When I first heard the commercial declaring “Hangzhou: The Most Beautiful City in China” I scoffed, thinking, leave it to Chinese marketing people to make outrageous claims that can’t be proven. After my recent trip there, I’m beginning to think the Chinese phrase “shang you tian tang, xia you su hang” roughly translated meaning ‘Above is Heaven and under Heaven are Suzhou and Hangzhou’ isn’t all hype. While I can’t comment on Suzhou because I haven’t been there (yea, surprising, I know; maybe that’ll be my next weekend trip) Hangzhou is a lovely place. It definitely qualifies as one of the nicest cities in China.

Hangzhou derives its beauty from the natural landscape, particularly the famous lake known as West Lake. West Lake is surrounded by hills that are good for climbing and viewing the lake and the city from afar. In the many parks and hills surrounding Hangzhou, you’ll find people singing, dancing, playing instruments and practicing tai chi. West Lake is noted for its many small islands, some of which have mini Chinese pagodas or other small decorative Chinese architecture, creating a classic Chinese image. It is a certainly a picturesque setting, as the wedding couples having their photos taken would attest to.

Hangzhou is also famous for tea and traditional (Chinese) medicine. Hangzhou is said to produce the Mainland’s best tea since the hills, ample rainfall, and humid climate are conducive to growing quality tea leaves. It’s possible to walk around the tea plantations, though I didn’t have time. Hangzhou is also one of the famous centers of ancient Chinese medicine. One of country’s the earliest pharmacies, at the time only devoted to caring for the emperor, began in Hangzhou. Chinese medicine is on display in the museum and available for purchase at one of the largest pharmacies I’ve ever seen in China on the Old Street in Hangzhou.

Other notable highlights of Hangzhou include the wetlands, which are great for bird watching according to my hosts, Al & Jane, a sizable Courtyard House, the Six Harmonies Pagoda, history museum, and YueFei’s mausoleum. Unfortunately, some of that will need to be reserved for another trip. That trip will just have to wait until Jane & Al get back, because they were excellent tour guides who brought me to their favorite restaurants and Hangzhou’s hidden treasures; plus, HZ just wouldn’t be the same without all their Russian family jokes.

Just in case you’re worried that Hangzhou is all old stuff and the great outdoors (did I mention there are LOTS of parks??), never fear, Hangzhou also has some fantastic shopping. The Old Street has everything from Chinese medicine to tourist souvenirs to clothes and silk scarves. I bought 2 cute dresses and a full length Chinese coat for less than $40. There’s also premium shopping in the form of international luxury brands and…well read the next paragraph to find out!

Before I left for HZ, I asked friends what they recommend I see/do there and one said to me, “Hangzhou is the Palm Springs of Shanghai.” I said blankly, huh? Palm Springs is of course the recreation, shopping, and retreat center for LA urbanites. What he meant was, Hangzhou functions much the same way for Shanghai urbanites: it is much more relaxed than Shanghai, with far fewer sky scrapers, with a much more calming feel overall. However, the analogy was nicely rounded out when I saw the Ferrari Store! Not only does Hangzhou have the refreshing, get-away-from-the-big-city feel equivalent to Palm Springs, it has the ritzy shopping as well.

The relaxed pace of Hangzhou makes it well worth the escape from Shanghai; it’s a great weekend escape at only 1.5 hours away on the highspeed train. It also seems to be the ideal place for expat families, safe, comfortable, accessible, less frantic than Shanghai, but still with the necessary comforts for foreigners (like Western food), very green, and affordable. There’s even a Sunday book market with English books and a small bar/nightlife scene.

Recently I heard about people going hang gliding off the hills in Hangzhou, maybe I’ll have to be more adventurous and try that on my next trip…

Pictures from this Hangzhou trip