable car or the stairs. Look out for the Buddhist stone carvings in the cliffs beside it.

 

What to eat and where:

 

Local fare in Hangzhou, or so it is claimed, has a distinct and refreshing taste, making several specialty dishes worth trying. Beggar's Chicken (a chicken baked in clay), West Lake Fish in Sweet Sour Source (vinegar coated fish, caught fresh from the lake), Dongpo Pork (braised pork) and Fried Shrimps with Longjing Tea are all recommended. These can be tried at what is said to be China's oldest restaurant, Louwailou Restaurant (No 30 Gushan Road. open daily 11:30am-2:30 pm and 4:30 pm-8:30 pm). Teahouses are fairly common and stopping for a rest in one overlooking the Lake during an afternoon stroll around it can be very pleasant. Give the West Lake Tea House on Hefang Street a try; it has a free fruit and snack buffet when you order tea, and the street is interesting to wander down too. Chuyang Tea House is nothing special in appearance but is on the way up Baoshi Hill (you'll be able to spot it from the other side of the Lake thanks to the pointy Baochu Pagoda) so you can relax and look at the Lake below or watch the groups of Chinese playing cards.

 

 

Nightlife:

 

Bars in Hangzhou don't number close those in Shanghai, but they're often much cheaper. Just off of Nanshan Road, JZ Club (6 Liuying Road) has some great live jazz and well-made cocktails. For ridiculously cheap cocktails, go down the road a bit to Tequilla Grandfather (178 Nanshan Road). While Shuguang Road might not have a Hengshan Road punch, it has a few worn in places with packs of people. Reggae Bar (95 Shuguang Road) has the younger crowd. You To Bar (85 Shuguang Road) has the drunker crowd and Maya Bar (Shuguang Road/Baishaquan) has the strongest long drinks in town.

 

Clubs can be found too. Hit SOS (5 Huanglong Road) for the sheer mass of it. Go to G-Plus (169 Qingchun Road) when you want to shake your thing, and The In (23 Yanggongdi) for a jammed house - it's literally in a house and weekends see it packed.

 

Other nightlife such as the night markets merit a look too. Stop by Yudian Road or Hefang Street - the former is more traditional, whilst the latter is touristy but has a good selection of goods (shoes, DVDs, jewellery, souvenirs) without too much overlap in the actual products. Better still, the vendors don't hassle you as much as they do in Shanghai. There's also the Red Mill House, which has a variety show with singing, dancing and acrobatics. Tickets 40RMB and shows start at 8:45pm. Find it at 360 Tiyuchang Road.

 

Final thought:

 

See if you can track down Hangzhou's "More Hangzhou" Magazine. It's free and contains information on what to see, where to eat and where to shop. If you don't have a guide book, picking up one will make a tour plan of the city simple and the map inside will help direct you. If you can't find it, then their website, www.morehangzhou.com, is pretty useful too.

 

(smartshanghai.com April 26, 2007)