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Hangzhou
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Located on the east coast of China, Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, is a city with historical and cultural heritage, a city for sightseeing and leisure in Yangtze Delta. The climate is warm and humid, with four distinct and well-proportioned seasons in a year. Under the jurisdiction of Hangzhou are eight districts and five counties and towns, which cover an area of 16,596 square kilometers with a population of 6.2 million.
Archeological discovery shows that about 4,700 years ago some of the Chinese ancestors lived in Hangzhou area. They multiplied continuously, flourished and formed Liangzhu Culture. Since its foundation in Qin Dynasty about 2200 years ago, Hangzhou has served as capital cities in Wu Dai and South Song Dynasties for 273 years, and known as a "culture center".
With two national scenic spots, five national forest parks, two natural reserves, one national tourist holiday zone, over eighty national and provincial reserves, over one hundred tourist scenic spots, Hangzhou is reputed as "Heaven on Earth". Marco Polo once remarked that the city was the most beautiful and splendid in the world.
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China Tea Museum
Located in the Longjing (Dragon Well) Village -- a tea growing area south of the West Lake District in Hangzhou, the China Tea Museum was completed and opened to the public in October 1990. It occupies an area of 3,500 square meters and comprises 4 groups of buildings with displays outlining the traditions of growing tea south of the Yangtze River. Here you can learn about the history of tea, the best varieties and the etiquette of tea drinking in China. The four separated buildings are respectively of exhibition, tea sipping and tasting, tea service ceremony, and multi-function. The exhibition building is again divided into 6 exhibition zones, including history of tea-growing, the varieties and distribution of tea in China, events related to tea, various tea utensils used in the old dynasties and tea-drinking habits in different parts of China with tea-related culture. Visitors can also learn about the scientific and technological aspects of tea growing and processing.
No.2 building has been a fine locale for a number of cultural activities on tea, including a series of international seminars on tea culture and exchange. No. 3 and 4 buildings serve as tea drinking and performance sections, which not only introduce you the way to drink tea in detail, but also display various drinking rituals seen in different provinces and foreign countries. One of the largest theme museums in Hangzhou City, the China Tea Museum lies with the green hills at its back and tea plantations in front. In the museum the trees made a shade everywhere with flowers in bloom all the year round. It is a calm and quiet place for relaxing and enjoying a cup of tea.
Xitang is in Jiashan County, Zhejiang Province. As early as the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods (770-221B.C.), it was a place of strategic importance on the boundary between Wu and Yue States, and it was thus known as the Bottom of Wu and the Corner of Yue. During the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), it developed into a prosperous town, and during the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1911), it was known as an important town for commerce and handicrafts in South China. Today, Xitang is like an ancient piece of jade, glittering and translucent.
The area has a flat terrain, and the nine rivers that run through the town divide it into eight parts. Xitang is known for its bridges, lanes, and ceilinged corridors. There are 104 bridges of varied structure, all from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, some looking like rainbows over the river, and others like long flutes. Standing on one of these bridges and watching the boats through a round opening, one feels drawn into deep meditation on the past. Many of the shops and houses in Xitang are built on the riversides. There are a total of 122 lanes, long and short, wide and narrow. The lanes are paved with stone planks, polished by the feet of pedestrians as well as hundreds of years of weathering. Together with the black-tiled houses along the roads, the polished stone planks bear witness to the town's long history.
Because of the rainy climate, local residents have invented their own style of ceilinged corridor. Each family puts a ceiling over the stone-plank road in front of its own house, and the ceilings connect with one another to form corridors, the longest being 1,300 meters. Nowadays, the ceilinged corridors are the main places for outdoor activities and attract countless tourists. Xitang is also attractive because of the easygoing lifestyle that local residents have followed for thousands of years. Unlike the towns of Zhouzhuang and Wuzhen, Xitang is not a bustling place (see China Pictorial November 2001 and February 2002). People in the town live ordinary, peaceful lives. The elderly play with their grandchildren on bridges and in lanes, and women wash vegetables and clothes in the rivers running beside their houses. The simple lifestyle and peaceful atmosphere may have died out in those now commercialized ancient towns, but they fill every lane in Xitang. For tourists from modern metropolises, Xitang is a place to experience a feeling of simplicity and leisure.
An advisor from the UNESCO World Heritage Center spoke highly of Xitang after coming here. "Xitang is like the limpid and melodious music of a flute," he said. "People need to appreciate it with their heart." In the south of the Yangtze River Delta, there are many ancient water towns like Wuzhen. They are common in possessing ancient bridges, streets, lanes and delicate residences. But Wuzhen seems to contain richer historical and cultural flavors, maybe because it boasts the most venerated history and most fertile cultures.
Wuzhen Town has a history of 1,800 years. It is located on the northern part of the Hangjiahu Plain, west of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. The town contains residences built in different dynasties. Two of its stone bridges were built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and link at right angles. Standing in front of one of these bridges, it is possible to see the other through its arch, hence gaining it the name "a bridge embraced by a bridge." Wuzhen is well known for its historical and cultural heritage. Mao Dun, one of the modernist writers of the 1930s, was born here. There are a number of historical sites here in Wuzhen Town, one being the ancient stage in the Xiuzhen Taoist Temple. Built in 1749, it epitomizes typical southern China water town architecture, featuring gabled roofs, upturned eaves and laminated beams. Its vivid and lifelike murals, clay sculptures and woodcarvings depict scenes from traditional operas, and are masterpieces of folk art. As a water town, Wuzhen features crisscrossing streams lined with residences, and narrow lanes paved with stone flags. From here we boarded a ship to Hangzhou.
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Our customers said
 All services provided during our trip were precisely in line with the program elaborated by you. Guides punctual, efficient, helpful and with reasonable to good knowledge of the English language. Hotels well selected,cars comfortable and clean, drivers reliable. In closing I should like to thank you and your staff once again for having made our Trip such a pleasant and remarkable experience, which has created the desire to see more of your lovely and impressive country.
Dr. Ulrich NafeFrom
United States
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