My Whirlwind One-Day Self-Drive: Suzhou to Hangzhou's West Lake!

[Leon O'Keefe]

Here's my translation:

Sure enough, I'll share with you this account of our visit to the West Lake in Hangzhou in a way that's both easy to understand and accessible to our foreign friends.

• It was still early morning at six on Saturday when we got up, got in the car and headed to the West Lake in Hangzhou. The total distance is about 140 kilometers, and it took around an hour and a half to reach there.
  • In terms of parking, we visited a parking lot recommended by many - "Zhejiang Provincial People’s Great Hall Parking Lot".
    • We paid seven yuan per hour for parking, which is reasonable.
    • Notice: With us getting there early, the parking space was ample. However, if you get there during the afternoon, you may have difficulty finding a spot!
• After parking, we headed to a nearby noodle shop for a quick bite.
  • The taste and price were decent. The dishes ordered are as follows:
    • Shredded pork dry noodles (Rousi Ban Chuan - a local Hangzhou dish)
    • Noodles with a big pork chop (Dapai Mian)
    • Hangzhou Three Delicacies soup noodles (Hang San Xian)
    • At a cost of 68yuan in total.
  • The locals also seemed to frequently patronize this shop.
  • However, I would like to complain about that Hangzhou Three Delicacies!
    • There’s no shortage of servings: shrimp, chicken, meatballs, pig-skin slices and a lot more.
    • But that pig skin… It’s simply awful! A lingering oily smell, mixed with some detergent-like scent, tainted the entire bowl of noodles!
• Following lunch, we started exploring around the West Lake!
  • We first walked along the eastern line of the lake.
    • Surprise! We saw little squirrels! (We later discovered that they don't seem to be found along the western line.)
    • We even fed them.
    • ️ Attention parents: A child was seen placing food in the palm to feed the squirrel but ended up being bitten. Please be cautious if you plan to bring your kids!
  • Then we arrived at the “First Park” ferry dock. If not native in Hangzhou, a boat ride to the “Hangzhou Hotel” costs only 15 yuan. It’s quite near the famous Su Causeway (Su Causeway - a beautiful walkway across the lake)!
• Since the elders and kids started lagging behind, we had to resort to taking a taxi back to the parking lot and then drive them back to the hotel.
  • Our choice of lodging is somewhere close to the Olympic Sports Center.
  • We had dinner at “Imprint City Mall”, “Waipo Jia” (a super popular and budget-friendly restaurant), on Saturday evening.
    • Let’s avoid the bustling crowds around the West Lake.
    • A special offer of restaurant combo meal online was surprisingly good! High-quality, substantial and delicious!
• During the afternoon, we returned to the convention center parking lot from the hotel.
  • This time, we headed down the western line.
    • Noticeably lesser crowd than the previous.
  • Then we walked to the ferry dock, again.
  • Planning to catch the 7:30 PM light show of the West Lake, we headed over “Third Park”.
    • About 2 meters away according to Google map, we nearly walked till our feet couldn’t bear. Hence, we took a “West Lake Inner Loop Line” shuttle bus instead.
    • Slightly congested roads made bus a lifesaver for us who were tired. Only three stations away from there.
  • We made it just before the music fountain show.
    • Pretty girls in fine outfits, posing alongside the lake.
    • When we finally reached the site, there was already a sea of people, all raising their phones to take photos.
    • After watching a few minutes, we concluded it unnecessary to endure the chaos. Frankly speaking, if you’ve visited Jinji Lake Music Fountain Show in Suzhou, this one wouldn’t be worth squeezing into anymore.
• By checking online reviews, we decided to solve our dinnertime problem at “New White Deer” (another popular, affordable Hangzhou restaurant).
  • From the musical fountain to this restaurant was merely a couple hundred meters' walk.
  • We enquired in advance, which told us a wait of 77 tables on front. The lady in charge greeted us warmly, stating that it would take about one hour but promising they will serve us after the waiting number handed to us.
  • While waiting, a clever idea struck me: order takeaway to save time. Yes, you're right! It was a wise decision indeed!
    • In fact, an option to order takeaway did exist! All we needed was scanning and paying 20 minutes later.
    • A salute to the cashier lady!

      •  She helped us with a packed leak-proof set of dishes. She meticulously cleaned the soup box, wrapped it in cling film, and wiped any residual soup from inside the bag. Also gave us extra napkins.
        

      • Such customer care is incomparable to negative online reviews we have seen. We may be just lucky!
• Picking up takeaway, we drove back from the park and then to the hotel. Opening the containers, we began digging in.
  * Sweet and sour pork ribs
  * Soy sauce duck
  * Dried bamboo shoots with broad beans
  * Three delicacies soup (The Three Delicacies soup, distinct form noodles served earlier)
  * Total Cost: 114 yuan. Fantastic value, with yummy taste!
• A full day of exploration with about 20,000 steps completed.