China: Day 15

The night on the overnight coach went quickly enough, woke up early and recharged our phones (limited charging stations available). Brought some congee (粥) and mantou (饅頭) for breakfast on the train.

The train arrived at 9am sharp. Disembarked at Hangzhou Railway Station (杭州), and took the metro from Chengzhan (城站) to Ding’an Road (定安路). Walked the rest of the way to the Merchant Marco Edgelake Hotel (on GuoHuo Road).

After checking in, we walked out to eat a proper breakfast at Kui Yuan Guan (奎元馆) on Jiefang Road. We each ate a bowl of noodles.

Once we had finished eating, we walked back down Jiefang Road towards Yigongyuan Park, where we then proceeded to walk south around the West Lake (西湖).

The weather was quite overcast and misty, with some very light but constant rain. Despite the weather though, we had quite a pleasant walk around the shoreline and down as far as the Orioles Singing in the Willows (杭州–柳浪闻莺).

We eventually circled back towards the city, and grabbed lunch at a local food resturant. We continued on, passing through the Qinghefang Special History and Culture Street District (清河坊历史文化特色街区), where we brought some tea cookies - best eaten with the green tea this city is famous for.

We then arrived at the Hu Xueyan Former Residence (胡雪岩故居), and spent some time wandering around the reconstructed building and gardens.

After finishing up there, we walked back to the hotel via the Southern Song Imperial Street - and then made a cup to tea to have with the cookies we brought earlier in the day.

Went out for dinner at a very small local restaurant, and ate some rice noodles and small steam buns.