Suzhou's Lion Grove Garden I found this garden by accident. I had some free time and my guide asked if I wanted to take a rest. I said NO! I was in Suzhou and didn't want to waste my time resting (I think she wanted a rest). She said that there was a garden nearby that few visitors go to called the Lion Grove Garden. I said "Let's go". The garden was the most fun of all of the gardens I visited. It is much smaller than the other ones, but it was a lot of fun. It is so fun [View Full Entry]

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Hangzhou's Lingyin Temple The Lingyin Temple located in Hangzhou's suburbs is the richest and one of the largest Buddhist Temples in China. It is a huge sprawling complex filled with ancient trees and stunning architecture. The temple is almost always very busy, with thousands of visitors daily, but because of the temple's layout and the huge numbers of large ancient trees, the temple seems very peaceful and serene at all times. The buildings in the temple complex are in a beautiful state of preservation. They are obviously very well maintained and are really beautiful. Because o [View Full Entry]

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Hongcun Village One of two famous villages located near Huangshan, Hongcun is the more famous of the two because it has been used in several major Chinese movies. The village is gorgeous. I was afraid it would be a tourist trap because it became so famous after being added to UNESCO's World Heritage List. Happily, due to the administration of the village elders, the village has stayed a living village and has changed little. There are a lot of visitors every day, but they tend to stay on the main streets and t [View Full Entry]

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Hangzhou's Felai Peak Feilai Peak was the first site I visited in Hangzhou. It is located in Hangzhou next to the famous Linyin Temple which is the richest Buddhist Temple in China. An Indian Buddhist Monk came to the area and saw this hill. It did not match any other hills in the area and resembled the hills found in India so he thought it had flown from India to China. He named it Feilai Peak which means Flying from Afar. The hill is filled with over 300 ancient Buddhist Carvings. Once I got my ticket I had to walk a [View Full Entry]

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Hangzhou's Flower Harbor Park Between my visit to the Lingyin Temple, and the cruise around West Lake I had a couple hours to spare. My guide Sheila suggested I visit the Flower Harbor Park located across the Su Causeway from the docks where visitors board the boats for the West Lake cruises. I had never heard of it, but I thought what the heck, I'd give it a shot. I'm very glad I did. It was very nice. The area originally had many private residences from the early to mid twentieth century. The people who lived there must have been really [View Full Entry]

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Hangzhou's West Lake I gotta tell you I wasn't expecting much when I was told I would be cruising around Hangzhou's West Lake. I've seen lakes before, in fact I grew up on a lake, so expectations were very low. I'm proud to say I was wrong. West Lake was a lot of fun. It is a destination that every single Chinese person wants to see in their lifetime and the reason is not for the water, or boats, or the fishing (which is not allowed), it is for the legends surrounding the lake. The area is filled with dozens of [View Full Entry]

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Hangzhou's Six Harmonies Pagoda The Six Harmonies Pagoda located in the city of Hangzhou was on my itinerary while in Hangzhou. The pagoda is located inside of a larger park area. It is a seven storey pagoda built next to the Yuelin Mountain along the Qiantang River. The Six Harmonies Pagoda offers great views of the river and surrounding area. Like everything in Hangzhou, the pagoda has an interesting origin legend. In the past, a dragon living in the river caused the river to flood and killed countless people. A couple was killed leaving their young son without a family. The [View Full Entry]

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Hangzhou's 18 Imperial Dragon Well Tea Trees This was one of the sites I was really looking forward to on my trip. If you do not know, I am a tea lover! I have been studying Chinese tea for over twenty years and often travel to different parts of China to study their processing methods, local tea culture, and of course to drink that most amazing of drinks in their place of origin. Hangzhou is famous for its Dragon Well Tea and the 18 Imperial Dragon Well Tea Trees is the place where it originated. It is located on Lion Peak [View Full Entry]

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Hangzhou's Dragon Well Hangzhou's Dragon Well was not on my itinerary, but I had to visit it. It is located in Dragon Well Village, so is not far from the 18 imperial tea trees and the China National Tea Museum. Essential the Dragon Well is a well. It is a natural spring well and according to legend it was home to benevolent dragon that brought plenty of rain to the local people. They were so grateful that they named the well after him. Dragon Well Tea received its name from this well. It was a wonderful place. It was free to [View Full Entry]

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Hangzhou's China National Tea Museum The China National Tea Musem was an amazing place for me. I think anybody would like the museum, but for a tea lover like me, it was heaven. It is the only national tea museum in China. The area around the museum is very beautiful. The museum is surrounded by groves of tea trees and the area is beautifully manicured. There is a stream with small bridges running in front of the museum filled with koi fish. The museum itself is a comprehensive museum and has descriptions in English and Chinese. It is broken down into [View Full Entry]

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