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Fang is from China. She is fan of Beijing, Tokyo, Madrid, Sevilla, San Sebastián , mountains, and cold weather.

What she likes most about traveling is you can just look and think into deep silence, without any noise and what fang likes least about traveling is sometimes the weather just doesn’t back you up.

Songcheng 宋城 travel guide

It began to snow heavily starting early in the morning, which is so rare to see in Hangzhou. Fortunately there wasn’t a lot of traffic on the roads so we got to the Song City quickly.

The Song City is actually a theme park of the culture of the Song dynasty, so all the things we see are like they were 800 years ago (Hangzhou was the capital of Song). I knew I would like it very much as soon as I saw the traditional Chinese gate and the dragon columns. And instead of destroying our visit, the white snow perfected the experience of traveling back in time.

The first thing I saw inside was a big plaza with a rectangle stage which reminded me that in ancient times instead of TV and internet there were a huge number of buskers performing on the roads, and to see the live shows was the most interesting entertainment for the people.

We picked our way behind the stage to explore; then we saw a small bamboo bridge leading to a tall city gate just like a pass. It was beautiful! You know when you see this gate with the red lanterns and flags and scrolls, and the shape of the structure, the color and the detail; you can easily easily discern the cultural atmosphere of the Song dynasty from the Ming’s. Almost all the historical resorts of Beijing like the Forbidden City and the city gates were built in Ming dynasty.

So this is the Song’s gate:

And this is the Ming’s gate:

(Which do you like better? :p)

Well, this big gate gave me many surprises indeed: for example, the public notice board on the wall beside the pass. At that time the police or the government placed a criminal’s likeness or a new law on the wall of the city gate, so when people entered the city they would read it just like a newspaper. Be careful since it’s for official use only: you were forbidden to post your “Lost Items” there, so just go and find a big tree :p

Inside the pass, there are on-duty soldiers in armor and a peddler selling traditional winter shoes for children.  I loved the shoes very much because I used to wear them when I was small.

Two young girls wearing traditional hairstyles and calico cotton-padded jackets were bargaining with a vendor which looked lovely.

Then we came to a small road filled with old-style restaurants and teahouses. All the waitresses and owners were wearing traditional Han clothes which made me laugh.

Renting traditional clothes to make photos is a really hot business. I thought it could be fun so I paid 30 Yuan for two outfits: a golden armor of the generals and a red dress of the high-ranked imperial concubine (the clothes of the emperor’s second wife are much more beautiful than the empress’, so I think that’s why the third wheel is always more attractive and popular… )

Then we came to a street called “The Strange Street”. There are many rooms with many funny things, like this:

Look at this, a huge Buddha leaning on the Mountain:

And a building with a mod makeup:

I was told that the best time to go to Hangzhou is in April. However, although it was a little cold, I still sooo enjoyed this winter trip

There are many other interesting places beyond what I’ve covered here. Explore the area yourself, and share what you find!

Songcheng 宋城 travel guide