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'Tis the season to ride your bike
By Xu Wenwen |
March 19, 2012, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
SPRING has sprung and this is the season for bicycling around Hangzhou in its green hills as tea harvest approaches. The city has released maps of 10 popular bicycle routes for low-carbon sightseeing.
Hangzhou's free public bicycle rental began in May 2008; the city has more than 25,000 stylish orange bikes and they can be borrowed for free from more than 2,000 stations across the city.
It's free for an hour to locals with an ID or bus pass and free to non-locals who pay a 300 yuan deposit, refundable when bike is returned.
At the second hour, a user has to pay 1 yuan (15 cents); at the third hour, the user has to pay 2 yuan, and any additional hours cost 3 yuan a hour.
The 10 routes released by the Hangzhou Public Bicycle Service Center connect service stations around scenic areas like West Lake and the Grand Canal together. One can pick up a bike at one station and drop it off elsewhere along the route.
From next month the maps will be provided at every public bike station in the scenic areas. The 10 routes include five around West Lake, three along the Grand Canal, two around Xixi Wetlands and one along the Qiantang River.
Shanghai Daily recommends a few of routes for enjoying the spring breeze and sunshine.
West Lake
The 11-kilometer route starts and ends at No. 6 Park at the eastern end of West Lake. The route is mostly smooth paths around the lake where there are many benches and locations to rest and take in the view.
It takes in almost all the major classical sites, including Hubin Park, Changqiao Park, Leifeng Pagoda, Su Causeway, Yanggong Causeway, Yue Fei Temple and Broken Bridge.
Bai Causeway
This 2-kilometer trip crosses the Broken Bridge, the Bai Causeway, then Solitude Hill, Louwailou Restaurant and finally eaches Xilin Bridge.
The Broken Bridge lies at the eastern end of the Bai Causeway; it is said to be the place where Madam White Snake (a snake sorceress who appears as a woman) meets her true mortal love Xu Xian and borrows an umbrella from him.
Nine Creeks
This 13-kilometer trip takes you around the green, rustic hills of Hangzhou where there's plenty of greenery and tea.
It begins at Hangzhou Botanical Garden, goes along Meiling Road N., passes Meijiawu Tea Village and comes to Meiling Road S. It then ends at Nine Creeks and Eighteen Gullies.
Nine Greeks and Eighteen Gullies is a tranquil place where creeks meander their way to the Qiantang River. So after a bike ride, you can relax or hike along the water.
Longjing Tea
This 3-kilometer trip connects the China Tea Museum, Longjing Road, Manjuelong Road and Hupao Spring. It's also a classical hiking route and quite demanding because it's mostly uphill and not much downshill.
Riding among the tea bushes is the highlight, especially in tea harvest season when farmers in bamboo hats are busy plucking the freshest buds.
The route also crosses the Broken Bridge, Hangzhou Botanical Garden and Linying Temple.
Xixi Wetlands
The 14-kilometer bike route beats driving because cars are often stuck in day-long traffic on Tinmushan Road on the way to Xiwi Wetlands.
There are many public bicycle rental and drop-off stations around the wetlands. One of the two wetland routes goes from Coach West Station, along Tianmushan Road and Wen'er Road W., ending at Zijingang Road.
The trip is smooth and goes mostly around the wetlands where flowers are blooming and trees are budding this season.
Grand Canal
Hangzhou has developed the historic Grand Canal area into a new block featuring restored old buildings as well as stores where people can experience folk culture and get a sense of the past.
One bike route starts at the Grand Canal Museum, continues to Xiangji Temple, and then to Xiaohezhi Street, ending at Qiaoxi Historical Block. It is 6.2 kilometers long.
All the venues are more than a hundred years old and have been renovated recently, as authentic wood-and-stone houses, restaurants, tea houses and cafes.
Another route, lasting 7.5 kilometers, starts at Gongchen Bridge, goes to Xiangji Temple, Fuyi Warehouse and then to West Lake Cultural Plaza, so tourists can experience the change in the city by passing over a 500-year-old bridge and entering a modern plaza.
Qiantang River
The river arises on the border of Anhui and Jiangxi provinces and passes through Hangzhou before flowing into the East China Sea through Hangzhou Bay.
Hangzhou has been creating Qianjiang New Town nestled near the Qiantang River. The 12-kilometer route goes right along the new town, which includes the multi-story Liuhe Pagoda constructed in AD 970, the Qiantang River No.1 Bridge built in the 1930s, as well as the City Balcony, actually a park on stilts or pilings where people can get a bird's eye view of the new town.
Hangzhou's free public bicycle rental began in May 2008; the city has more than 25,000 stylish orange bikes and they can be borrowed for free from more than 2,000 stations across the city.
It's free for an hour to locals with an ID or bus pass and free to non-locals who pay a 300 yuan deposit, refundable when bike is returned.
At the second hour, a user has to pay 1 yuan (15 cents); at the third hour, the user has to pay 2 yuan, and any additional hours cost 3 yuan a hour.
The 10 routes released by the Hangzhou Public Bicycle Service Center connect service stations around scenic areas like West Lake and the Grand Canal together. One can pick up a bike at one station and drop it off elsewhere along the route.
From next month the maps will be provided at every public bike station in the scenic areas. The 10 routes include five around West Lake, three along the Grand Canal, two around Xixi Wetlands and one along the Qiantang River.
Shanghai Daily recommends a few of routes for enjoying the spring breeze and sunshine.
West Lake
The 11-kilometer route starts and ends at No. 6 Park at the eastern end of West Lake. The route is mostly smooth paths around the lake where there are many benches and locations to rest and take in the view.
It takes in almost all the major classical sites, including Hubin Park, Changqiao Park, Leifeng Pagoda, Su Causeway, Yanggong Causeway, Yue Fei Temple and Broken Bridge.
Bai Causeway
This 2-kilometer trip crosses the Broken Bridge, the Bai Causeway, then Solitude Hill, Louwailou Restaurant and finally eaches Xilin Bridge.
The Broken Bridge lies at the eastern end of the Bai Causeway; it is said to be the place where Madam White Snake (a snake sorceress who appears as a woman) meets her true mortal love Xu Xian and borrows an umbrella from him.
Nine Creeks
This 13-kilometer trip takes you around the green, rustic hills of Hangzhou where there's plenty of greenery and tea.
It begins at Hangzhou Botanical Garden, goes along Meiling Road N., passes Meijiawu Tea Village and comes to Meiling Road S. It then ends at Nine Creeks and Eighteen Gullies.
Nine Greeks and Eighteen Gullies is a tranquil place where creeks meander their way to the Qiantang River. So after a bike ride, you can relax or hike along the water.
Longjing Tea
This 3-kilometer trip connects the China Tea Museum, Longjing Road, Manjuelong Road and Hupao Spring. It's also a classical hiking route and quite demanding because it's mostly uphill and not much downshill.
Riding among the tea bushes is the highlight, especially in tea harvest season when farmers in bamboo hats are busy plucking the freshest buds.
The route also crosses the Broken Bridge, Hangzhou Botanical Garden and Linying Temple.
Xixi Wetlands
The 14-kilometer bike route beats driving because cars are often stuck in day-long traffic on Tinmushan Road on the way to Xiwi Wetlands.
There are many public bicycle rental and drop-off stations around the wetlands. One of the two wetland routes goes from Coach West Station, along Tianmushan Road and Wen'er Road W., ending at Zijingang Road.
The trip is smooth and goes mostly around the wetlands where flowers are blooming and trees are budding this season.
Grand Canal
Hangzhou has developed the historic Grand Canal area into a new block featuring restored old buildings as well as stores where people can experience folk culture and get a sense of the past.
One bike route starts at the Grand Canal Museum, continues to Xiangji Temple, and then to Xiaohezhi Street, ending at Qiaoxi Historical Block. It is 6.2 kilometers long.
All the venues are more than a hundred years old and have been renovated recently, as authentic wood-and-stone houses, restaurants, tea houses and cafes.
Another route, lasting 7.5 kilometers, starts at Gongchen Bridge, goes to Xiangji Temple, Fuyi Warehouse and then to West Lake Cultural Plaza, so tourists can experience the change in the city by passing over a 500-year-old bridge and entering a modern plaza.
Qiantang River
The river arises on the border of Anhui and Jiangxi provinces and passes through Hangzhou before flowing into the East China Sea through Hangzhou Bay.
Hangzhou has been creating Qianjiang New Town nestled near the Qiantang River. The 12-kilometer route goes right along the new town, which includes the multi-story Liuhe Pagoda constructed in AD 970, the Qiantang River No.1 Bridge built in the 1930s, as well as the City Balcony, actually a park on stilts or pilings where people can get a bird's eye view of the new town.
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