Travel tip: Qiandao Hu

After the triathlon event on the weekend there was also time for some sightseeing during the following days. I think it is fair to say that everybody - including the Chinese - was highly impressed with the boat tour on the Qiandao Hu or the Thousand Islands Lake. That lake, as yet not that well-known but now linked to Hangzhou via a brand new highway, is truly a must-visit when in the area. It reminded me of Ha Long Bay in Viet Nam and of Guilin in Guangxi Province, southern China. The lake is huge and has 1067 "islands" in it, some of which of course tiny but others quite large and hilly. The boat tour took us to three of these bigger islands, on which we could then hike for some time. Atop the hills the view was often stunning. Take a look at the pictures on my Picasa page.

Today the locals around Qiandao Hu are still visibly surprised to see a non-Asian face in the street. It is also a great place for a cycling training camp, with new roads, little traffic and all kinds of terrain to pick from. Lots of fish restaurants, of course, with big ugly fish from the lake. Okay, they are not all ugly but the local delicatesse is a big black monster of a fish I would never put in my mouth ;-) The crabs are very tasty on the other hand.

You reach the lake in two hours by bus from Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province, which is a big city in itself only about 2-3 hours southwest of Shanghai, or four hours southeast of Nanjing. Hangzhou is a famous place in China and allegedly the number one tourist destination for Chinese people. The main reason is Xi Hu, the West Lake, around which Hangzhou has been developed. Also the legend of the White & Green Snake originates there, and you cannot escape it while visiting the various sights that make also this big lake a rewarding day trip. Hangzhou also seems to have quite a large expat community.

On a very rainy Thursday, as I was enjoying two solid cups of Segafredo coffee at a coffee place on the south side of Xi Hu, I decided to return to Dalian via Ningbo. That is another one of these new Chinese cities with two million inhabitants that nobody has ever heard of. Ningbo is located at the sea, two hours south of Shanghai, and has an important harbour apart from being the gateway to the Buddhist island of Putuoshan. I took the bus to Ningbo late in the afternoon and at night discovered a city with lots of neon that reminded me in parts of Tokyo. Perhaps it is similar to Shanghai, too, but I have not been in the latter city yet. Ningbo at night is more interesting than at daytime as the city lacks sights or historic places. What it does have is laowai tan - a district on the other side of the canal with only bars, restaurants, KTVs, massage parlours and nightclubs - a mini version of the 1912 district I got to know in Nanjing two months ago. Even in Ningbo several bars serve Stella Artois, if you fancy a Belgian beer.

Pictures from Hangzhou and Ningbo can also be seen now via this album link:

Zhejiang - Hangzhou & Ningbo