I decided to go somewhere new this trip and to celebrate my birthday. Hangzhou is an easy one-hour train ride from Shanghai.
Had breakfast in the hotel then caught a DiDi to Hongqiao station to get the fast train to Hangzhou. It was nearly one hour in heavy traffic to the station which is right next to Hongqiao Airport and like everything in China, is very large. Found my way to the gate and boarded the train which left right on time.
I had bought a business class ticket on the way there, and second class on the way back.
Easy train ride and arrived at Hangzhou railway station which is also huge. Found my way to the DiDi pickup place which was not easy and it took about 20 minutes to the hotel. Checked into the Sofitel Westlake which was tired, but in a great location very close to the lake.
I went for a walk along the main road parallel to the lake and found somewhere for lunch. Then had a coffee and walked along the lake shore.
It is very pretty and 36 degrees!
I wanted to go for a boat ride on the lake and there were plenty of options.
This is looking back at the other boats...
The boat went out and did a circle around an island.
After that, I went back to the hotel. There's a nice rooftop terrace there...
I had a nap then at night I caught a DiDi to the walk street, Lefang Street...
There were many shops...
This place is famous for its chilli oil and it smelt fantastic...
Chocolate beer?
These two guys were putting on a show hammering what looked like dough...
I found a nice place for dinner. This is like Beijing duck pancakes, but pork belly instead...
Sweet and sour pork was very sweet...
I then caught a Didi across town to a rooftop bar I wanted to try, But it was closed. As it's the week after Golden Week, many things haven't re-opened. This is the centre of the city from what I can ascertain...
The next morning I got up and went for an early walk. It's a bit hazy today and there were a lot of locals out dancing and walking. It was fun watching life in China, and this place is more local than Shanghai.
This is known as the Beijing bikini :-)
I then walked back to the place I had coffee yesterday. This is the shopping street...
I found somewhere for lunch and then got a DiDi back to the station. Second Class was fine and the train was on time. Back in Shanghai I caught a DiDi to The Langham.
It was a nice weekend and I enjoyed seeing a new place.
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