Day 6

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Ready to relax after a great concert, Sunday was our day of organised fun in Hangzhou, namely a trip to its West Lake and surrounding historical monuments. The entertainment and began immediately in the form of our tour guide Tony, who by the end of the morning's coach trip had covered not only various Chinese customs but also his and his family's own life story.



The first stop on our tour was the Lingyin group of ancient Buddhist temples. Brandishing incense sticks as we entered the central courtyard, our first job was to light them, Bear Grylls style, from blazingly hot fires in stone troughs, before bowing towards each temple and and making a wish. The insides of the temples were dominated by huge statues of Buddha and of the gods representing each year of the Chinese calendar.



After lunch we continued to the lake itself, travelling across it by boat and stopping off at one of its small islands. Finally, we climbed up the 250 or so steps of the Six Harmonies Pagoda, with increasingly good views of Hangzhou on each level.



The organised tour finished with dinner at the hotel next door, the Crowne Plaza. Whilst the food was generally good, some of it was a bit of a voyage of discovery, with dishes including including jellyfish and duck's tongue. We rounded off the night with drinks in the hotel bar.

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