Hangzhou Pictures

The pictures shown below are from around West Lake, Leifeng Pagoda and Lingyin Temple.

Check out other pictures from:

Beijing
Xi’an
Tianjin
Datong
Inner Mongolia
Ninghai&Putuoshan
Huangshan
Shanghai

Hangzhou – Ling Yin Temple

A few minutes from Hangzhou’s city center lies Lingyin Temple. The temple is one of the top sites to see in Hangzhou, but there are many things to see in the surrounding area as well.

The temple sits at the base of a limestone mountain, and both the temple and surrounding area provide some great images because of their rich history. The scenery surrounding the temple is beautiful, since it is surrounded by green hills, waterfalls, and caves. The Buddhist temple is one of the largest complexes I have seen in China, and one can spend a lot of time climbing up the hills from building to building, admiring the scenery along the way.

A river runs right next to Lingyin Temple, splashing over rocks and flowing under bridges as it winds through the surrounding foliage. Beside the river sits a section of caves, which house over 300 statues carved into the stone. These statues remain from the 10th to 14th centuries, and are still admired by experts today.

One of the girls I met on the train ride to Ningbo happens to live in Hangzhou, and we had agreed to meet for lunch. She only speaks Chinese, so we had a few problems with communication, but in the end everything worked out. We were a little late, and the restaurant we had planned on going to closed about five minutes before we arrived. We eventually found a place to eat, although this was more difficult than you might expect since it appears that almost every restaurant in Hangzhou closes at 2pm. The meal was very good, and we ate the best tasting chicken I may have ever had.

Only being able to communicate in Chinese dramatically sharpens my Chinese skills, and I really enjoyed our lunch. I needed the practice since the remainder of the trip would be without any resources and only my knowledge of the Chinese language to arrange everything.

Hangzhou is a city that is quickly growing, and the average income level there is rapidly rising. This is evidenced by the appearance of the city, and it is quite common as you drive down the street to see luxury car dealers, such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Porsche among many others. Luxury malls are also abundant in the area, and every name brand you can imagine can be purchased in the city. Looking at the city of Hangzhou provided me with a glimpse into China’s bright future, where the income level is much higher than it is today and many more cities resemble Hangzhou.

We left on a bus that evening, with good memories of our visit to Hangzhou and excitement for our next stop, Huangshan.

Hangzhou – West Lake

As I previously mentioned, our first day in Hangzhou involved a lot of rain. We faced the weather armed with raincoats and umbrellas, and decided to take a walk around West Lake since it was not raining very hard. Walking around the entire lake covers 15km, so it was no easy task, especially since it was raining. Even with the poor weather, the scenery around the lake was beautiful, and it was easy to understand why Hangzhou is regarded so highly in China.

The first stop on the walk around the lake was at Leifeng Pagoda, a large pagoda positioned on the south side of the lake. A short climb to the top provides a great view of West Lake and the surrounding area. On a clear day it is even possible to see into the city, since the lake is positioned just outside of the concrete and steel city of Hangzhou.

Near the middle of West Lake is an island which is home to many sites to see, and it can be reached by taking a short boat ride. Around the entire lake there were many things to see, such as temples, scenic bridges, and statues.

There was also a museum that we stopped at along the way that displayed pictures of UNESCO World Heritage sites. I was actually surprised at how many of the places I have visited in China, and will do some research on how many places I have seen.

The evening we met up with Zhang, a Chinese guy that Torsten had met on the bus ride home from Inner Mongolia. He took us to his company, where we drank various teas and discussed various topics. His company creates software that monitors electric use throughout China, and this data can be focused down to specific cities. The company also plans to expand into cloud computing and is currently working on shifting into that area. The company is rapidly growing and it will be interesting to follow the progress of his company in the future.

Afterward, we went to dinner, and the food was great. I ate one of the most delicious fish dishes I have ever had in my life, and we also drank Huangjiu, a famous alcohol in China. Unfortunately, I was told that it was not possible to bring some back to the U.s. Our conversation covered various topics throughout dinner, and Zhang provided us with great insight into parts of Chinese life and culture that I previously had not known.

After dinner, we went to visit Qinghefeng Ancient Street, a busy street lined with many shops selling Chinese goods and souvenirs. The shops sold the same stuff as every other shop in China, and areas of the street had statues that displayed historical Chinese figures. Zhang provided us with a lot of information about the displays we encountered, and it was fascinating to learn about the people that played a large role in shaping China’s history.