Hangzhou: Biking Around Xihu

This morning, I got up early once again due to the sound of activity - there was some construction going on nearby, and the hostel is also next door to an elementary school. After spending some time chatting with one of my roommates, a girl who came to Hangzhou to look for job opportunities, I decided to go biking around Xihu, and visit Zhejiang University, which was the alma mater of one of my friends and former Opera colleague. So I rented a bike from the hostel for 20 RMB for half a day (6 hours), though later I heard that there were places you can go to get bikes for cheaper (there was a place that charged nothing for the first hour, 1 RMB for the 2nd, 2 RMB for the 3rd, 3 RMB for the 4th, etc, very interesting). I got halfway around Xihu before heading up North to Zhejiang campus. At Xihu with the bike:

Zhejiang campus was beautiful, and very large. A few pictures:






My friend had recommended eating at a certain cafeteria at Zhejiang University, but I could not remember the place. However, I was hungry, and so I just picked the first cafeteria I came across to eat at - Cafeteria #2. They had contactless smart meal cards you had to buy - funds are deducted at the checkout counter. My meal (cost: ~20 RMB):


Food was good, though by the time I finished (only 1pm!), they were closing down the cafeteria, turning off the lights and everything. Around that time, a language exchange partner I had contacted in Hangzhou called me, and we arranged to meet later that afternoon. I hurried back to Xihu by bike. A few more pictures:

This is Baidi (白堤), also known as the Broken Bridge (段橋):


It is not really broken, but since it is so low, it may look that way on a winter day when the snow blows over the middle of the bridge.

Baochu Pagoda (保俶塔):



A stunning tree-lined pedestrian path between Xihu & Nanshan Rd:

And so I biked back to Xihu and met my language exchange partner on the east side of the lake. We eventually ended up going to visit Hefang St (河坊街), which is a pedestrian street famous for its traditional and cultural sights:


A very old pharmacy, still in business after hundreds of years in operation:


"Number One Scholar" Restaurant, supposedly the place students go eat at to improve their scores on their national exams:


A music shop featuring the "Chinese Saxophone," a wind instrument that could have possibly been the instrument that was played by the lake that very first night I visited Xihu:


After looking around Hefang St, I went back to Xihu for the sunset. Leifeng Pagoda with the setting sun:


At night, I had heard read about some language exchange "Board Game" night going on at Zhejiang University, but I could not find it, despite searching over an hour for it and asking the locals around the area. Disappointed, I got a taxi back to Xihu, and ended up walking across Sudi (蘇堤) at night by myself. As it was almost 11pm, it was nice and quiet, unlike the tourist bustle during the day. Even the spiders realized that, and they were so quick to spin their webs in those few empty hours that I ran into quite a few of them during my walk.

My self-timer shot on Sudi with virtually no light:



The lights of Hangzhou shining across the waters: