If it weren't for the invite from Emilina and Geoffrey (the French couple that we met on the Yangzi River) we probably wouldn't have even considered visiting Hangzhou. Described by our new friends as a weekend getaway for Shanghai residents, Hangzhou turned out to be a refreshing stay. Built around the magnificent and almost totally man-made Xi Hu (West Lake), with scattered gardens, boardwalks and bridges around the lake edge, this was a very beautiful place.

The city also offered us the chance to put our feet up and enjoy the comforts of a home for a few days. We can't say we've really roughed it so far, as the hostels in China are all quite nice and accessible, but we took the opportunity as it came. Emilina and Geoffrey were enormously welcoming and generous, and it was great to hang out with some like-minded travellers, one of whom can speak Chinese!

Located between a few decent mountains, Hangzhou is known as one of the rainiest cities in China. This we welcomed as it meant that the gardens were so much greener, and the streets were so much cleaner..

Famous for its green tea, Hangzhou turned out to be a great place to learn more about Chinese tea. We visited the Tea Museum where we learnt about the histories of tea in China, and how a good cuppa can provide that essential connection to nature and improve your health in a thousand and one different ways! We even had a proper tea tasting session, where we learnt some of the traditional chinese methods for tea preparation.

Feeling relaxed and invigorated, we finished our stay with a stroll up 1000 steps to the summit of a small mountain, noodles for lunch on the lake foreshore and a strawberry-and-cream birthday cake for Emilina's 21st, before hopping on a train destined for Shanghai!