Thank you for such a lovely trip report.

wonderful report...how many days would you say would make a perfect trip to shanghai??

Thanks :) I would say at least 5 days so that I could spend the time really exploring the older buildings, temples, etc. to get a good feel for the way the city has been transforming (degree in architecture hence the interest), visit the museums, oh and of course eat!

Thanks for a delightful trip report!

sounds good to me thanks....i will plan on 7...

marksfour,

Again mahalo for taking us on the ride. We really enjoyed it.

Your classmate says aloha.

Aloha!

Thank you, thank you for such a charming report! I had to wipe the corner of my eyes because of the praise heaped on and your enthusiasm of my birthplace! rhkkmk, you will enjoy it too!

I guessed correctly you have professional knowledge of architecture, I have 6 of them in my family (EK has met one), feel free to ask related questions and I'll find the answers from them for you.

Thanks for a great report.

We're returning to China this fall, but it will be our first time to fly domestic. You mention 5 suitcases for 3 people. Everything I've read says 1 suitcase per person. Were you able to check the 5 bags without paying overweight? If anyone else reading this was able to check more than 1 bag, please let me know.

Twofortheroad - we had pretty good sized suitcases and 3 bags were just hovering at 50 lbs. when we left the States. Now we had a few additonal items so I know they were not within their weight limit...but we were not charged a thing. We may have just been lucky that day.

Shanghainese- Can one of the family architects accompany us next time? :)

PS. We did check in all 5 bags and no extra fee for that either...

Mr. & Mrs. HT - Aloha back at you...do we have to wait for a GTG in Hawaii or can we round up Lcuy & Mr. Lcuy too?

Marksfour,

I just finished reading your report and really loved the second part as much as the first!

I do have a question regarding Hangzhuo -- how did you find getting around the town? Did you take buses or taxis or were you able to walk everywhere? As non-Mandarin speakers, we are going to do our best to manage on our own, so I'd be grateful for any tips.

If your daughter or any of her friends would like to "hang out" with us for a while (we'll be there on the weekend of April 4-6) doing touristy things, we'd be happy to treat her (or a friend) to some good meals (but not pizza or McD's)... since I've got a list of Chinese places to eat there (of course!) If she knows a Chinese student who would like to practice English and eat with us, I'm a retired teacher and that would also be great. My husband and I are going to travel independently for 23 days and I'm sure we will crave some company along the way (plus my husband has zero interest in Chinese food,if you can believe it, so sharing meals would be much more interesting if we had another person or two with us!)

Thanks again for such an informative and entertaining report.

Linda

Hi Linda,
I'm glad you enjoyed the report:)We walked from hotel to all the West Lake attractions and used a taxi for all other travel in Hangzhou. D says the bus system is very efficient and I am sure your hotel can tell you which bus to take where. Not as big a city to navisate as Beijing or Shanghai.

To talk more about your weekend in Hangzhou, you can email me at
marksfour @ gmail dot com

Delightful! What a wonderful report! So glad you are all right from the run-in with the car!

Aloha, marksfour, let me know when you go next to China and we'll chat about the arrangements. I'm not sure if HT has my e-mail address but MelissaHI has it and I give her permission to forward it to you.

Linda -- There are motorized golf carts seating 4 that circle the lake, and you must take the lake cruise by covered motorized boats, so dreamy in the rain. You can take a taxi to Dragon Well tea plantation in the hills, you'll feel like you are on the Dragon Back rice paddy terraces above Yangshou.

Thanks for the information and address/email.

Monica ((F))

Marksfour - Thanks so much for the
information. I, too, am glad you were ok from your collision. My husband got hit by a car when we were in Mijas (Spain) last December. We were crossing a street and a taxi, which had been parked, suddenly backed up into us... a huge
surprise! My husband, who is quick, jumped up and avoided too much of an impact and as he jumped, he banged on the car. As a result, I think the taxi driver was more frightened than the rest of us (although some friends from Wales, with whom we were traveling, gave the taxi driver quite a lecture.)

Shanghainese - The gold carts sound like an efficient way to navigate if our feet get tired, however, I'd prefer to do the lake boats without the rain, thank you! BTW we had discussed the Wanghu, but I ended up making the reservation at the HNA Huagang after consulting with Ellyse. I'll let you (and everyone else) know how that works out! Since we are going to Hangzhuo first, I may feel as if I'm in Hangzhuo when I get to the Longsheng Dragon Back Terraces (not the other way around). At any rate, we definitely plan to take a taxi over to the Dragon Well village.

Again, thanks all!

Linda

marksfour -- don't mean to tamper with your thread on my response below to Linda.

Linda -- I cannot find any reviews on HNA Huagang, eLong says it's quasi 4 star hotel (which means 3.5*) and it's 3 km from the lake. And who is Ellyse, please?

Shanghainese- I love the extra 'hits' to the post :)

marksfour - You mention the D-train to Hangzhou took 1 hour, 18 minutes. Would Hangzhou be doable as a day trip from Shanghai? I'd like to avoid having to pack up and move to another hotel but not sure if one is sufficient for the West Lake area. Are there trains all day long to/from Shanghai?

Thanks!

Monica ((F))

Monica -- If you get up early enough you can do Hangzhou in a day in a whirlwind tour around the lake and fit in a lake cruise too. I've been to Hangzhou at least 3 dozen times in all seasons and I rate it above Suzhou and Tongli. Did you know an emperor (I think it was Kang Xi) commissioned the Summer Palace in Beijing to be designed as a replica of Hangzhou after his trip from Beijing by imperial boats down the Grand Canal? No trains or planes in those days!

Can someone copy the D-train schedule for Monica?

Linda -- I don't know if the emperor rode in a gold golf cart but you are certainly worth it, hee hee!