Yunxi and Meijiawu (云栖/ 梅家坞）

Took a hike out to the Yunxi Bamboo Trail (云栖竹径) situated in the west of Hangzhou yesterday.

I highly recommend the bamboo trail as therapy for stressed out city folks in need of some an escape out to nature! There is a feeling of peace and calm as you stroll amidst the willowy bamboo trees. All is quiet around you except for the chirping of birds and your own footsteps.

From Yunxi, i hiked north to get to Meijiawu, a Longjing tea-producing village nestled in the hills.

Longjing tea shrubs grown on the hills around Hangzhou

Our hike ended in Meijiawu, named after the "Mei"(梅）family that has produced tea in this village for generations. We took a rest in one of the several teahouses and had some tea and lunch as we watched life go by in the village.

Freshly picked leaves are first dried in the sun for a couple of hours before stove-drying. It looks to be a rather labour-intensive process since it has to be dried in small batches to ensure it is evenly roasted. This old granny is using her bare hands in a stove that is usually above 200 deg celcius. There is a secondary roasting process in another stove before it is packed into tins but i didn't get to see this.

In truth, i enjoyed my refreshingly cold Snow Mountain beer a lot more than the tea because it was simply such a hot and sticky day!

Spring in Hangzhou 2 - Banshan Peach Blossom Festival

I took a day trip out out of Hangzhou to a nearby village called Banshan in Fuyang county (半山, 富阳县）for its annual Peach Blossom Festival. I passed by hills covered with peach blossom trees and fields of bright yellow cole flowers on the way. At Banshan, families picnic'd amidst the peach blossoms. Almost everyone hiked up the hills to pose next to the(you guessed it) peach blossom flowers for photos.

If you have ever wondered where sesame seeds come from, (i have to admit it's never crossed my mind to ask) its from the yellow Cole flowers in the photos.

Spring in Hangzhou - West lake in February

Sorry! i've not been keeping up with my posts. Work got really busy last month and there was also a spell where i could not get into blogspot!

Anyhow, it hasn't been entirely all work and no play. I managed to snatch some time outdoors to enjoy the beautiful spring weather.

Magnolia trees (?) These were taken at the West Lake, on an exceptionally nice day in February. Winter has been unusually warm this year, and the flowers all started blooming early!

Crowd gathering around an inpromptu performance. The accompanying musician is seated on the right. Chinese people seem to enjoy these alot.