As my Shanghai trip end and we had lots of free time after that, then we decided to have a short excursion to Hangzhou, a calm city beside Shanghai. Since my friends live and stay in Shanghai, so I was great to travel Hangzhou with people who familiar with the transportation and Chinese. I reached Hangzhou from Shanghai by took high speed train. It is a 45-minute to 1 hours ride for about 82RMB (13USD) one way. Train runs every 30 minutes from Shanghai Hongqiao train station a high speed train in China.

West Lake in Hangzhou

Of course a visit to Hangzhou cannot be complete without a visit to Westlake or known as Xihu in Chinese. Surrounded by mountains and stunning foliage, and one of the newest UNESCO World Heritage Sites (it received the designation in 2011), the lake grounds are speckled with temples, pagodas and gardens renowned throughout the world. Visitors who come to West Lake should catch the best attractions, as well as other worthwhile discoveries that many guides and most visitors miss, one of them is Leifeng Pagoda.

Leifeng Pagoda in West Lake

Besides enjoy stunning views around the lake, gardens and other sightseeing in surroundings, visitors also could take a boat across the lake. As I did experience, this is the best way to capture the whole view of the lake. Come to West Lake would not complete without take a boat. Moreover, another highlight in West Lake is Leifeng Pagoda. Our first stop is the five-story, octagonal emblem of West Lake. Built in 975 of brick and wood, Leifeng Pagoda is known throughout China as the location of the folk tale of "The Legend of the White Snake", a love story about a snake who is transformed into a woman and then locked up beneath Leifeng Pagoda by a monk. Inside the pagoda is a recently excavated mausoleum, with treasures including Buddhist silk scriptures, hand-carved, wooden dioramas of an epic West Lake myth, and, of course, sweeping views of the lake. I did climb to the top of the pagoda and view the stunning and peaceful West Lake from above.

A full day we spent walked around West Lake scenic area. We did stay overnight in Hangzhou in a nice hotel with affordable price and nice environment. The accommodation in Hangzhou is cheaper than Shanghai. I got a memorable excursion from the modern Shanghai to admire iconic views of Hangzhou West Lake.