The Journey in Hangzhou
Above, there is heaven; below, there are Suzhou and Hangzhou. Ever since my last visit to Suzhou, I had been wanting to see Hangzhou. I had passed by Hangzhou East Railway Station countless times, and finally, this time, I got off the train and stepped into the city.
All photos in this post were shot with the Sony FL film filter straight out of camera, with some images slightly corrected or color-graded.
Itinerary
Before coming, I roughly planned a few places I wanted to visit. Since it was my first time in Hangzhou, I couldn’t miss West Lake. It’s a vast scenic area — just the Ten Scenes of West Lake alone could take quite a while to explore.
I took the high-speed train from Shanghai Hongqiao Station to Hangzhou East Station, then transferred to Metro Line 1 and got off at Fengqi Road Station.
Day 1: West Lake
After exiting Fengqi Road Station, I walked toward West Lake and passed by the Former Residence of Sha Menghai. I went in to take a look.
After leaving, I continued walking toward the lake, and before long, I caught my first glimpse of West Lake. The weather wasn’t great that day — hot, humid, and cloudy, with limited visibility.
I checked online and found that the tower on the mountain across the lake was the Liuhe Pagoda (Six Harmonies Pagoda).
I kept walking along the northern shore of the lake and soon arrived at one of the Ten Scenes of West Lake — “Broken Bridge in Snow” (Duanqiao Canxue). There was a patch of lotus flowers growing by the lake.
Some bloomed, some didn’t.jpg
Although the weather was sweltering, the bridge was still crowded with people. Since the sun was blazing and there was no shade, I decided not to squeeze into the open areas.
Baoshi Hill (Gemstone Hill)
I kept walking and eventually arrived at the foot of Baoshi Hill. The bamboo groves along the way were beautiful.
From the hillside, I could overlook West Lake.
Baoshu Pagoda
I climbed all the way to the top of Toad Peak, where the stones shimmered with a gemstone-like luster.
Toad Peak
A cute little dog. From its expression alone, you could tell just how hot it was today.
View of Bai Causeway from above
It was almost lunchtime, so I descended quickly on the other side of the hill to find some food.
On the way down, the mosquitoes were insanely dense — swarming around me 360 degrees. It was terrifying.
For lunch, I ate at Zhiweiguan, where I had a great appetite and ordered:
- A bowl of shrimp Pian’er Chuan noodles – ¥28, delicious
- A portion of Dongpo braised pork – ¥20, very good
- A serving of poached chicken – ¥21, not good
- A bowl of red bean soup – ¥7, not too sweet, refreshing; would’ve been perfect if served cold
After lunch, I went back to the hotel for a nap and didn’t head out again until evening.
I scanned a HelloBike and started cycling. It felt so pleasant that I didn’t want to stop — I ended up riding a full loop around the lake.
When I pulled out my camera, the lens fogged up completely.
Jixian Pavilion
Intime in77, a bustling commercial district, was packed with people.
Day 2: Hupao (Tiger Spring)
After cycling around the lake last evening and heading back to the hotel, I had a great night’s sleep. I woke up at 8 a.m., had breakfast, and then took Bus No. 318 to the entrance of Hupao Park. When I heard the bus announcement pronounce “páo,” I got curious and looked it up — turns out the spring got its name from a legend where two tigers dug (刨) the spring from the ground. So the “跑” here is actually a phonetic play on the character “刨.”
I arrived at the park entrance around 9:30 a.m. — right off the bus, I could see the forest by the roadside.
The ticket cost ¥15 and could be purchased by QR code. If you enter before 7 a.m., it’s free. The park wasn’t crowded at all.
Light and shadow.
Ice-cold mountain spring water.
This spot had air conditioning.
This window — absolutely stunning.
A kind man told me I could go into the Guanyin Hall to enjoy the air conditioning — much appreciated 👍👍👍.
Each window framed a painting-like scene.
The Dream Spring of Hupao
Water trickled continuously from the rock wall.
After strolling around for a while, I began heading back. If you’re feeling hot, Hupao Park has several halls with air conditioning (👍👍👍) where you can rest and read a bit of historical background at the same time.
Stream flowing, sunlight sparkling
All the water in Hupao Park was flowing — no stagnant pools. I didn’t see any mosquitoes. But I did spot a skink 🦎, which gave me a bit of a fright.
The moist air nourished the greenery growing on rooftops.
After leaving the park, I had originally planned to visit Prince Bay Park, but by then it was almost noon and the heat was building up, so I decided to take the bus back to the hotel to rest.
I didn’t buy my return ticket until noon and discovered that all the seats were already sold out. I joined the waitlist for 10 different trains, and within 30 minutes, I managed to get a seat on the fastest one — only 45 minutes from Hangzhou East to Shanghai Hongqiao.
I checked out of the hotel at 3 p.m., and just as I was about to leave, a sudden downpour started. Luckily, it stopped right in time for me to head to the train station.
Heading home. The sun came out again.
Thoughts
Why no HDR this time?
I had RAW files too and could’ve exported HDR photos, but for this trip, I wanted to try Sony’s FL film filter. Judging by the photo style, I really liked the results. Some highlights looked slightly blown out, but still within an acceptable range for me. The main goal was to maintain a consistent visual experience throughout the post — I didn’t want the reader to see an abrupt switch between SDR and HDR image styles.
West Lake is huge
I’m envious of Hangzhou locals — what a lovely, walkable public park to have right in the city.
So many people
The metro was crowded, and the streets were packed too. Also, people weren’t really following the “let people off before boarding” rule on the subway. My high-speed train from Hangzhou East to Shanghai departed at 16:03, and passengers didn’t finish disembarking until 16:02 — talk about a close call. The onboard police were urging us to board quickly. One passenger complained, “Why aren’t they rushing them to get off? We can’t get on unless they move!” Honestly, I think that’s the inner voice of every person stuck at the train door. Applause for saying it out loud.
It was scorching
The kind of heat that makes you melt. I ended up hiding in the hotel during the day. This kind of weather really isn’t suitable for outdoor activities. I thought I’d learned my lesson after nearly overheating in Suzhou, but clearly not. At least this time I knew to seek shade.
The greenery around West Lake is impressive
What I enjoyed most about this trip were the lakeside bike ride at sunset and the morning stroll through Hupao Park. Hangzhou gets snow in winter, so I imagine West Lake must be beautiful in all four seasons.
Cycling and buses were great ways to explore
Roads were lined with forests, creeks, and lakes — the breeze felt refreshing and calming. Taking the bus was also wonderful: strong air conditioning, and the views through the window were incredibly satisfying.
So many scalpers
They were everywhere — made me a bit wary of getting scammed.
Final Note
I’ll come back again when it’s cooler — maybe for fall foliage, or snow in winter.