A Teahouse in Hangzhou
January 17th, 2007
Check out this wonderful NY Times feature, with pics and sound, on a teahouse in Hangzhou. My current plan is to take you to a tea plantation outside of Hangzhou where you can see the real deal grown. These tea plantations are quite beautiful. Tea is a big, big, big part of China. Get ready to drink lots of it.
You should also be reading up on Hangzhou in your travel book. We will likely use Hangzhou to catch some rest and relaxation from the fast pace of the trip. Hangzhou is where many of China’s artists and writers used to come live after they made their fortune. That pattern continues today. Marco Polo, who once took a boat ride on the famous West Lake in Hangzhou, called it one of the most wonderful experiences of his life. I would agree.
I am interested in hearing if you are interested in visiting a tea plantation, and, based on what you read on your own time about Hangzhou, how you feel about spending some time there. In my own view, it is less crowded and crazy than Guangzhou and Shanghai. Comment away.
Entry Filed under: Pre-Departure, Shanghai, China, Misc.
4 Comments Add your own
1. Patrick McGuire | January 17th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
I wholeheartedly support the idea to travel to Hangzhou. The impression I got from the information I found on Hangzhou is of a city that is truly Chinese–less cosmopolitan than Shanghai. It is a city that is at the center of Chinese history. While Shanghai is a port city, Hangzhou was and is the source of so many of the goods chanelling through Shanghai–tea and silk, for example. In fact, the Forbes article from September 16, 2005 on China’s Best Places for Business rated Hangzhou as number one. I think a business trip to China would not be complete without a visit to the number one city for business in China! I also would like the experience of visiting a tea plantation. I was extremely excited to read that it is being considered! What an experience to see something so universal as tea right from the start! Everything I read made at least some reference to Hangzhou being one of the most beautiful places in China, with the West Lake and the pagodas along its northern and eastern shores among its many treasures. The Feilai Feng Caves and Lingyin Si sound like historic sites I really would not want to miss. The beauty and history of the tea plantations would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity I really hope to experience! I truly hope we will have the opportunity to visit Hangzhou!
2. Mike Johannsen | January 17th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
I would love going to Hangzhou. It seems like it would be a great stopping point and I would really like to check out a tea plantation and the west lake. If it is good enough for Marco Polo I guess I could be persuaded to take a look around
3. Evelyn Ma | February 24th, 2007 at 11:45 am
Visiting a tea plantation will be one of my favorite stops during our trip to China. I’ve grown up drinking the black and green teas my dad brings back from China and Hong Kong, and being able to visit a tea plantation would be amazing. I’ve also seen pictures and heard first hand accounts of it’s beautiful area and culture. I’m very excited to visit Hangzhou.
4. Chris Carr | February 24th, 2007 at 8:21 pm
Evelyn,
Yes, you will love the tea plantation!
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed