Hangzhou, heaven on earth...

Asia » China » Hangzhou
August 9th 2008

Published: August 14th 2008

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lukasb

My hostel

I really recommend this hostel to everyone who plans to travel to Hangzhou!

My departure from Guangzhou was a nice experience. Three days before, I arrived at Guangzhou East Station. But my train for Hangzhou left from the main train station. As I arrived, I saw a giant crowd waiting in front of the station. To enter the waiting room, I had to pass through 3 passport and ticket controls, that were guarded by soldiers, armed with rifles. A woman was shouting in a megaphone from the top roof. After 30 minutes of waiting under the burning sun, I finally entered the building and bought some last things for the travel. As I sat down and smoked a cigaret, a young chinese sat down beside me and we started to talk a bit. He told me that he was in Guangzhou for his studies and that it was the first time that he spoke to a foreigner and the first time he left his hometown. He was eighteen years old and studied Computer Sciences. He talked about his studies and said that they learn english but never speak in class. So he hasn't any chance to practice. As I said, I was the first foreigner he talked to. Finally, he helped me finding the

Westlake

way to my train and I left for Hangzhou.
As I bought my ticket, the only one I could get was a "soft sleeper ticket". (It is the most expensive class). So my travel was really comfortable. I arrived at Hangzhou in the later morning and found an idyllic place. The Hostel was in the middle of the Westlake, surrounded with water and exotic flowers. Later, somebody told me that a chinese proverb says: in the ceiling there is heaven, and on earth there is Hangzhou. And this saying tells the truth! Look at the photos, it is amazing!
I met two french people at the hostel with whom I traveled around the place for two days. We were in a small village where one of the most known chinese green tea brands is produced. We walked around and climbed up on the tea plantations. On the next day, we went up to the surrounding mountains for a nice hiking tour. We walked for about 5 hours and climbed to the highest point where we had an amazing view over the whole area. Have a look at the pictures.
In retrospective, the time I stood in Hangzhou was a very