hangzhou: the garden city of china

who knew china was so beautiful??

when we were planning our trip, the focus was more on the big cities.

i am so glad our itinerary also included these gorgeous garden cities.

along with suzhou, hangzhou was so refreshing, green, and stunning.

highlights of hangzhou included: 

• our amazing resort hotel on the lake
• seeing the su causeway
• visiting a tea farm
• taking a boat ride on west lake

first of all, we were spoiled with this crowne plaza resort. it was right on the lake, surrounded by green hills, and there were pretty pathways all over to explore. it was a nice break from all the high-rise hotels.

^^ having breakfast at our resort in a pretty nice setting! ^^

^^ exploring the pathways of our resort at night ^^

 

we loved west lake! here we are walking the su causeway, check out that dragon boat!

as always, chase at the front with our tour guide asking a million questions. love him. 

obsessed.

we will never say no to a boat ride.

is chase fishing? nope...that's just the gopro again!

more people asking for pictures with chase...gotta love it!

later on, we stopped at this hangzhou tea farm. can you see the rows of tea leaves planted on the hill?

 we don't drink regular caffeinated tea, but this was simply tea leaves from the hill with hot water poured in so we did drink this. we were actually amazed by the presentation about these tea leaves and the benefits for your body. the chinese are so healthy! the lady showed us a bottle of arsenic (which is in diet soda, and lots of other food we eat...not good for us!) she then poured the tea leaf water into it, and it instantly separated COMPLETELY...the black arsenic, and on top the clear tea water. she explained that the tea does this in our stomach..separates the oils, acids, and flushes them out. i'll take some!! this is why the chinese drink tea with every meal. we steamed our eyes with the green tea (supposed to be good for your skin) and then drank 2 cups of the tea leaf water. i'll be honest, my stomach felt so soothed after that! we may become fans of this chinese herbal tea thing.

 shopped for a few more pearls..

then we were off to shanghai! the last 2 posts are on the way all about shanghai, 

then all this china blogging is done! i promise! 

 

xo

see all china trip posts here!