5 ways to experience Hangzhou like a local
An insider’s look at places that are essential to visit in Hangzhou
1. Scenic hiking trails
For those who can never get enough sunlight and nature in their lives, Hangzhou provides beautiful hiking trails that lead to temples and waterfalls just outside the city. You can hike up to see the Yongfu Monastery and Taoguang Temple, and then continue up to the North Peak for more gorgeous views. If you are tired, a cable car goes up and down the North Peak.
2. Zhongshan South Road Food Street
We all have to eat, and we want to eat like the locals. Hangzhou is spoilt for choice when it comes to food destinations, the ultimate one has to be Zhongshan Nanlu, where casual sit-down restaurants line the streets, with hawker stalls selling local delicacies in the middle of the road. Plastic tables and chairs are placed on the pavements for visitors to sit on.
3. Frolic in the fields of fragrant Green Tea
Tea drinking is an integral part of Chinese culture. Hangzhou boasts many tea plantations, but the pride and joy of this vibrant Chinese city is its Dragon Well Tea (or Long Jing Cha). You can drop by Longjing Village at the west side of the famous West Lake, which is also known as the “Number 1 Village of Tea”, that has a growing plantation of around 800 acres of Longjing tea. You can visit the tea garden, watch the tea pickers at work, and breathe in the fresh aroma of tea as you enjoy your day.