On Monday I had the joy of going on a day trip to a local city named Hangzhou. My tour guides were Tracy Lesh and Michael Wang who together run tours in the Shanghai area. I have toured with them before and it is always a great day!
The main topic: tea!
One of China’s most famous teas is Long Jing, and the renowned West Lake variety is in the Hangzhou area. We started our morning heading to Hangzhou on the high speed train – about an hour train ride outside of Shanghai. Our ultimate destination was YangMeiLing tea village where we would hike the tea trail, learn about harvesting tea and participate in a tea tasting session.
The scenery was beautiful and we were able to see the workers harvesting the tea!
After enjoying an amazing lunch (probably the best Chinese food I have had) we travelled a few minutes back into Hangzhou to stroll around a beautiful lake called West Lake.
Before heading back to Shanghai we stopped at HeFang Old street to see some art and sample some local food.
Such a wonderful day with amazing fellow guests and amazing guides!
Thank you Tracy and Michael.
Pictures are in two posts! 
