I’ll admit, I’d never heard of Wuxi or Hangzhou before we started planning our first trip to China, but I’m glad the two stops were part of our trip.
China is one of the countries I was intimidated to tackle on my own. I don’t speak Mandarin and I’d heard that it’s sometimes difficult to find people who understand and speak English there. It also kinda freaked me out that I wasn’t going to recognize any letters or numbers anywhere.
That’s why I thought the trip we bought with a Groupon through Rewards Travel China sounded pretty perfect. There are some things I’d change about the trip if I were to take it again, but overall we had an amazing experience.
At this point in our adventure, we’d already spent three days in Beijing (including trips to the Forbidden City and the Great Wall), a day in Suzhou, and an afternoon and overnight in Wuxi. As we waived farewell to Wuxi the bus set it’s sights on the city of Hangzhou.
We were told that Hangzhou is known as the most beautiful city in the world. You’ll have to make up your own mind when you visit. We had plenty of time to dream of what we’d see when we arrived because the drive between Wuxi and Hangzhou is nearly four hours!
Hangzhou is known for it’s scenic beauty. If you’re traveling during the warmer months, you’ll have the option of taking in an open-air performance of “West Lake Night” while in the city. The show is made up of dances, opera, acrobatics and dances performed on a stage just below the water. We’re told that it looks like the performers are actually walking on the lake. The show consists of five scenes and lasts about an hour. Tickets through Rewards Travel China are $65 per person. That also includes transportation to and from the show. Unfortunately we visited in December, so we will have to wait to see the world renowned performance.
But that didn’t keep us off the lake! According to TravelChinaGuide.com, It’s one of the top ten scenic areas in China. We paid an additional $35 per person through Rewards Travel China to take a boat tour of the area. Those who didn’t join us had a couple of hours to explore the city on their own.
We boarded an old style cruise boat for our excursion. It may look old school, but we were told that the boats have been modernized to avoid polluting West Lake. As we cruised around the lake, our tour guide, Ivy, pointed out pagodas, bridges, and other landmarks.
The lake covers about 2.5 square miles. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011. It’s also listed in the book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz.
Hangzhou isn’t just about West Lake. It’s also known as the “tea capital of China.” Our tour bus dropped us off at the Longjing Tea Plantation. It’s the home of China’s famous dragon well tea. This is another mandatory stop if you buy a trip through Rewards Travel China, or another similar travel company. Just sit back and let them make their sales pitch while you enjoy a free cup of dragon well tea. And take some mental notes as you listen. People in China drink tea very differently than a lot of people do in the United States. This is all loose leaf tea. It looks almost like grass clippings when hot water is added to it. We were told that you begin the day with your tea leaves, but don’t toss them when you’re done with the first cup. Continue adding warm water to the leaves throughout the day. You can also eat the leaves as you drink the tea.
We also enjoyed lunch at the picturesque tea plantation. By this point in our trip, we knew the deal. We split up into tables of ten. Servers brought hot, heaping bowls full of delicious food to the tables. Water, soda and beer were also included with lunch.
After we had our fill, we boarded the bus and set our sights on the hour drive to Shanghai, and our final two days in China.