Sofitel Xanadu Hangzhou

... considered one of the top four gardens in China and is a World Heritage site. The gardens were built over four hundred years ago by a transportation official for his own private use. It took more than ten years to construct. After the official died, his son lost the gardens in a night of gambling. <br><br>The garden was beautiful and worthy of lingering. A young Japanese couple joined our tour group and listened in ...

... Most narcotics aren't going to cut it. I had no idea when it was going to end. The entire building was empty with the exception of our room, which kept on rocking until after 2am. Guantanamo Bay detainees have caved under less pressure. Jill had a great time. <br><br>We are very grateful to our employers for the invite and their generosity but here's hoping that there will not be a TGH3.<br><br> <br><br> <br> <br><br><br><br> <br>

Hi everyone, <br><br>Its been about a month now since the end of the holidays. <br>Time flys so quickly - when you are having fun or when you are just busy. <br>The first day from my holidays I was called upon to teach classes again, this I didn't mind at all as you know when you go on holiday there is usually quite a bit of damage to your wallet. <br><br>I started this update last week and now a week later I have finally found the time and energy to ...

... The Chinese call it Heaven on Earth.<br><br>Our journey got off to a fantastic start: We found our seats on the fast train (China has a great system of bullet trains which go almost everywhere)... we were in 1st class! Whoop! Granted it was a mere 2 hour journey, the shortest yet, but we were still very pleased!!!<br><br>When we arrived in to Hangzhou station we did the usual method of following the hoards to find the exit and found ourselves in an intimidating, bustling ...

... style and are very beautiful. There are also streams and springs in the area. When we finished visiting the area, I asked if we could see the Dragon Well. Dragon Well Tea is named after a well in the village where according to legend a dragon dwelled and ensured that it rained. The well is still there and I wanted to see it. This area was free to visit. The area surrounding the well has many buildings and pavilions in ...

First stop for today was the Temple of the Soul's Retreat with the unique caves and the carvings done into the rocks which date back to the 10th century, influenced from India by Indian monk Hui Li.<br><br>Next we went to a tea plantation and museum, Tea of the Dragon Well, and saw the hills of tea bushes and shown how they make the tea. We also enjoyed a tea ...

Departed Suzhou at 9am for a 2 and a half hour drive to Hangzhou, we said goodbye to Grace our Local Guide for the past two days but we keep our driver Mr John. On arrival we meet our new Guide Rain and we are taken to the restaurant for lunch, then onto a local market area where we visited some Chinese medicine shops and an art gallery with bronze sculptures.<br>Arrived at the Hotel at 2pm and did nothing much, went walking and later found a Subway so that was dinner.

... Marco Polo called this the most beautiful place he had seen in China when he came through in the 13 Century. We settled in and then headed to the night market which was about 6 blocks away. This night market has been here for over 5 hundred years and is just incredible. It stretches for about a kilometer and you can buy just about anything there from the usual touristy stuff, to lots of silk, tea, carvings, Chinese artwork, etc. There is a giant ...

... they ended up getting lost *nd going through * milit*ry checkpoint, but m*n*ged to get through by *cting like dumb tourists. The next d*y we rented scoot**s *g*in *nd went b*ck to Y*long B*y to * pl*ce wh**e we thought we could get Simon's moped fixed before we g*ve it b*ck to the sh*dy Russi*n girls. I w*s the tr*nsl*t** once *g*in which w*s *ctu*lly cool with me bec*use I got to h*ng out with * bunch of Chinese mech*nics. Eventu*lly they told us he'd need some ...

... must be on your travel itinerary. Down the road a bit we stopped for another typical Chinese 12 course lunch followed by a visit to the Six Harmonies Pagoda. It is getting hot by now and our group is slowing down a bit. Kyle and I are feeling rather energetic (must have been our visit to Hooters last night) so we decide to climb the 13 floors to the top. The octagonal temple stands 197 ft in height and served as a ...