Westlake

On my way back from Chongqing, I spent a few days in a place I’ve been trying to get to for some time now:  Hangzhou.
Just an hour’s train ride away from Shanghai, Hangzhou has been a place of beauty and relaxation as far back as at least the Tang dynasty.   The focus of the city is 西湖 (Xīhú which means “West Lake.”)
The north shore of the lake is lined with villas built in the 20s and 30s, some converted into cafés and boutiques now.  The city feels like an affluent resort town.  (If resort towns had 9 million permanent residents.) My room at the Wyndham Grand Plaza Royale was not nearly as fancy as the overwrought name of the hotel, but it was nice and right at the northwest corner of the lake.