Day 14 - Taizhou & Hangzhou

So the day had come when we had to say our goodbyes to Lawrence and move on with our trip; we are so proud of him for how he is thriving in China - the life of a resident, far from home, is hard at times, but he has built a good support network both in China and England, and has much to look forward to.

After an uneventful train journey (not a maglev train, boo!) we arrived at a rainy Hangzhou station to be met by our guide Leo and driver Zheng. We took a short car journey to our hotel to check in and freshen up, then we ventured straight back out; we only had one night in Hangzhou, another large tier 2 city of 12 million people, and one of China’s 7 ancient capital cities, so we were keen to make the most of it.

Our first stop was at Hu Xueyan’s former residence; a wealthy Hangzou businessman, Hu Xueyan built the house in the 19th century during the latter Qing dynasty - it’s worth looking him up, apparently he maintained a harem of as many as 100 concubines! We were very impressed by the garden, which featured a large pond surrounded by rocks, plants and traditional buildings; even in the rain the effect was quite stunning.

The second stop was the museum of traditional Chinese medicine. It was fascinating to get an insight into the origins and theories of this practice going back centuries, and the museum was linked to a traditional Chinese pharmacy, so we could see prescriptions being prepared while the locals waited. Apparently most modern hospitals here still have a traditional medicine department.

We were staying at a very nice hotel, the Wyndham Grand Plaza Royale, in an executive room on the 9th floor, no less, so as it was still raining we headed back there. We explored the various restaurants and shops - there was an amazing jade carving shop in the lobby with some equally amazing prices - before deciding to skip the gym, and instead go for the ‘all you can eat and drink’ buffet for £18 each. The food and drink were actually very good, and so with full tummies we retired for an early night.Read more