| Perfect Hangzhou trip | |
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| Jul 13, 2009 21:03 |   |
 | We are 2 families from Beijing on a Hangzhou trip for the eclipse. 3 adults, 2 kids 7yr and 8 yrs. Our train tickets get us in Sun morning instead of Sat as planned and returning on Wed night after eclipse. Only 4 days! Any hints and tips to make it perfect, greatly appreciated. Tentatively, Sun and Mon by foot and bike around Hangzhou (Longjing too?) at a leisurely pace: heat of midday a concern. To avoid much time lost in transit, we will see just 1 watertown: priority to town within easy reach. Due to heat, maybe this could be an overnight arriving late-ish and leaving mid-morning. Wuzhen sounded good with a handicrafts work section. Alternatively, elevation to beat the heat and view eclipse away from city distractions? Moganshan or tea villages? Then off to train.... cheers, Pat |
| Jul 15, 2009 02:42 | #1 |
| Don't think it's advisable to cycle around the Longjing hills. There're always slopes (pushing your bicycle half the time) and it's too far to cycle from town, especially with all the traffic. I would rather prefer Xitang to Wuzhen. |
| Jul 15, 2009 02:54 | #2 |
| Places to stay in Xitang? Easy to get to from Hangzhou? It seems everywhere is busy on the Tuesday before the eclipse so we want to book ahead. For Longjing we would get a van and driver then, if weather is good, walk to the Jiuxiyanshu falls where we would be picked up. cheers! |
| Jul 16, 2009 04:38 | #3 |
| No specific recommendations for Xitang accommodation as we haven't found anything very outstanding so far. Last time we went during the Dragon Boat Festival and there were awfully overpriced rooms available if we didn't mind the cost. We did, so we went to a bathhouse just outside the water village area and got beds for 50 RMB each in a triple room, bathing facilities downstairs, which wasn't expensive considering it was a Chinese public holiday. Yes, there're 4 direct buses for Hangzhou -- Xitang daily, at 0650, 0925, 1120 and 1350. Fare is 36 RMB and I don't think the journey time would be much more than 1.5 hours. For Longjing, no problem with getting 2 taxis, you could get the one at the back to follow the one in front. I've done the walk down to Jiu Xi and it was nice. It was a couple of years ago, so hopefully things haven't changed too much! |
| Jul 16, 2009 20:36 | #4 |
| Thanks, Ellyse Looks like Ayi can use her family's guanxi to get us a discount at a decent guesthouse in Moganshan. That will be a nice contrast to the heat on the lake. Watertown will have to be squeezed just before returning to the train station. Sounds like quite enough for a short trip! S |
| Jul 19, 2009 01:27 | #5 |
| Not sure if you've heard of Naked Retreats (no, you don't need to be naked, LOL), you might want to try that on Moganshan. |
| Jul 22, 2009 20:55 | #6 |
| Just returned from a near perfect trip! Oh, the heat... we had to be out by 7 to enjoy walking or boating and once the sun was high a trip up to Longjing brought some relief. Spent 2 hours talking tea and sipping. There are plenty of walking trails and we took one nearly back to the lake which could have resulted in heat-stroke but the panoramic view was worth it. Having a hotel pool to cool off in early afternoon, I think, is essential to keeping kids happy. Tickets back are difficult on short notice as most trains don't originate here. We ended up on the luxury D sleeper which is more costly than flying! Might be worth using an agent next time for a ticket home from Shanghai after a day-trip to a watertown. 2 words on Hangzhou food: oily and salty. Pack snacks and buy fruit to avoid restaurant meals as far as possible. Sure made Beijing look like gastro-heaven! |
| Jul 23, 2009 01:21 | #7 |
| Yes, could've told you that about the train tickets before you went. :P It's especially difficult on Fri and Sun. You should've considered the bus instead, those are less than 70 RMB each. Hangzhou food isn't all oily and salty, actually. I've enjoyed most of my meals at Zhi Wei Guan whenever I go. Perhaps it was just the particular restaurant you ate at? Also, having rice and tea alleviates the oil and salt overload feeling. |
| Aug 2, 2009 03:10 | #8 |
| GUESTSOMMER | Oops, only just saw reply! Any tips for onward travel from Hangzhou? Is it possible to get tickets through an agent for travel from Shanghai instead? We started the search with our hotel agent as soon as we arrived Sun for a Wed departure. Seats but no beds except expensive ones. If there is an onward destination that isn't too much trouble for tickets then I would consider it for the next trip in Autumn. Perhaps to Ningbo then on to Putuo Shan? As for the food, we (Taiwan native and longtime Laowai) used local recommendations and tried big and small places. The best we had was 'acceptable' even after insisting on less salt and oil. Hard to stomach in the heat. The beer went down well though! If not, definitely get airtickets for return! |
| Aug 2, 2009 10:07 | #9 |
| I would've helped you out with the train tickets. Let me know next time you travel. Shaoxing would be a nice destination to visit from Hangzhou, or you could try Xitang. |
| Sep 16, 2009 13:20 | #10 |
| GUESTNEP | Hello Ellyse, is there any bus from Hangzhou to Zhouzhuang and what;s the distance? We're a group of 12 people. Do you think that we should rent a car? We also want to check if we can rent a car to go to Wuyuan from Tunxi and back. Thank a lot |
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