Hangzhou - a big city

Though Hangzhou is not one of the largest cities in China, at 3 million plus it is considerably larger than the other places we've visited in Zhejiang Province. We drove from Anji to Hangzhou, past tea terraces, rice paddies, and other farmed fields, as well as houses in a variety of sizes and styles. As we reached the outskirts and drove through the city to reach our hotel, we saw much that reminded us of NYC. In fact, the section in which our hotel, the Zhejiang Grand Narada, was located reminded me of some of the neighborhoods in Queens. There was lots of greenery and wrought iron fences.

We had dinner in the hotel with Mr. Huang, Mr. Ye, and our drivers. Dinner that night was in one of the hotel restaurants, rather than in a private room. Mr. Huang and Mr. Ye, our hosts, selected entrees for the table, something we had come to expect. As usual, there were chicken, fish, tofu and vegetable options, along with the noodles, soup, and fruit that graced every dinner table on the trip.


June 8th was a transitional day, one of the few we would have during our trip. We thoroughly enjoyed the breakfast buffet in the hotel, which included many western options, and then prepared for our morning outing.