Hill & River Hotel

Swastika Temple and Dragon.

by Guantanamera

Another golden statue inside the giant swastika-shaped building, this one showing a man with a dragon... The Chinese refer to the swastika as wan zi... The symbol was also used by the ancient Mesopotamians, as well as the ancient Mayans... Aboriginal Brazilian women displayed it on their genital shields and Trojan goddess figurines show the symbol displayed on the vulva...

Yuen Xie Bamboo Garden

by mashimashi

I love bamboo, maybe i am a panda. No i am not that fat, and i dont have panda eyes. but i love bamboo.

This Yuen Xie Bamboo Garden are near to the Mei Zha Wu place, you can walk to it while passing some tea fields and pick soem tea leaves :p

the bamboo garden, beware are full of flies. And inside you can see some big old trees. nice walk in the afternoon.

Hangzhou World Leisure Expo

by maria_hz

"Well planned area, not so well planned support"

We went not quite knowing what we expected, but what we found was a bit disappointing. A lot of effort and money has clearly gone into planning the area, but other planning leaves something to be desired;
*transportation; it is unclear to me exactly how to get there except by taxi. Making it easy to go would attract more people as it is out of the way for most people.
*service in English; For some reason, they had chosen not to provide much information in English. The signs showing in which direction each area was, was about all information we got in English. The map/info leaflet we got when we entered was all in Chinese. There were also a remarkable number of foreign employees, but their function remains unclear to me, as we only saw one other group of foreigners there during the whole day. Well, they did look seriously bored…
*cleaning personnel; unusually for China, during the many hours we spent there, I saw only one cleaning lady, meaning that it was dirty in many places, more so than in the city centre. There simply were no cleaning crews around.
*Only a few restaurants and shops were open, not all attractions were running either.
*The international expo area, with shops selling handicraft from eg. India and Kenya, we found only by chance.

"Few people around and construction ongoing"

We went one Saturday early June, and were surprised to find that the place was rather empty, despite the good weather and the fact that many people should have the day off. We enjoyed the lack of crowds – unusual for China -- walked about as we pleased and enjoyed the shows which were apparently well planned and executed.

As of early June, part of the area is still being constructed, especially the residential areas. What surprised me most was that so many things were not completed, others already had closed! Business has been slow for the enterprises on the area as the number of visitors apparently have been lower than expected. Some attractions have not even opened, others were fairly popular while others still were running with just a few people on board. Some businesses have already closed due to the lack of customers.

"Expo only lasts 6 months"

Considering the fact that the expo period should be at its peak now, I feel sorry for the businesses that are there, who seem to employ more people than they have customers on a regular day. Naturally, all this construction cannot be done for the sake of six months, but if this is the peak time, it makes sense that this is the time when all businesses and attractions are open. Also, some parts are already delirict and rainwater from the torrent earlier that day was dripping through some constructions people are supposed to walk on. Frankly, the workmanship was shoddy in many places. And that is compared to the average newly constructed building in Hangzhou, which does not exactly mean tip-top perfect. Living in Hangzhou, I had heard that they were in a hurry to get the project finished in time, and it showed.

"Change of plans"

Also, the games featuring umpteen variations of cuddly toys just went on and on and on. They were everywhere and everyone was carrying a huge load of them, of all sizes and shapes. Maybe the Chinese love this type of games, whereas I would prefer a choice of different types of prizes and games.

The beach, which looked rather enticing in the sketches on the map with sand and palm trees, was nothing like the picture; rather it was a concrete waterfront area covered with benches. Apparently the map did not show the new plan of making it seats for audiences to watch shows or something. Well, life’s a beach.

I liked the cable car ride to the hillside “castle”, but merely for the view. The castle was downright annoying; it was very small, in disrepair and it was obvious that nobody had made an effort to get it right in the first place. It looked OK from a distance, they should’ve scrapped the cable car line and that would have taken care of the problem.

"How to get the best out of it"

Do not go to the Expo expecting anything the level of Disneyland or amusement parks of that order. Go there to have a look and enjoy doing what you like doing, be it shows, games or rides, buy what you fancy, have a bite to eat and go home one experience richer.

At the end of the day, I had actually a very good time. Why?
*The weather was good.
*No crowds.
*good choice of rides, even two World Wheels!
*interesting international shops and good talks with the shopkeepers. The international shops had very good quality products.
*a nice outing
*the shows were good