West Lake

Romantic West Lake of Hangzhou

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September 12th 2010
Arrival, Day 1 Hanzhou (pronounced like Han joe) was not originally on our itinerary. We had to fly in and out of Tokyo/Narita (Skymiles) from/to home so we had to get to Japan from China somehow. We had tentatively planned Beijing -> Xian -> Guilin -> Hong Kong -> Tokyo. My aunt lived in Guilin and had helped us with a hotel and plans for the two nights we would be there but we would ha ... read more

Asia » China » Hangzhou

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For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. A... ... read more