Hangzhou: Walking Around Xihu

And so I spent the first part of my day with my new friend from HK, who happened to be my roommate at the hostel. Since he only had half a day before he needed to catch a flight to Xiamen, we started out early in the morning, trying to walk as much around Xihu (it was about 15km) as possible. Map:




We walked in a counterclockwise direction, and our first highlight was to revisit the Long Bridge area I was at last night:

Long Bridge was still elegant, but it had a completely different feel to it in the evening. Plus, there were too many people in the area, making it feel slightly more touristy. We walked onwards a bit more before getting some local breakfast noodles and bread for a few RMB. After breakfast, we continued walking for a few more hours, mainly discussing economics, occasionally stopping in our tracks to take pictures of another view of the breathtaking scenery:











As we got near Gushan (孤山), it was getting close to noon and we decided to stop for lunch at Louwailou (樓外樓), one of the most famous restaurants in Hangzhou, known of course for its Hangzhou cuisine:



We ordered Dongpo Rou (東坡肉):



Beggar's Chicken (叫化童雞), which is traditionally baked in a mud:

Our picture in front of the restaurant:



After lunch, we bid each other goodbye and I decided to postpone my walk around Xihu for a tour thru the middle of Xihu guided by an oarsman:

After the tour, I completed my walk around Xihu:

As the sun started to set, ended up running to ensure I completed my circuit and still had time to see the sun set from Leifeng Pagoda. I made it just in time, though my camera batteries were running quite low by then:

Leifeng Pagoda at night:

By then, even with my feet sore and near blistering, I still could not help but walk around the lake at night, just to try to experience the same exhilaration as the night before: