It was a while ago last August, but I never got around to summarizing my wonderful trip to Istanbul to visit my sister who was living in Istanbul at the time.     Following is a summary of that visit with a suggested itinerary for those visiting this beautiful city.   Generally, …

Though it seems like I’ve done quite alot in Hangzhou, I was only there for a weekend. But, that was plenty to get a good taste of the city and enjoy some of its wonders. Following is a summary of my visit for Hangzhou and my recommended 2-3 days travel itinerary : …

General Yue Fei, a military general who fought for the Song Dynasty armies against the Jin, has risen to an almost mythic worship representing loyalty. Due to my ethnic background I find the following story related to Yue Fei, loyalty and the Chinese Kei-Feng Israelites absolutely fascinating. Wikipedia writes (highlight not in original …

On the east side of the West Lake, not too far away from the new West Lake Museum, is a temple which I believe is called Qiang Wang Temple. There are no resources that I could find to help me better understand who this temple is about, so, photos are all I have. …

Lingyin temple goes by many translated names – Temple of the Soul’s Retreat, the Temple of the Hidden Immortals, and a few others I came across on the web. Dating back as early as 4th century BC, located 2-3km southwest of the West Lake, Lin Ying Temple is one impressive place to visit. A true […]

Looking for an over-commercial Song dynasty atmosphere? look no further than Hangzhou’s Song Dynasty Town which is a bizarre attempt at a cultural theme-park, obviously very local tourism oriented. If you’re interested in context – Hangzhou, with its long history, was the capital of Song dynasty since 1229 and is generally remembered as time of […]

China is warming up to environmental protection and the concept of wetland parks. Xixi National Wetland Park in Hangzhou is the first in a series of planned wetland parks across China. Right now, a few months after it’s been open to the public, it is still more of a half-built cultural attraction rather than a […]

Hefang street (河坊街) is a bustling shopping street in Hangzhou said to be designed in an “old” Song dynasty style China. Always busy and crowded, full of shops and restaurants, this is the place to go for some serious mainland people watching, local snacks, and relatively expensive tourist souvenirs. It’s only a few blocks to […]

Heavenly Wind of Wushan Hill (吳山天風), on the east side of West Lake, is one of the declared ten attractions surrounding Hangzhou’s West Lake (also see Lei Feng Pagoda). On the top of Wushan Hill is the Chenghuang pavilion, completed in 1999 featuring Yuan and Ming architecture style, offering panoramic views of both …

On the southern side of Hangzhou’s West Lake, the tall Lei Feng Pagoda overlooks the lake. Dating back as a far as a thousand years, the pagoda was recently remodeled and rebuilt and is now one of the main attractions surrounding the lake. The pagoda plays a …