5.6 Local Temples

I coincidentally found a temple that is not known to many tourists. It still costs 20 Yuan to enter, but you'll pretty much be alone. It's Xiāng Jī Sì (香积寺) in the north of the city. It also has a restaurant attached if you'd like to eat after visiting.

If you want to search for temples, don't get fooled by Amap's pagoda symbol. Sometimes that only shows historical sites that once held a temple but no more (Mao be damned).

5.7 Old Hangzhou

From Xiāng Jī Temple you can start exploring a historical, preserved part of old Hangzhou along a famous waterway. Just walk north along the river and you'll find a tree-lined pedestrian street with small stores and restaurants inside traditional houses. The river is artifical. It was built as part of a 1600km long waterway between Hangzhou and Beijing in oder to supply the capital with wood. How do I know? A local just started talking to me and became my historical tour guide :D

Walk until you see a pretty, old stone bridge, then walk over that, and get your Graverobber's Chronicles merch at Xiǎo Fēng Shū Wū (晓风书屋) :D

I ran into a class of middle schoolers in the shop and they were super excited to practice their English with me. It was cute. We bonded over the Graverobber's Chronicles. And I tell you, their English is excellent. My English was shit at the age of twelve, but they could hold a normal conversation with me! I was so impressed. One girl's mom always wanted to go to Germany, because "everyone there has a house and a garden". She asked me if that was really the case. It was just so awesome to experience their dreams and their desire and drive to do better for themselves.

Being a teacher in China must feel awesome. I don't know about other places in the world, but in Germany it's a nightmare because education ranks very very low for most of society...

5.8 Tea Fields

Hangzhou has tea fields behind those pretty mountains, so if you like nature, this might be your place to relax for an afternoon. The local farmers sell their tea here in tea shops where you can sit down and enjoy a cup.

Just be careful not to be fooled by them, there are tricksters in every country, trust your instincts and don't buy if you don't feel like it.

Also, the Bamboo forest is not worth the money. It is very tiny. You can see a lot of bamboo when you do the temple tour I suggested. But just so as to give you an impression:

5.9 Local Market

I think one should experience a real local market at least once when traveling China, like the cliché market with the raw meat and live animals.

You can find such a place in the south of the city: 察院前巷小区 (Chá Yuàn Qián Xiàng Xiǎo Qū). Be prepared for the strangest smells, and don't buy anything. Seriously, those are the places you get sick from. You'll see uncooled meat and fish. Whole pig feet. Live frogs in nets, still jumping. Live turtles, waiting to be cooked. Fruit and vegetable with the oddest smells. And a lot more. It's crazy. I don't know if I loved it or hated it. Unfortunately, I didn't dare take pictures, so you'll have to let your imagination run wild.

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