We took a day-trip to Hangzhou! I wish the weather was better because this was my favorite spot on the trip.
Our High Speed Rail train from Shanghai Hongqiao Station was at 7:30 AM, and we were so used to the transit by now, it was just scanning the passport and go!
I finally got my Timmies! This was pretty expensive, but I'd figure this was my way of thanking the Canadian government for allowing Chinese EVs into the country, so Canadians can have a 30-day visa free travel in China!
The travel time from Shanghai to Hangzhou is about 45 minutes via bullet transit. It took us a good 40 minutes to get to Longjing Tea Village! I know the title of this log is misleading, but I was too lazy to make a separate folder for Hangzhou if I only visited once. In the evident I do visit again, I will most definitely create a folder.
Here are the photos:
The text in the photo reads:
Longjing Village is located in Hangzhou West Lake Scenic Area, famous for Longjing Tea at home and abroad, having 1,600 years of history, covering an administrative area of 3.18 km2, regarded as the National Civilized Village and 1,000-year-old Ancient Village. Longjing Village is the birthplace of West Lake Longjing Tea which was originated from the Song Dynasty, well-known in the Yuan Dynasty, popular in the Ming Dynasty, prosperous in the Qing Dynasty, reputed as the "Queen of Green Tea", ranking the first among the top 10 tea brands. Longjing Village is close to North Peak and Shifeng Hill in the north, adjacent to Nine Creeks & Eighteen Ravines in the west, with unique ecological environment and advantageous geographical location. In the village, there are rich tourism resources. Many scenic spots are scattered among them. Historical celebrities, such as Su Shi, Qianlong, and Mao Zedong, visited Longjing for many times, to add a strong cultural atmosphere, and form the unique Longjing Tea Culture.
It's time to expand the vocabulary, I am using big words now!
This was Matcha ice cream. I was disappointed that the vendor did not offer Longjing flavor ice cream. Guarantee that the vendor just imported this Matcha ice cream from Kyoto because it tasted 1 of 1 to Kyoto's Matcha ice cream.
Aside from the bingqilin, here are the photos:
Translation: Longjing Village, Xihu (West Lake) Sub-district, West Lake Scenic Area, Hangzhou City
China in August is definitely not for the week. It is miserably hot and having quick dry athletic clothes is essential!
Longjing Tea Village was super peaceful, pretty, and relaxing. Aside from the tea fields, there's a plethora of beautiful surroundings. I will let these photos speak for themselves:
We walked around Longjing Tea Village for a good 2 hours before we sat down to drink Longjing tea and have lunch!
20 minutes into our meal a sudden downpour occurred and this was a peak Chinese moment for me. Take a look at these videos:
No clue why I said, "thunderstorm," there was no thunder!
Just listen to the sound of the rain, I really felt like this panda right here:
Watch on YouTubeThis is the real bingqilin right here!
Never in my life I thought I would live this YouTube video:
Due to the rain we had to cut our other Hangzhou activities we had planned: West Lake (Xi Hu), Leifeng Pagoda, Lingyin Temple, and Qianjiang New City. I was pretty gutted that our day trip to Hangzhou only encompassed one place, but Longjing Tea Village was my favorite on the trip. I do not count The Great Wall being #1 because that is one of the 7 Modern Wonders of the World and is unfair to the other places on the trip!
Until next time Hangzhou! I will definitely come back if I go to Shanghai again!