Took a train to Hangzhou [杭州]. It’s about 2 hours off and costs between RMB $44 – $48, depending on the hours and the type of train. According to a local, it can be even as low as RMB $29.

It was a little surprising to me that Hangzhou is another modern city when I arrived and I must say that I am completely ignorant of China and I should do something about my perception of the country of my forefathers. From Hangzhou railway station it was only about 10 – 15 mins to Xihu [西湖] or West Lake itself. Flag down far is just RMB $10 itself, and the lake is so near to the train station that the meter didn’t move at all.

Population density in Hangzhou seems to be way lower than Shanghai because I don’t feel as hemmed in and surrounded there, and it appears as orderly as Shanghai itself. However, I am not aware if the security is as good or better than Shanghai because crime rates – as I was told – differs between cities.

Anyway, about 30 minutes after arriving in Xihu, we gave in the the constant harassing of a local peddler who put us onto a vehicle that took us around Xihu for RMB $50. We only need to pay when we hit the last point of the route and he gave us brief introductions of the places he took us to. I learn a few things about the history and the origins of the places along the way as I took some photos.

You can check out the album below.

* Click on the picture to view the album
And it doesn’t work in Opera so give up…