China (Hangzhou & Suzhoz) Nov 2017 D-1

Map of  Hangzhou, Zhejiang 

Map of Suzhou, Jiangsu

1) Flight from Kuala Lumpur departing 08.10 > Hangzhou; seated by the window side, I was able to see when the plane was about to land, it had to pierce through 3 layers of white clouds ie the upper, middle and the lower layer and it was after the lower layer & within minutes, I could see the airstrip & Hangzhou airport from my window - what a pleasant sight ! My travel buddy, KC from USJ also noticed this phenomenon ! 

2) Arriving at Hangzhou Airport 13.10

3) Our Tour Bus for the entire trip (8 days)

Day 1 - Airlink's Tour Itinerary: 

1) Airport - Assemble at KLIA2 for departure from Kuala Lumpur > Hangzhou (Flight D7 302) departing 08.10 arriving 13.10
2) Boat tour Nanxun Water Village (an ancient water village with a 800 years of history)
3) The Ruins of the City (at the advice of Wu Zixu, the emperor of Wu built this Wu Guodu)

Map of Hangzhou, Suzhou, Shanghai & Huangshan

Hangzhou > Nanxun Ancient Town - 89km (1hr 24mins)

Nanxun Ancient Town (Zhejiang) > Suzhou - 68km (1hr 9mins)

1) Nanxun Ancient Town & Water Village, Huzhou (Zhejiang Province - 2 hrs by bus from Hangzhou, an UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site & a 5A class tourist site in China, built during the 9th century under the Tang dynasty, well preserved & known for its cultural heritage; famous for silk production, picturesque waterways, canals, old stoned arch bridges from the Song, Yuan, Ming & Qing dynasties; lotus pond, courtyard, gardens etc . I was thoroughly impressed after this ancient town visit !

In Dec 2015, I made a free & easy visit with my wife to Zhujiajiao, a water village located 46km (58mins) from Shanghai city ! Other popular water towns/villages eg Wuzhen, Tongli, Zhouzhuang, Xitang & Fenjing, all are located close to Suzhou / Hangzhou . 

It was drizzling at the time of our visit in the late afternoon. All our small umbrellas were put on good use ! 

2) Boat tour of Nanxun Water Village

3) The ruins of the ancient Wu Guodu, Suzhou, Jiangsu - a 5 minutes walk from the bus parking to the opposite bank of Suzhou river to view this ancient ruins ! It could be better for the local guide / bus to bring us to the front entrance of this ancient city gate & wall to have a closer look of thesr ruins & also for photo shooting ! 

4) Guan Qian Jie, Suzhou - it was drizzling at the time of our visit, one of the recommended optional highlight side tours, an ideal place to shop for a winter wear ! My last visit to Guan Qian Jie was in 2010. 

5) Hotel Accommodation in Suzhou (1st Night)

6) Lunch on board the Air Asia flight (Day 1) - slightly different from the normal meal I had eaten on board of Air Asia flights ie Nasi Lemak & Chicken rice etc 

7) Dinner in Suzhou (1st Night) - yummy hot soup noodles, Suzhou style ! Free flow of noodles to satisfy your appetite ! A great start - our first dinner meal in China ! 

8) Night scenery near the Chinese Noodles Restaurant Area