DAY 01: West Lake Spring Scenery - Xiaohezhi Street
The West Lake in spring is beautiful in an extraordinary way. It can meet all your expectations of beauty and romance in spring.
Whether it is a popular attraction or a less-known one, you can always find a spring scene that makes you feel worthwhile within the West Lake Scenic Area.
Take your time to explore the West Lake in depth. The flowers are gorgeous, the water is flowing vigorously, and each pavilion and bridge are unique. The willows look like smoke and the bridges are like paintings. The white walls and black tiles form an ink wash painting of Jiangnan.
Before the sun sets, set off for the next "treasure of the canal" - Xiaohezhi Street.
The Xiaohezhi Street Historic and Cultural Block is centered on Xiaohezhi Street. The overall appearance and spatial features of the residential buildings and shipping facilities distributed along the canal and small branches are still well preserved and of a certain scale.
When you come to Xiaohezhi Street, step on the blue-stone slabs and walk along the streets and alleys, it's like starting a journey of exploring the hidden world. Here, you can re-experience the old dream of Jiangnan.
Walking on this street, you will come across many small shops. Go inside these interesting shops and take a closer look. Flower shops, handicraft workshops, original clothes shops...Every one of them reveals a quiet and slow-paced atmosphere.
DAY 02: North Summit - Faxi Temple - Southern Song Dynasty Imperial Street
"North Summit, the highest peak of the mountains around the West Lake and the blessed land producing gold." The North Summit is located in the West Lake Scenic Area of Hangzhou, between the West Lake and the Xixi Wetland. Sometimes it is shrouded in fog and mist and sometimes the calm lake surface looks like a mirror.
In "West Lake Exploration in the Dream," Zhang Dai described how he felt when he stood on the North Summit overlooking the city of Hangzhou: "The city is located between the river and the lake. There are rows of houses and lush bamboo and trees. It is full of power and grandeur."
For thousands of years, no matter how time goes by, how the clouds assemble and dissipate, the North Peak has been towering in the west corner of the West Lake, silently guarding the land and blessing the people living there.
The North Peak is also a holy place to pray for blessings, with Lingyin Temple at the foot of the mountain and Lingshun Temple at the top. However, the next stop of this trip is the Upper Tianzhu Temple: Faxi Temple, because the magnolia there will bloom soon!
“The gently fluttering petals are like newly painted makeup for a dinner party, and the straight and thin branches are like a woman's slender waist, bringing spring into the palace.” Whenever this 500-year-old magnolia blooms in Faxi Temple, its beauty will dominate the whole temple in spring.
This ancient magnolia tree from the Ming Dynasty is the oldest magnolia tree in Hangzhou. It stands in a courtyard on the right side of the guest hall, and the plaque reads Wuguan Hall.
In the courtyard, the white magnolia petals and the red lanterns complement each other, There are yellow walls, black tiles and small windows. With the ringing of bells and the chanting of monks, it is full of Zen.
After descending from the mountain, it was getting late, so I went to the for a small stroll, and clocked the century-old stores.
After descending the mountain, it is getting late, so you may go to explore the Southern Song Imperial Street, and visit the century-old shops there.
Imperial Street in the Southern Song Dynasty starts from West Lake Avenue in the north and ends at the Drum Tower in the south, with a total length of less than 1 kilometer. The street has always been deeply rooted in the memory of Hangzhou people. As soon as you come to this street, you seem to feel the various life styles in the Southern Song Dynasty.
Some old Hangzhou people often say, ""
People in Hangzhou often say:”The Southern Song Dynasty Imperial Street of the is more bustling at night than during the day.”
The old buildings and time-honored brands on the Imperial Street are full of flavor. There are many century-old stores on the street, such as Gongdelin, Xileyuan, Dasongfang, Huangfan’er...You can take this opportunity to try Hangzhou cuisine, and very likely you will fall in love with it.