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	<title>Lisa: Your Local Tour Guide in SHanghai - on SHownbylocals.com &#187; Tours in Hangzhou</title>
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		<title>One day tour in Hangzhou</title>
		<link>http://shownbylocals.com/shanghai/tours-in-hangzhou/history-of-hangzhou.html</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Sep 2008 14:16:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Tours in Hangzhou]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Hangzhou is a city  with a rich history and culture, spanning back over 2000 years. The city  first made a name for itself in the sixth century, when the Grand Canal  opened up and linked the area to other centers of trade such as Suzhou.  The Song dynasty helped to make [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --><strong>Hangzhou</strong> is a city  with a rich history and culture, spanning back over 2000 years. The city  first made a name for itself in the sixth century, when the Grand Canal  opened up and linked the area to other centers of trade such as Suzhou.  The Song dynasty helped to make Hangzhou famous when they moved the  imperial family here in the 12th Century. With its inviting views and  outstanding scenery, the West Lake soon became popular with numerous  artists, poets and painters seeking inspiration in this little bit of  &#8220;paradise.&#8221; Hangzhou has long been a famous tourist attraction. The  widely expressed Chinese proverb, &#8220;in heaven there is paradise and on  earth there are Hangzhou and Suzhou&#8221; have helped to make Hangzhou one of  the biggest tourist attractions in the entire country.</p>
<p><a href="http://shownbylocals.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/Hangzhou.jpg" ><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1037" title="Hangzhou- west lake" src="http://shownbylocals.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/Hangzhou.jpg" alt="" width="480" height="230" /></a></p>
<p><strong>One day Hangzhou tours </strong>can be <strong>tailor made</strong> based on your requirements. My suggestion tour itinerary would be as follows:</p>
<p><strong>Route: </strong>Boarding from Shanghai-Ling yin Temple and Fei Lai Peak or (six harmonies pagoda<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span>)-West lake Cruise ( about one hour)-Heavenly wind over Wushan Hill (or Dragon-well-Tea Plantation)-back to shanghai.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-632" title="Hangzhou west  lake" src="http://shownbylocals.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/dsc043011.jpg" alt="Hangzhou west lake" width="480" height="230" /></p>
<p><strong>Lin Ying Temple and Fei Lai Peak </strong>is one of the most prestigious Buddhist monasteries in China. It  was built in 326 A.D. at the foot of Ling yin Mountain. Due to war and  calamity, it has been destroyed and rebuilt no fewer than 16 times.  Fei lai Peak stands very close to the temple with many Buddhist stone  carvings of ancient times.</p>
<p><strong>West Lake </strong> is large freshwater lake, bordered on three sides by hills.  Its  banks and islands are blanketed with small gardens and temples. It  made Hangzhou city a very beautiful place to live in China. As  an old Chinese saying  declares, &#8220;in heaven there is paradise, on earth Suzhou and Hangzhou.   The famous western traveler Marco Polo considered it as the most  enchanting  city in the world at his time.</p>
<p>West  Lake is the symbol of Hangzhou,  which is like a shining  pearl inlaid on the vast territory of China. It  was originally a lagoon  adjoining the Qiantang River.  As early as Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 A.   D.), work was taking place to control waters of the lake with dykes and  locks.  The two causeways, the Baidi and the Sudi, split the lake into  sections.</p>
<p><strong> Dragon Well Tea<strong> </strong></strong><strong>Plantation</strong> is  named after a well in the village  where according to a legend that a dragon  dwelled and ensured that it  rained. The well is still there. The area  surrounding the well has many  buildings and pavilions in it also. There are  meandering paths  connecting them, and the area is sheltered by large trees and  bamboo  groves. It is a very lovely place. It is very deep and is still being   fed by a natural spring. The well is surrounded by a small marble fence  carved  in the shape of clouds. Clouds are where dragons are supposed to  traditionally  dwell. It is amazing! Brewing tea with the dragon well  is extremely fragrant! he atmosphere is  very wonderful and peaceful. The tea houses, tea  pavilions, and the restaurant  are beautifully placed amongst bamboo  groves and tea trees. The workers all  wear traditional style clothing  and are very good at doing Gongfu Cha. It  looked like a beautiful  Chinese garden devoted to tea. So if you have a chance  to come to  Hangzhou, do not miss the Dragon Well Tea Plantation!</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-633" title="Hangzhou Tea  area" src="http://shownbylocals.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/tea-graden.jpg" alt="Hangzhou Tea area" width="480" height="230" /></p>
<p><strong>The Six Harmonies Pagoda</strong> is one of the  most famous  attractions in Hangzhou. People who come here can not only  enjoy  the grandness of the ancient pagoda, but also appreciate the  beautiful scenery  of Qiantang River. The Six Harmonies Pagoda has an  elegant figure and proper  proportion. Although it had been fixed for  many times, it still keeps the  original scene. It is the masterpiece of  ancient architecture art in China. So,  in 1961, it was listed into the  important culture relic protection unit. Also, visitors may enjoy the religious  culture near the Six  Harmonies Pagoda. The mysterious legends and events must  lure you much.</p>
<p><strong>Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine :</strong>The Hu Qing Yu Tang Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicines located at the foot of Wushan hill in Hangzhou.It is the only State-level professional one in China.Built on the foundation of a group of old buildings of Hu Qing Yu Tang Traditional Chinese Pharmaceutical Factory.The museum presents to visitors a style of antique architecture besides a treasury of traditional Chinese medical science and technology. The museum,covering more than 4000 square meters of building area,consists of five parts:an exhibition hall,a hall of medicine preparation by manual labour,a health care clinic,a sales department and a restaurant of medicinal diets.<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></p>
<p><strong>National Silk Museum Hangzhou</strong> a large number of ancient silk artifacts, as well as models and photographs. Articles from the neolithic period include certain items from more than 4,700 years and even a dyed piece of silk woven fabric from more than 5,600 years ago. Woven silk pieces excavated from the Jiang ling Ma shan Chu Tomb in Hu bei Province show the high level of weaving technology during the Warring States period.<br />
By the Han period, the development of Chinese silk weaving had reached its first peak. The fabric excavated from the Tomb at Ma wang dui that is exhibited here is extraordinary. It lay underground for more than 2,000 years and yet is still as lustrous and beautiful today as it was when it was buried.<strong> </strong></p>
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<p><strong>Heavenly wind over Wushan Hill: </strong>is a major town center in Hangzhou. The view from the top is excellent  on a clear day, and there are also trails around the hills from behind  the pagoda. The pagoda itself has been modernized with an elevator and  nice open-air tea house at the top, but the original bell is still intact  and in use. This area also features easy access to He fang street  shopping  street at the base of the hill, full of small pedestrian streets and  shopping stalls. It is also extremely close to the West Lake itself.  Heavenly Wind of Wu Shan Hill is one of the &#8216;Ten New sights of the West  Lake&#8217;. The Wu Shan Hill protrudes into the city of Hangzhou, giving rise  to a scenic attraction marked for its graceful sights, exotic rocks,  mysterious caves, ancient wells and trees and quite a few sites of  historical interest.</p>
<p><strong>Lei Feng Tower:</strong>As one of the ten famous old sights  featuring West Lake in Hangzhou,  it was first built in 975 but damaged by lightning at a  time unknown. It had once been rebuilt into an octagonal five-storied  pavilion in early Southern Song (1127-1279).In 1924, the inner structure of Lei Feng Tower  collapsed with ruins leaving down only the fame &#8220;Lei Feng at Sunset&#8221;. In  October 1999, a special committee was organized to see academic papers  and correlated materials for making a study into history and  reconstruction of the tower in the past two decades were garnered.  Following history, experts&#8217; consultation and Qinghua University&#8217;s  blueprint, a steel structure was chosen to build new similar tower over  old ruins at the original site of Lei Feng Tower. The new one is  designed to be a five-storied pavilion inlaid with brick and upturned  eaves.<br />
<strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong>Price: </strong></p>
<p><strong> One Person</strong>: 1100RMB. <strong>Including:</strong> High speed train two  way. entrance tickets. all day transportation in Hangzhou and lunch.</p>
<p><strong> Two  Person</strong>: 880RMB (per person)<strong>Including:</strong> High speed train two  way. entrance tickets. all day transportation in  Hangzhou and lunch.<strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong>Three  Person:</strong>780RMB(per person)<strong>Including:</strong> High speed train two  way. entrance tickets. all day transportation in Hangzhou and lunch.</p>
<p><strong>Four  Person:</strong> 700 RMB(per person)<strong>Including:</strong> High speed train two  way. entrance tickets. all day drive with car in Hangzhou and lunch.</p>
<p><strong>Five Person: </strong>680 RMB ( Per person)<strong>Including:</strong> High speed train two  way. entrance tickets. all day drive with car in Hangzhou and lunch.</p>
<p><strong>History of Hangzhou </strong></p>
<p><img src="http://shownbylocals.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/hangzhou.png" alt="hangzhou.png" width="480" height="212" /></p>
<p>Hangzhou&#8217;s inordinate beauty has been an inspiration to artists for centuries &#8211; Lin Hejiang, a tenth century poet is famous for having lived as a recluse on Solitary island for twenty years. And indeed, two more of China&#8217;s most influential poets, Bai Juyi and Su Dongpo, served as governors here at that time.<br />
During the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) the city became known as a popular tourist destination, much frequented by such notables as the Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong, who built a palace and important library here. Similarly, during the late twentieth century, Mao Ze Dong was smitten by its charm. He snatched moments from his hectic political life to write &#8220;Ode to the Mume Blossom&#8221;, which by its very title recalls Lin Heijiang&#8217;s &#8220;To the Mume Blossom&#8221;, written a thousand years earlier.<br />
Hangzhou rose to prominence as the capital of the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). Forced to flee before the invading Jurched, the Imperial court under the rule of the pusillanimous Emperor Gaozong (1107-1187) moved its capital southwards from Kaifeng to Hangzhou. Under the patronage of this court, Hangzhou&#8217;s arts and commerce received unprecedented impetus, transforming it, in Marco Polo&#8217;s words into, &#8220;a city of heaven&#8230;the finest and most splendid city in the world.&#8221;<br />
Chinese products, such as silk and ceramics, were traded for wood, pearls and handicrafts from Japan; ginseng and medicinal herbs from Korea; and spices, ivory and jewels from Southeast Asia and the Middle East. As a result, by the end of the thirteenth century, the wealthy population had swelled from half a million to nearly two million. The city became known for its sybaritic life: one resident had the floor of his house covered with tiles inlaid with silver; pets were dyed pink with balsam leaves and Hangzhou&#8217;s West Lake became the focus of a thirteenth century pleasure-ground with splendid boats, restaurants and entertainers.<br />
Seven hundred years later, Hangzhou&#8217;s West Lake continues to draw foreign tourists and local Chinese to its beautiful shores.</p>
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