Hangzhou to Huang Shan
After finding out that to procuring my Indian visa would cost me another five days, I decided to leave the metropolitan wonderland of Shanghai for a while. The nearby city of Hangzhou, proclaimed by Marco Polo as paradise on earth, seemed like a perfect escape to the commotion of the city and relax. As an added bonus, I found that Carrie, the Cantonese backpacker from southern China who I met in Xi’an, would also be there at the same time.
We spent a few beautiful, clear days strolling around the parks surrounding the famous West Lake. It’s hard not to admire perfect willow-tree framed scenes of misty, pagoda-topped hills rising above an expanse of calm water, shimmering in the orange hues of sun set. Unfortunately, the stark contrast to this otherwise idyllic locale was an over-abundance of un-palatable food and endless stream of intolerably tacky music playing at every restaurant, bar and park around the lake.
A few days relaxing in Hangzhou were far from enough to experience the delicate charms this city appears to possess. Alas, I had to head back to Shanghai to pick up the Indian visa, where I was grateful to spend another night with good friends and finally able to properly see the amazing views of the Pudong skyline from the Bund. With only a month left on my Chinese visa, it would be a waste to stay in this area any longer, so I decided to set out westward with Carrie towards Tibet, Sichuan and the most famously beautiful mountain in China, Huang Shan!
See my miscellaneous photos from Hangzhou
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Tags: - Photography, Asia, China, Hangzhou, Zhejiang
Adam Shane
Hey man, about damn time you got back to writing. JK 😉 I’ve been slacking for 10 days myself for various reasons.
Hope to catch up with you soon,
Greg
Hey Adam. Your dad finally sent me your blog address and I’ve read a little bit of it. Sounds like most of your trip has been a great experience. As an “old guy”, I can appreciate what you are getting out of this. I had a buddy who did the Peace Corp in Korea and he was forever changed by the experience. I will continue to check in and follow your exploits as you further the process of proving that not all Americans are ugly. And it doesn’t suck that you’re a “rock and roll hero” to the young girls of China.