A Taste of Paradise: Hangzhou's Autumn Colors in 2013
In late November, I met up with friends in Hangzhou to enjoy the beautiful scenery and delicious food—we had a truly joyful time. From Shanghai Hongqiao to Hangzhou, a D-train ticket costs 49.50 yuan for a 1 hour 22 minute ride; a high-speed train is 77.50 yuan. If you depart from Shanghai Station to Hangzhou Chengzhan, only high-speed trains are available, and the fare is a steep 92.50 yuan. So, if you plan ahead, it's best to book a D-train ticket in advance and leave from Hongqiao Station to save quite a bit of cash. I took the 8:48 am D5661 from Shanghai Hongqiao, arriving at Hangzhou Chengzhan at 10:20 am. A heads-up: nowadays many D-trains and high-speed trains stop at Hangzhou East Station, which is a bit far from the city center. So try to get a ticket to Hangzhou Chengzhan. After getting off, take tourist bus Y2 to Qianwang Temple, and you'll be right at the youth hostel we booked.
The youth hostel was so much fun. We stayed in a 4-bed mixed dorm—a tiny room with two bunk beds. At the front desk, we got our pillowcase, duvet cover, and bedsheet set, and made our own beds. Shared showers, shared toilets, bring your own toiletries... For someone used to star hotels, I was a bit unprepared! The price was 55 yuan per person per night—haha, unbelievably cheap...
Once settled, we headed out to the bus stop to go to Nine Creeks. Right outside, bus 4 goes directly there, fare 1 yuan. While waiting, I discovered Nanshan Road is truly gorgeous...
Bus 4 terminates at Nine Creeks, which is 3 km from the Nine Creeks Misty Trees scenic spot. We turned down the illegal taxis and walked all the way, and the scenery was utterly breathtaking...
Arriving at Nine Creeks Misty Trees, we found it's now free of charge. The maple leaves were so red, my photos ended up overexposed...
After passing Nine Creeks Misty Trees, we continued toward Longjing Village. Beautiful leaves, beautiful trees, beautiful light and shadow...
Following the Nine Creeks and Eighteen Gullies, we eventually reached Longjing Village...
After passing through Longjing Village, we caught tourist bus Y3 at the village entrance to Prince Bay Park. From Longjing to Prince Bay, bus Y3 winds through Manjuelong and Wengjiashan. Looking out the window, the entire route was stunning—I'll have to save it for another trip... In the deep dusk of autumn, Prince Bay Park revealed a beauty unlike the cherry blossom season in spring...
Prince Bay Park captivated us; the scenery was simply too beautiful to leave...
As the sun was about to set, we left Prince Bay and swung by Leifeng Pagoda. Then we went to Huangfan'er restaurant on Hefang Street for dinner... At Huangfan'er, six of us spent over 500 yuan; I thought the dishes were just average and not cheap. After dinner, we had planned to hit a bar, but we were too tired, so we headed back to the hostel early to rest. The bunk beds were actually quite comfortable, and amazingly, no one snored through the night...
Early the next morning, I was jolted awake by a friend's alarm. He wanted to jog along West Lake, so my dream of waking up naturally was shattered. After 6 am, when it got light, everyone got up. We had breakfast, checked out, and split into two groups—one heading to Lingyin Temple, the other to Su Causeway...
Morning on Nanshan Road on both sides...
We walked along West Lake, passing Orioles Singing in the Willows, the Long Bridge, Leifeng Pagoda, then reached Su Causeway and Flower Harbor Park (Huagang Guanyu)...
At Su Causeway, we first visited Flower Harbor Park. The autumn colors there were superb, with red maples and green willows—it was hard to tell if it felt like spring or fall...
The beautiful autumn colors attracted pretty girls...
The withered lotus in the lake signaled that autumn had turned to winter in Hangzhou...
Reluctantly leaving Flower Harbor Park, we started strolling along Su Causeway and Bai Causeway...
When visiting Hangzhou, you really need strong legs. Every time, I end up walking a marathon. Not because there's no bus or because fares are high, but because I can't bear to miss the scenery along the way—there's always something beautiful just ahead...
Even the autumn plane trees were so lovely. Standing on Bai Causeway and looking across the lake, everything was a sea of gold...
We set off a little before 8 am and kept walking until 12:30 pm. Then we went to New White Deer restaurant on Yan'an Road for lunch... New White Deer is great value. Five of us ordered over ten dishes for 206 yuan, and everything was delicious. It's an excellent choice. We only had to queue a little at lunchtime. After eating, we saw a talent show going on in the lobby downstairs, so we watched for a while and snapped photos of the pretty performers...
Well-fed, watered, and thoroughly entertained, we were still not ready for it to end, but all feasts must eventually break up. We could only look forward to the next adventure. We took the 6:34 pm D5654 back to Shanghai Hongqiao Station, and our Hangzhou trip came to a perfect end.
