There is a saying in Mandarin goes as "Tian Sang Yu Tian Tang, Tian Xia Yu Su Hang"

Translated, it means 'up above the sky there is a heaven, down below (on earth), there is a Su Hang, 'Su' for Suzhou and 'Hang' for Hangzhou. So much have been said and written about this beautiful city of Hangzhou, As early as 13th century, Marco Polo himself has landed in Hangzhou and called this place a paradise.

When we signed up for an 8 days 7 nights 'Shanghai and Jiangnan' tour package, we had no clue about this city. As Hangzhou is the second last city in our tour, I imagined it must be quite similar with the other cities we have visited earlier like Suzhou, Nanjing and Wuxi. However, when our tour bus finally reached Hangzhou, I sensed something different - this place is simply alluring!

Located 180 km to the Southwest of Shanghai, Hangzhou is the capital of Zhejiang province; hence the vehicle bears 'A' license plate.

As it was a hot summer of August, we could see lots of green trees everywhere, streets are clean and organized. Traffics are in orderly manner and green taxi (inspiration from the West Lake, the icon of Hangzhou), can be spotted everywhere. There are side lanes for cyclist and motorcyclist with fencing, separating them from the motorist. I must praise the city council for doing an excellent job! No wonder Forbes ranked this city as number 1 city to do business in China!

We reached Hangzhou at noon and our first mission was to feed our stomach! We were brought to this restaurant not too far from the West Lake. Nearby, there is a public swimming pool and a small lake. We were told that kids in Hangzhou love to swim, in fact they produce a few famous swimmers that ever represented China in the Olympics.

We were greeted by Xiao Qi, our local guide of Hangzhou at the restaurant entrance. Stepping into this packed restaurant, we were quickly shown to our reserved tables. This is just one of many locally renowned 5-star restaurants. Besides its famous West Lake, Hangzhou has been reputed as the City of Gourmet with a long history of cuisine culture. We were told that many cuisines come with its own legends, one example being the 'Dongpo pork', named after the famous poet/writer Su Dong Po who was once the governor of Hangzhou.
Above dish is Dongpo pork - created by Su Dong Po to reward his hard worker labourers who were involved in the large-scale West Lake dredging. Depends on how you look at it, the braised fatty slab of pork belly can be considered as unhealthily, but to pork lovers, this juicy meat is simply irresistible as it practically melts in the mouth.

Done with lunch, we moved to visit the Temple (Tomb) of General Yue Fei which is just across the road from The West Lake.

Highlights being the main hall, where one can find statue of General Yue Fei with surrounding mural featuring his life story. In the Chinese history, Yue Fei is regarded as true hero who brought repeated victory against the Jin invader during the Southern Song Dynasty in the 12th century. Somehow he was wrongly accused by then Prime Minister Qin Hui and ended up being sent to prison and executed. Twenty years later, the emperor recognized the general's loyalty and had this temple (albeit no religious significance) and tomb erected to honour his great spirit of loyalty and patriotism.

Above is the statue of General Yue Fei inside the main hall. The four Chinese characters displayed here - 'Huan Wa He Shan' which means "Return my rivers and mountains"

After crossing the above bridge, one will come to General Yue Fei's tomb. It is believed that a wicked person shall stumble upon when crossing it, only kind person shall prevail!

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