Day trip to Wuxi!

Last Thursday I went on another day trip, this time with the SEA (Shanghai Expat Association). 
We headed about 2 hours outside of Shanghai via a bus to a town called Wuxi.
We walked through beautiful gardens full of cherry blossoms on our way to Taihu Lake.  Taihu Lake is the 3rd largest freshwater lake in China and is known for its northwest shore – Turtle Head Peninsula. Turtle Head Peninsula gets its name for its huge rocks extending into the lake, looking like a turtle raising its head.
After having a traditional Chinese lunch (let me just say – thank goodness for rice…) we headed on a ferry to Taihu Fairy Island. The island has some “tourist attractions” that were built in 1990. There are paths with temples, waterfalls and Buddhas all which gave pretty views of the lake.
Always a great time getting out of the city!
 

Amazing cherry blossoms

  

Scary little shrimp dish…

  

Very full ferry ride over to turtle head island – also scary….

  

Cherry blossom petals on the water.

  

Temple created as part of the tourist attraction.

  

Turtle Island – the turtle head is the left covered with trees.

        

Lanterns in the cherry tree

 

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Happy Easter!

    

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Hangzhou and YangMeiLing Tea Trek – pictures continued….

 

West Lake

  

Such a pretty Starbucks

  

West Lake

  

West Lake

  

Chinese artist Zhu Bingrens. The piece is called: The Invasion

  

Beggers chicken. Seasoned chicken wrapped in lotus leaves, covered in mud and baked in clay pots.

  

Local food – yummy! Similar texture to a tortilla with scallions & hot sauce.

 

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Hangzhou and YangMeiLing Tea Trek

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!                    
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Strolling through Shanghai…

I always seem to see interesting things at McDonalds.

Not sure what the flavor is but the cone and the ice cream were both a silver/grey color…. 

 

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My favorite restaurant!

Din Tai Fung…. 

The XiaoLongBao are my favorite…dumplings with a small pork meatball and soup inside! Amazing!

I’ve been cutting back on carbs so I could treat myself to these!

Green beans with pork bits

  

Bok choy with ginger

  

XiaoLongBao (soup dumplings)

 

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Glad to be back! 

Clear day too!

View from the room

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Next flight!

We had just enough time to have a snack in my favorite Sky Club! 

 

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Our seats for the next 14 hours…

      

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In Detroit….next stop Tokyo!

  

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