Day 12 - Wuzhen, Hangzhou

Met our guide for day in the lobby, another young girl by the name of Tracy. She spoke very good English and I was to learn that she is going to Holland to study English for a few months and will then travel to Spain to study Spanish. A fairly long drive to Wuzhen and had an interesting conversation about life in China with Tracy.

Wuzhen is one of the "water towns" surrounding Shanghai. Jane had recommended Wuzhen as she said it was less commercialised than some of the others and this was true. The only slightly strange thing was that you entered the town through an entrance like it was a theme park, but as soon as you got in you didn't notice that. There weren't the usual plethora of souvenir shops, just small shops owned by locals selling local wares. It was a very beautiful and peaceful visit, slowly floating through the town and then casually walking back. Another recommended place to visit.

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/zhejiang/hangzhou/wuzhen.htm

We then went to a restaurant for lunch and were given enough food for 5 people and it was very cheap and good. We then continued onto Hangzhou where we first visited an old shopping street, which reminded me of Yangshuo. Didn't buy anything but I probably should have. Then onto West Lake where we visited a pagoda with panoramic views over the lake. Dad waited in the bus as the weather was pretty bad, so the view from the pagoda wasn't the best. I will need to visit Hangzhou again and maybe spend a couple of nights here. Our visit to hangzhou concluded with another very peaceful boat ride on the West Lake. I would have loved to have had time to explore the island and gardens but we didn't have enough time. One amusing fact that Tracy told me about was that here we were in an old style boat but apparently the boat drivers are paid per boat trip and the comapny running the business keeps track of the drivers by using GPS trackers on their mobile phones. Old and new technologies combined.

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/zhejiang/hangzhou/west_lake.htm

A two hour plus bus trip back was quiet as Dad and Tracy both fell asleep, but not me. Last night in China so I had another qlast quick look around nanjing road ( and was approached again by spruikers).