Hefang Street

After breakfast I took a walk down Hefang Street. This is lined with old shops, many of them plying their original trade.

Given the turmoil of the previous century, I wondered how much restoration had been done on the buildings.

It was pleasant to walk as it was not crowded at all and the temperature was just right.

Tea (leaf) shop.

Some of those kids (on a day trip?) were wielding nice cameras. Sign of affluence or cameras getting cheap?

At the end of the street, the permanent structures give way to trader stalls.

Like this one selling bulk dried produce.

And after the stalls is an open space overlooked by Wushan Tianfeng (吴山天风) hill.

The structure on the hill is Changhuang Pavillion (城隍阁), which is of recent construction though, from the 1990s. A view of the lake from there would have been nice, but it was obvious to me that there were more sights in Hangzhou than I had time for so I had to pass.

The building with the topiary appears to be the China Finance and Taxation Museum. (If you can't guess where on the home page to click to skip the intro, you'll have to let it finish.) According to its description it's lavishly housed. I suppose it could be quite interesting for someone interested in money through the eras of China.


But I had to get going to see the West Lake.