Travel guide to Hangzhou, a paradise on earth

(Source: Internet)

Hangzhou is now in the spotlight as the host of this year's G20 summit, from September 4-5.

Hangzhou, the capital city of East China's Zheijiang province, is one of the seven ancient capitals of China, having served as the capital of the Wuyue Kingdom during the Five Dynasties (AD 907-960) and the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). As a core city of the Yangtze River Delta, Hangzhou has been one of the most prosperous cities in China for more than 1,000 years, and is home to a myriad of natural attractions and historical legacies.

Marco Polo, the famous 13th century Italian traveler and merchant, described Hangzhou as "beyond dispute, the finest and the noblest in the world".

Now as Hangzhou has grabbed the world's attention, tourists from various places have gathered to this heavenly city to enjoy its slow life tempo and beautiful natural surroundings. Here are some highlights of the city you can't miss.

1 West Lake

The West Lake is definitely a place people can never miss when visiting Hangzhou. The lake itself covers 6 sq km, and includes some of Hangzhou's most famous scenic places.

There are "10 scenes of West Lake" and "10 new scenes", but it is not necessary to make a checklist and walk back and forth to look for these scenic spots.

Just walk casually along the Nanshan and Beishan roads and the causeways, take a ferry on the boat to the islands on the lake, or simply sit in a lakeside teahouse and enjoy the picturesque views and the longjing (dragon well) tea.

The lake is situated in the center of the city, with convenient public transport access. The Hangzhou government also offers free public bikes for tourists to travel around the lake. The parks around the lake are all free to visit.

2 Lingyin Temple

Lingyin, or the Temple of the Soul's Retreat, has historically been the most renowned destination for Buddhist pilgrims in the Yangtze River Delta.

The monastery was founded in 326 during the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420), purportedly by the Indian monk Hui Li. In the 10th century, when Hangzhou was the capital city of the Buddhist Wuyue Kingdom, the temple for the first time gained its unprecedented importance.

The temple has undergone several restorations, the latest of which was in the 1970s at the urging of Premier Zhou Enlai. Lingyin Temple is now considered one of the largest Buddhist complexes in the country.

Upon entering the Great Hall of the monastery, visitors will see a 200-year-old statue of Maitreya, also known as the Laughing Buddha, which has a huge belly. The Four Heavenly Kings, or Buddhist guardians, stand on either side of Maitreya.

Visitors then enter the main hall of the temple complex, the Jeweled Hall of the Great Heroes, or Da Xiong Bao Dian in Chinese. It houses a 64-foot-high statue of Sakyamuni, a representation of the Buddha himself, Siddhartha Gautama. Covered with gold leaf, Sakyamuni is thought to be the largest sitting Buddha statue in China.

The temple grounds also hold a household and mystical hill called the Peak Flying from Afar, a limestone pinnacle over 209 m high.
 

(Source: Internet)

3 Six Harmonies Pagoda

Standing on Yuelun Hill, on the north bank of the tidal Qiantang River, the Six Harmonies Pagoda is another masterpiece built during the Wuyue Kingdom - this one designed to vanquish flooding and destruction from the Qiantang River. It was completed in 970.

The name Six Harmonies was given to characterize its purpose of restoring the balance between the heavens and earth, as well as north, south, east, and west. It was erected in the hope of combating the "evil" river's tidal action.

The brick-and-wood pagoda of today has been reconstructed several times. Large-scale reconstruction during the Southern Song Dynasty resulted in a brick structure. Wood adornments were added in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and subsequent renovations over the past century.

Today, the 13-storey pagoda commands a spectacular view of the Qiantang River and is an image of centuries-old majesty.

4 Leifeng Pagoda

On the south of the West Lake, Leifeng Pagoda is considered the top scenic structure around West Lake due to its stunning silhouette in the glow of evening.

For almost a thousand years the pagoda withstood fires and wars, but finally collapsed in 1924, due to the removal of bricks as souvenirs by locals.

Rebuilt on historic ruins, the pagoda was restored in 2000 in the style of the Southern Dynasty (AD 420-589) and opened to the public in 2002. The 71.7m-tall pagoda is eight-sided with five stories.

5 The Xixi wetland park

Xixi, located less than five kilometers from West Lake in the west of Hangzhou, is China's first national wetland park. The area covers about 10 square kilometers and it has been around for more than 1,500 years, although it was only recently revived to offer residents and visitors a green respite from the concrete of the city.

Despite its increasing popularity, the wetland's winding waterways, lush greenery and rich biodiversity guarantee serene spots amid nature.

Wetlands themselves are one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems, acting as natural green lungs, water purification systems and flood control. But environmental degradation is threatening them worldwide.

More than 20,000 hectares of wetland in the country have disappeared every year on average in the past decade, the China Institute for Marine Affairs warns.

More than half of the country's inter-tidal wetland has also vanished, while the wetlands of the Yellow and East China seas have lost up to 90 percent of their natural function, the institute reports.

That makes the 226 plant species, 50 kinds of fish and aquatic animals as well as 126 kinds of birds in Xixi even more valuable.

Xixi's native vegetation consists of subtropical mountainous swamp and evergreen and deciduous, broad-leafed forest, watered by six crisscrossing rivers that also flow into the ponds, lakes and swamps.