8-Day Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai Trip in the Post-Pandemic Era
2020 was bound to leave some memories. The Xi'an trip planned for Spring Festival, with flights and hotels all ready, was suddenly disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and there seemed to be no improvement trend. By May Day, the first 5-day holiday in years, the pandemic had eased somewhat, and I planned for Nanjing but missed it due to workplace prevention requirements. After that, there were no longer holidays until National Day, when the domestic pandemic situation stabilized and the whole country was at low risk. Having not traveled for nearly a year, I seized China Southern's bargain flights and took my parents on an 8-day trip to Hangzhou, Suzhou, and Shanghai.
[Pre-trip Preparations]
Once the destination was decided, the first step was booking hotels. I usually stay in chain hotels for travel — reasonably priced, standardized management, neither too good nor too bad. The pandemic had a big impact on tourism; hotel rates during National Day went up a bit, but not multiplied several times like in previous years. According to the itinerary, I quickly locked in the hotels: Ibis Hangzhou Wensan Road and Hanting Suzhou Shantang Street, both family rooms, all in all quite good.
Then came flight booking. Initially, the plan was for Suzhou and Hangzhou, without Shanghai, and I had budgeted for high-speed train tickets. Later, on China Southern's website, I saw a Shanghai to Guiyang flight on the evening of the 8th for only 280 yuan, on a 787 wide-body, so I immediately booked the return ticket, adding a day in Shanghai. Next, I looked at Guiyang to Hangzhou flights. The price fluctuated between 500+ and 600+, back to 500+, and suddenly dropped to 460 the day before Mid-Autumn. At that price plus fees, it was over 100 yuan cheaper than the high-speed train, so I booked instantly.
[Cost Overview]
This Mid-Autumn and National Day trip was really a steal; transportation costs were a third less than expected.
Major transport: Guiyang–Hangzhou flight (incl. fuel) 510 yuan/person, Shanghai–Guiyang flight (incl. fuel) 330 yuan/person. Airport shuttle buses total (60+20+25) = 105 yuan/person. Distances between the three cities were short, so we chose direct express trains to enjoy the scenery and save money: Hangzhou–Suzhou 41.5 yuan/person, Suzhou–Shanghai 14.5 yuan/person. Total around 3,000 yuan.
Local transport: all buses and subways, not carefully tracked, but no more than 70 yuan per person; total about 200 yuan.
Hotels: 4 nights in Hangzhou at 283 per night, 3 nights in Suzhou at 223 per night, total 1,800 yuan.
Admission tickets: Liangzhu National Archaeological Site Park 60 yuan, Wansong Academy 10 yuan, Qianwang Temple 15 yuan, Hanshan Temple 20 yuan, Humble Administrator's Garden 80 yuan. These were adult ticket prices. Dad is over 70, so free; Mom is 65, half-price. Total 280 yuan. A reminder: due to pandemic prevention, all scenic spots — free or paid — require advance reservation. Check the scenic spot's official WeChat account or local government announcements for how many days in advance to book, and make reservations early.
Souvenirs: Bought some fridge magnets and bookmarks for friends, about 220 yuan.
Food: I'm not too particular. We basically ate casually at local small restaurants, and for distant scenic spots we brought dry food, so expenses were low, less than 900 yuan total.
Total for 3 people over 8 days: approx. 6,400 yuan, very cost-effective.
[Itinerary]
Day 1, October 1: From home to Hangzhou. Almost the entire day was spent on the road. We booked China Southern flight CZ6381, departing Guiyang Longdongbao Airport at 2:40 PM, arriving at Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport at 4:45 PM. To be safe, I bought bus tickets from Anshun to Guiyang Airport at 10:30 AM. As expected, the normal 1.5-hour trip took 2.5 hours due to holiday traffic, arriving at the airport near 1 PM. But we had little luggage, no need for check-in; after printing boarding passes, we quickly passed security and entered the waiting hall. The flight was smooth, no delays, arriving on time at Xiaoshan. Currently, Xiaoshan doesn't have a subway to downtown Hangzhou, so we took the airport shuttle bus. Based on our hotel location, we got off at Wulinmen, 20 yuan/person, then transferred to a bus and reached the hotel. It was already after 6 PM, dinner time. On the first day out, not yet knowing what good food was nearby, we simply ordered delivery and solved the problem. Looking forward to the journey starting tomorrow.
Day 2, October 2: Liangzhu National Archaeological Site Park, Liangzhu Museum. First, a note about the hotel: The reservation included only one breakfast, but because the hotel restaurant wasn't ready, the front desk gave each of us 15-yuan vouchers for Xinfeng Snacks, a famous Hangzhou breakfast spot. The selection was quite rich — soup dumplings, noodles, vermicelli soup, wontons, steamed buns, bread, milk, yogurt, soy milk, etc. That basically covered our breakfast needs, and since we all have small appetites, we couldn't finish everything and took the leftovers as dry food, so our food expenses in Hangzhou were quite low.
Liangzhu Site, located in Yuhang District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, is not unfamiliar to those who study history. Discovered in the 1920s, nearly a century of continuous archaeological excavations pushed the history of rice cultivation in China back to around 6,000 years ago, providing archaeological confirmation that both the Yangtze and Yellow River basins are origins of Chinese civilization. Artifacts unearthed from the site are mainly housed at the Liangzhu Museum and Zhejiang Provincial Museum. In 2019, Liangzhu Site was successfully inscribed as a World Cultural Heritage, further boosting its fame. The national archaeological site park built afterward also opened on a trial basis at the end of last year. As someone with a history background and an archaeology enthusiast, I made this the first stop. The site park ticket is 60 yuan; the museum is free, but both require online advance reservation.
We chose to go to the archaeological site park first. It's rather far; by bus with one transfer, it took about 1.5 hours, arriving at the entrance (South Gate) around 10 AM. After exchanging tickets at the visitor center, we queued to enter. You can follow the official WeChat account to get a route map and audio guide. Inside, about 100 meters in, there's a sightseeing bus ticket office, 20 yuan/person. Unless you have special interest and want to study slowly, I recommend buying it — the park is really large, don't ask me how I know. However, perhaps because it's still a work in progress, the scenery was gorgeous; phone photos looked great without any filters. But as an archaeological site park, I personally think it's still quite lacking compared to the Hanyangling Archaeological Site Park.
After about 4 hours, we went from the site park to Liangzhu Museum, located in Liangzhu Meilizhou Park, which also has a church, Meilizhou Church. The distance is about 3-4 km. We took a bus and arrived near 3 PM, entering after showing our reservation code and health code. The museum was built in the 1990s, mainly housing Liangzhu site artifacts; this time, the temporary exhibition hall displayed photos and materials about the site's World Heritage application. Due to the pandemic, following advice to limit visits to enclosed spaces like museums to about 1 hour, we browsed through the sections that interested us and left.
As usual, we took a bus back. There was a fast-food place downstairs at the hotel. Since we're not foodies, we simply packed braised pork, shredded potatoes, eggplant with green beans, and a couple other dishes to eat in the room. I thought it tasted quite good and wasn't expensive. All our remaining days in Hangzhou, we ate fast food there.
Day 3, October 3: Wansong Academy, Qianwang Temple, Su Dongpo Memorial Hall, Su Causeway. You can't say you've been to Hangzhou without visiting West Lake, but the lake area is huge, requiring days to tour fully. So I chose a few spots of interest and split the visit into two parts.
Wansong Academy is located on Wansong Ridge, Phoenix Mountain, on the southern edge of West Lake. It was founded in the 11th year of Hongzhi in the Ming Dynasty (1498). Formerly known as Taihe Academy and Fuwen Academy, it was the largest, longest-lasting, and most influential gathering place for literati in Hangzhou during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Famous scholars like Wang Yangming of the Ming and Qi Zhaonan of the Qing lectured there, and Yuan Mei, the 'Poet of the Garden of Ease,' also studied there. During their southern tours, Kangxi and Qianlong emperors granted plaques reading 'Zhe Shui Fu Wen' and 'Hu Shan Cui Xiu.' Of course, nowadays most people know it as the place where the legendary lovers Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai met and fell in love. Hence, once you start up the stairs, you'll see matchmaking ads all along the roadside, mostly posted by parents on behalf of their children. After passing through this short 'matchmaking street,' you officially enter the academy.
The academy is not large, with main structures including Yangsheng Gate, Mingdao Hall, Dacheng Hall, and Yuxiu Pavilion. Yuxiu Pavilion originally hosted visiting scholars; now it houses the 'Liang-Zhu Study,' recreating the scene of Liang and Zhu studying hard together. Mingdao Hall is the lecture hall, displaying the imperial examination culture of various dynasties. Dacheng Hall is for worshipping Confucius, with a mural of 'Confucius Teaching.' A careful visit takes about an hour.
Leaving Wansong Academy, we headed to Qianwang Temple, 2 km away. Initially planning to take a bus, we found heavy traffic around West Lake and opted to walk. Qianwang Temple was first built in the 10th year of Xining in the Northern Song (1077), to commemorate the deeds of Qian kings of Wuyue. The current structure is a reconstruction; only the Eight-shaped Wall remains original. The Hangzhou government reconstructed the temple at its original site in Liulang Wenying Park on the southern line of West Lake in 2001, based on expert design and citizen voting. Construction started in February 2002 and finished on the eve of National Day 2003. The restored temple features statues of the three generations, five kings of Qian, a Meritorious Archway, and main halls. Covering 11,300 sqm, with 4,600 sqm floor area, it also displays historical relics of the Qian family and uses sound, light, and electricity to recreate scenes like 'Qian King building the sea dyke.' A traditional stage presents plays like 'The Tale of Qian Liu' and Kunqu, Peking, and Yue operas. Today, Qianwang Temple blends with Liulang Wenying Park into a new attraction combining sightseeing, cultural display, and historical research. The temple is small, an hour's visit.
Afterward, we strolled along West Lake. In October, the lake was still lushly green, with weeping willows and emerald water; taken by phone, it even looked bluish, as if by the seaside. Continuing to Su Causeway, near the entrance there's a Su Dongpo Memorial Hall, a two-story building, but only one floor was open, exhibiting photos and texts about Su Dongpo's time in Hangzhou and other West Lakes nationwide. After a detailed look, we started walking the Su Causeway. The current Su Causeway is 3.2 km long, crossing six stone arch bridges: Yingbo, Suolan, Wangshan, Yadi, Dongpu, and Kuahong. In truth, today's Su Causeway is not the one Su Dongpo built for dredging; after centuries of reconstruction, it looks like an ordinary road now, perhaps most visitors come for Su Dongpo's fame. At the end of the causeway, across the road is Yue Fei Temple, but it was late and the crossing was far, so we didn't go in. We took a photo and took the bus back to the hotel.
Day 4, October 4: Zhejiang Provincial Museum (Wulin Branch), water bus, Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal Museum, Jiangshu Railway Relics Park, Hefang Street. Zhejiang Provincial Museum now has three branches: Wulin, Gushan, and the Zhejiang Art Museum. Not interested in art, I only visited the first two. Today was Wulin Branch, reachable by bus in about half an hour; we walked past the Grand Canal on the way. Wulin's permanent exhibitions are 'Long Song from Ancient Yue — Zhejiang History and Culture' and 'Tide of Qiantang — Zhejiang Modern Revolutionary History' on the first and second floors. The third floor has thematic displays including 'Between Mountains and Waters — Huang Gongwang's Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains and Ming-Qing Landscape Paintings from the Collection,' 'Extraordinary Voices — Intangible Cultural Heritage of Chinese Guqin,' 'Shining Craftsmanship — Zhejiang Folk Plastic Arts,' and 'Ten Miles of Red Dowry — Wedding Furniture of Ning-Shao Customs.' The basement temporary hall was closed. The museum takes about 3 hours to visit.
Afterwards, as per my plan, we walked to the Wulinmen Water Bus Pier and took Line 1 to Gongchen Bridge Pier, 3 yuan. I always look for a water bus along rivers whenever I travel; during holidays, besides locals, there were plenty of tourists like us. Our boat had a quaint retro look. Forty-plus minutes later, we arrived at the pier, with the Ming-dynasty Gongchen Bridge just behind.
The China Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal Museum is in Canal Square. Past lunchtime, we filled our stomachs first, trying the famous pan-fried buns of the region. We picked the highly-rated Yaobude Gaozu Shengjian, ordering two portions of shrimp pan-fried buns and one olive vegetable and sausage fried rice. As an open-minded foodie, I enjoyed it all. The Grand Canal Museum, south of Canal Culture Square in Gongshu District, next to the southern terminus of the canal — Gongchen Bridge, covers over 10,000 sqm with 5,000+ sqm exhibition area. It has a preface hall and four halls: 'Excavation and Changes of the Grand Canal,' 'Utilization of the Grand Canal,' 'Cities Along the Canal,' and 'Canal Culture.' Thousands of artifacts and documents display the canal's role in Chinese history. On the first floor, there's an ancient boat in the center, and to the right, introductions to canals worldwide.
I planned indoors because the forecast said rain. After the museum, it was still early, and I didn't want to go back yet. The rain was light, so we walked with umbrellas, almost aimlessly, to Jiangshu Railway Relics Park. The 16-plus-km Jiangshu Railway was Zhejiang's first railway, built in 1907, dismantled by Japanese invaders in 1944, leaving only part of the roadbed. The city built a 10-mu park here, reproducing a clock tower, waiting room, old locomotive, and tracks. The park also serves as a constitutional education base: each side of the clock tower introduces the four constitutional amendments of 56, 75, 78, and 82. The waiting room houses the railway relics exhibition hall, but it wasn't open.
After the park, we took a bus to Hefang Street. Every city has such a street — under the banner of culture, lined with similar buildings selling similar goods, a must-visit for tourists. Hefang Street is no different; aside from the ubiquitous stinky tofu, fried skewers, and candied hawthorns, perhaps the distinction is the many shops selling West Lake Longjing tea. We strolled around aimlessly, then took the bus back.
Day 5, October 5: Xiling Seal Society, Zhejiang Provincial Museum (Gushan Branch), Bai Causeway, Hangzhou Confucius Temple, Hangzhou to Suzhou. According to plan, we were to head to Suzhou tonight, so after getting up, we checked out directly. After breakfast, we took a bus to Xiling Seal Society on Gushan Hill by West Lake. Xiling Seal Society, founded in 1904 (30th year of Guangxu reign), was initiated by Zhejiang school seal artists Ding Fuzhi, Wang Fu'an, Wu Yin, Ye Weiming and others, with Wu Changshuo as first president. Its mission: 'preserve ancient bronzes and stone inscriptions, study seal engraving, along with calligraphy and painting.' It's the world's oldest, highest-achieving, most influential international folk art society studying seal carving and painting, known as 'the World's Number One Society.' Covering 7,090 sqm, with 1,750 sqm floor area, its pavilions and towers are layered along the hill in an orderly manner. Main structures include Bo Tang, Zhu Ge, Yangxian Pavilion, Huanpu Jingshe, all with plaques and couplets; outdoors, cliffs are carved with inscriptions, and famous calligraphy can be seen everywhere. In 1961, it was designated a key cultural relic protection unit of Zhejiang. I originally wanted a personal seal carved, but with crowds and our schedule, I gave up.
Exiting the society, a few hundred meters' walk brought us to the Gushan branch of the museum, mainly housing refined porcelains from various dynasties, artifacts unearthed from Leifeng Pagoda, and a special exhibition 'Wenlan Yize — Wenlan Pavilion and the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries.' Built during the Republic period, Gushan branch has more historical charm than the newer Wulin branch but is much smaller; about 1.5 hours is enough. Out of the museum, walking forward is Bai Causeway, 1.2 km long, constructed when Bai Juyi was in Hangzhou. The most famous part is the Broken Bridge in the middle, bustling with tourists taking photos; we couldn't resist either. Sitting by the lake, leisurely eating the dry food from breakfast, gazing at distant hills, I wanted to soak in more memories of Hangzhou.
After walking the causeway, there was a bus stop nearby. With a little time left, and because I work at Anshun Confucius Temple, I like visiting local Confucius temples wherever I go, so we bused to Hangzhou Confucius Temple. Hangzhou Confucius Temple (also Hangzhou Stele Forest), at the foot of Wu Hill southeast of West Lake, was the site of Confucius temples from Song to Qing, later destroyed. Early this century, it was rebuilt, covering 1.32 hectares, total floor area 5,581 sqm, comprising east and west sections that are connected yet independent. The west section is the central axis, showcasing the temple's cultural essence; the east is a typical Jiangnan garden with flowers, birdsong, and flowing water, buildings scattered like pearls. A water courtyard sits at the center, with Stone Classics Pavilion, Star Observatory, Wenchang Pavilion arranged around rockeries and ponds, linked by winding corridors. Nearly 500 steles, rich in history, are displayed among pavilions and terraces, blending with the elegant garden. Highlights include the 'Southern Song Stone Classics' by Emperor Gaozong, Guanxiu's 'Engravings of Sixteen Arhats,' Li Gonglin's 'Confucius and His 72 Disciples,' and the Five Dynasties 'Star Map Engraving.' The temple is small, about an hour's visit, then we headed to Hangzhou Station.
After much comparison, I chose train Z282, departing Hangzhou Station at 17:04, arriving Suzhou at 20:25, but it was delayed, reaching Suzhou Station around 9 PM. The Hanting Hotel Shantang Street branch was not far from the station, just two subway stops. Located near Shilu Pedestrian Street and Shantang Street, it was still lively after 9. Late as it was, we bought beef noodles and guokui (stuffed flatbread) from the downstairs Lanzhou noodle shop for dinner, ate, and slept, anticipating our two days in Suzhou.
Day 6, October 6: Hanshan Temple, Imperial Kiln Gold Brick Museum, Xiao Long Kan, Shantang Street. For breakfast we chose the locally famous Lvyang Wonton Shop and ordered sesame tangyuan, wontons, and braised pork noodles — all delicious and cheap, only 27 yuan total. 'Outside Gusu City lies Hanshan Temple, midnight bell tolls reach the traveler's boat.' Zhang Ji's Tang poem 'Mooring at Night by Maple Bridge' made Hanshan Temple famous, a must-see for visitors to Suzhou. We chose it as our first stop. Bused directly there, bought tickets and entered. Most current structures are Qing dynasty reconstructions, including the Grand Hall, Sutra Library, Bell Tower, Stele Corridor, Fengjiang Tower, Frost Bell Pavilion, etc. Our family doesn't practice Buddhism, so the temple didn't evoke much feeling; we came more for the poem.
