Trip to Hangzhou

I had three days off for the Dragon Boat Festival last week, so I went with a Couch Surfing friend to Hangzhou, which is about an hour & a half by train from Shanghai. There we found a cute little hostel for 50 RMB a night (about US $7) that was close to the famous West Lake & all the tourist action.

While in Hangzhou, we took a walk around a hilltop park, where we saw retired men & women practicing their morning tai chi...

We rode a ferry across the lake to an island where we sat & watched the people taking photos of each other in front of the distinctive Buddhist pagodas...

We strolled down the main tourist shopping street where they were selling everything from Chairman Mao stickers to sweets on sticks...

We ate sweet black rice in handmade grass baskets...

We watched as people threw popcorn to the brightly colored coy swimming in the Red Carp Pond...

We visited the tea museum where they served us four different types of really good tea...

...& we still had time for a nap! It was a great trip & a well-deserved break from the bustle of Shanghai.