Tea Time in Hanzhou

After a night high up in the hotel we visited a tea plantation and the beautiful West Lake park in Hangzhou. The whole trip I was amazed by the amount of green space amongst the huge high rise buildings.

The village was in a beautiful location and I was sorry we didn't have time to walk around and look at the architecture.

The sales tactics showing how tea could clean your system were interesting - the sales lady gave a great pitch but we resisted buying. Sorry China, we're dedicated coffee fiends!

Lunch was in the scenic West Lake Park, sadly the boat ride on the lake was canceled due to high winds. 

Pagodas, islands, temples, and gardens.

The grass is beautiful because you're not allowed to walk on it! 

Lunchtime concert.

Worlds smallest ice cream and lunch snacks.

As the cruise was cancelled we visited the Liuhe Pagoda instead. Parts of it date back to 970CE.

A walk up a steep stairway takes you to a lovely park and lookout followed by a scenic walk back through the park to the exit near the gift shop.

We then drove to Suzhou where our hotel was beautifully landscaped around gardens and a pond and we found (surprise!) things on sticks for dinner.