Useful Hangzhou Websites
by matjung
In addition to virtualtourist, you may find additional trip preparation information at
http://www.hangzhou.gov.cn/main/zpd/English/
http://en.gotohz.com/web/guest/snjt
http://en.gotohz.com/web/guest/home
http://www.xixiwetland.com.cn/
West Lake
by enzhu
The West Lake is in the center of Hangzhou.
There are a lot of scenes around the lake.
As the photo showed, the lake is divided by Su Causeway on the left and Bai Causeway on the top.
There are also three islands in the lake, Xiao Ying Zhou, Hu Xing Ting and Ruan Gong Dun.
There is a saying about the strange things in West Lake:
Broken bridge is not broken,
Long bridge is not long,
Lonely mountain is not lonely.
The second photo was taken from Baoshi Mountain on the north of the lake. In the photo, you can see Bai Causeway.
Heavenly Hangzhou
by jono84
"The Only West Lake"
"The Garden of Eden?"
Hangzhou was not originally in my mind as a place i wanted to visit, but after hearing so many good things about it from fellow travellers, i decided to jump on a train to see what all the fuss was about!!
You can actually book a ticket a day before travel from Shanghai to Hangzhou for Y33, and the trip takes around 2hours.
"Temple of the Soul's Retreat"
After enjoying the beauty and peace of wandering the gardens and scrambling through the caves, i found Lingyin Si. These are some of the most breath-taking buildings i have ever seen!
Apparently they have been destroyed and then rebuilt 16times!
First there is the Hall of the Four Heavenly Guardians, followed by the Great Hall enclosing the 20metre high statue of Siddhartha Gautama. The journey continues upward taking in more massive halls, where the huge doorways really make you feel tiny!