Given its world-renowned status, I reckoned a walk around West Lake was practically obligatory. To walk the whole circumference, without stopping, would probably have taken a few hours, but of course it's much nicer to stop every so often for a cup of tea or a snack. I found the Ming Jian Lou Tea House had a good atmosphere, a pleasing view of the Lake and an admirable selection of teas (at the usual steep prices) - a good place to relax half way round, or perhaps to watch the sun set.

I feel I'd be doing a disservice if I didn't mention that the weather during your time in Hangzhou is really crucial to whether you'll agree with others "heavenly" comparisons: a cloudy day will make for very disappointing views in comparison to a lovely, warm, sunny day. Regardless, for a great view of the whole Lake and the surrounding hills and city, the Leifeng Pagoda is a good place to go. The artwork inside as you work your way up is interesting; depictions of the view in a variety of mediums, such as mosaics and wooden carvings. It's fun to try and spot the parts of the view you can see in the pictures. The pagoda is also worth checking out just because in spite of its old appearance, the top of it can be reached using escalators and elevators, which seemed rather surreal. When you tire of West Lake, try venturing out to the Tea Museum (about fifteen minutes away by taxi) which is based in a tea plantation and deserves a brief tour. It has sufficient English descriptions to engage you in how different teas are prepared and look out for the picture of the Great Wall made from tea leaves too. Another non-Lake based option is Hefang Street, which has a bustling tourist market and a host of Chinese medicine shops (single roots going for 61000rmb!) Close by, hidden on Zhongshan Nan Road is the Chinese Medicine Museum. It's kept in a lovely old building and again has sufficient English to help you learn about how Chinese medicine developed. It also has some real stuffed animals, parts of which were used in medicines, and whose facial expressions are really quite entertaining.

Overall, I would recommend Hangzhou for a weekend visit, but I'm not sure it lives up to the hype. Yes, it may be smaller than Shanghai and have a beautiful lake rather than a commercial river, but it's still a city of six million, so can never be that peaceful. But if you're looking for somewhere close to Shanghai yet different and with more natural beauty, then Hangzhou is a great place to spend a couple of days.

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