I have looked forward to visiting Hangzhou - Paradise on Earth since I was young. Last week I realized my wish last month with my good friend Lingling. Before the travel, we sufficiently prepared – checking the weather and relevant info. on the internet, booking hotels and buying train tickets, etc. We were sure that we will have a good trip.
However, we met some trouble as soon as we got on the train. We did have seats on our train tickets which were bought 10 days ahead of the departure date, but our seats were already occupied by two middle-aged women when we were there. We took out the tickets and asked them to show their tickets, but they said that they were sure the seats were theirs although they lost their tickets. Suddenly, we got to know that they are ticket evaders, so we try to consult with them. However, they were quite impassive, paying no attention to us. After about 5 minutes' effort, we were irritated and asked the conductor to deal with it. Through minutes' struggle, we got our seats finally.
After about one night's trip on the train, we arrived at Hangzhou. Then, we went straight to the West Lake by a taxi without any breakfast or rest. On the way, I enjoyed the passing buildings, buses, trees and streets, while sketching the beauty at the West Lake – the Broken Bridge, the Su Causeway, the Lotus Pool, the Nanping Hill, etc. Unconsciously, we reached our destination. I was fascinated by the actual scenery when I got off the taxi. In front of my eyes are just a natural painting made of green water, drooping willows, ancient pavilions and bridges, small but fine boats on the lake if only less people. Since our hotel is very near, we decided to put down our luggage and have a rest first.
After having a simple breakfast, we walked out of the hotel and headed for the West Lake. The left day, we visited al most all of the corners there and took a lot of photos. On the internet, we got to know that there are boats for renting there. Thanks to the good preparation in advance, we find the boats renting place easily. We always thought that southerners were always discriminatory against non locals, but we found that we were wrong, since the owner of the boats is so enthusiastic that he made a detailed introduction about boating to us, and the taxi driver is also very easy-going. As northerners, we boated on the lake ourselves for the first time in our life that day. The most memorable thing should be taking photos on the Broken Bridge when wearing the ancient costume.
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| West Lake in Hangzhou |
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| Statue on the bank of West Lake |
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| Lots of fish in the lake ! |
After nearly a full day's visit, we decided to have a taste of the local snacks Xi Pu Shan Mian (Noodles with quick-fried eel shreds and shelled shrimps). With extreme difficulty, we found a small restaurant selling it. However, it was not as delicious as that described on the internet.
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