Bird Watching

While much of the biodiversity of the past has made way for skyscrapers and Hangzhou’s myriad ancient architectural wonders, the city remains one of the most popular cities in China for bird watching. Birders come from all around the world to see Hangzhou’s resident avian species as well as those making their long journey from Siberia to Australia—finding in Hangzhou, as many travelers do, an oasis of biodiversity.

Birders at the Lake

Normally, birders find themselves having to travel far outside the major cities to sate their appetite for avian voyeurism, but this is not the case with Hangzhou. West Lake itself provides for a keen look at the more adaptable birds that make their journeys from the North; there’s also the fact that the lake’s wide berth and central location makes the area a paradise for birders wanting to catch these creatures in flight over a simply spectacular skyline, edged, depending on the season, with lotus flowers or plum blossoms.

Even here, in the heart of modernity, visitors strain their lenses and binoculars to catch glimpses of the common kingfisher skimming for prey, watch the swift ashy drongo hawking the skies for insects, listen to the inimitable song of the oriental magpie-robin on the wet summer skies, and stumble upon black-throated tits as they wander their way from the Himalayas to the Southeast Asia. All of these birds come, like most of the visitors, for the peace of West Lake—but also the insects.

China’s Love Birds

Native to East Asia, the Mandarin duck has a special cultural importance in China as a symbol of love and fidelity. They are also the most prominent visitors to West Lake every year from late October to early April; during this time, up to 300 wild Mandarin ducks can be seen swimming and flying over the lake. The best spot to catch a glimpse of these birds is the West Lake Waterfowl Protection Zone west of the Su Causeway. These photos are provided by Zhu Chenzhou (祝辰洲) who has spent 14 years studying the avian life of West Lake.

In the Botanical Garden

While most visitors are drawn to the Hangzhou Botanical Garden by the diversity of flora, this is often the first place birders find themselves after casually strolling West Lake. Located near the many of the other famous tourist locations in Hangzhou in Xihu District, this site boasts a number of birds in a prime location for both amateur and professional photographers.

Bamboo forests near major metropolitan centers aren’t exactly known for their biodiversity, as bamboo can be a bit brutal on the soil below, but there is one species native to this area all the tourists are after: the Chinese bamboo partridge, notable for its ground-dwelling ways and gold-brown plumage.

If you find yourself in the botanical garden, listen for their distinctive, fast, high-pitched squeal, said to sound like ki-ko-kuai. These are one of the most photogenic of the birds in Hangzhou, not least of which because they are largely based on the ground and often travel as a family. If you’ve made them fly (or flush, as it’s called), then you’ve probably startled them. Even the taxonomy of this little bird is interesting, as one of the only two known surviving species of the Bambusicola genus remaining.

But, that’s obviously not the only bird you’ll find wandering around the botanical garden. The rich diversity of plants provides a haven for birds wanting to avoid the tourists at the surrounding hotspots.

The only real problem birders will find in the botanical garden is that there are so many birds hiding out in places like the azalea forests that you’ll be spoiled for choice. A big treat for bird watchers in the azalea forest is that of the fork-tailed sunbird, a curious little passerine bird with a sharp, curvy bill. The males are extremely brightly colored, so much so that they wouldn’t look out of place in a rainforest, and their call is a metallic chirp that adds a bit of what seems like mystical, tropical aesthetics to this inner-city botanical wonderland.

Wetland Waterfowl

Now, the West Lake and Hangzhou Botanical Garden are all well and good, but, like most parts of Hangzhou, if you really want a taste of nature, you’ve got to head to the Xixi National Wetland Park. Here, birders from around the world try to catch glimpses of eastern China’s colorful waterfowl in an environment that looks like it was taken out of an ancient novel of mystical waterways and magic boatmen.

Besides all of the extremely active ducks in the area, birders will find themselves drawn to the herons that can be found throughout the area. Unlike the colorful birds one finds in the botanical garden, these herons are largely native and some can rise pretty high on the East China aviary food chain.

While night and striated herons can be found in the Xixi wetlands, the most curious species is that of the Chinese pond heron, a specialized hunter of fish, bugs, and crustaceans around these parts. If you catch them around breeding season, you’ll see that they are a curious blend of reds and blues, but normally it’s their large wings combing the lakes that get birders interested.

These wetland herons are sometimes overlooked in favor of the perhaps more bizarre-looking egrets, a favorite being the Eastern cattle egret—notable for its perfectly white plumage out of breeding season and, some have noted, a yellowish mullet, which we can all agree is a tough look to pull off. The intermediate egret is a regular feature of the waters of the Xixi wetlands—a fairly easy-to-spot species with a long neck that bunches up as it stalks its prey in the shallow waters.

However, chief among all of these bird watching experiences is finding the brown hawk-owl, perhaps the greatest hunter in all of East China. You can find them in the Xixi wetlands using their almost supernatural owl-eyes and hawk-like body to hunt the small rodents inhabiting the shallow, brackish waters. Some areas know the brown hawk-owl as a boobook, an onomatopoeia for this surprisingly pervasive animal’s odd owl hoots.

It is here, in the Xixi wetlands, that the avian diversity of Hangzhou can truly be seen—from the strange songs of passing flocks of laughing thrush to the bright colors of the red flycatchers and yellow-bellied tits—even the most picky nature lover can find something special in the skies and branches of Hangzhou.

No one is absolutely sure about when the Chinese began to fall in love with tea. Most will tell you that a legendary sage some 4,500 years ago named Shennong (神农), or Divine Farmer, discovered this magical beverage. It’s said that he would march through the thick forests, studying every strange plant to come his way. By tasting them, he was able to identify their medicinal properties, but not before he was poisoned a few times. Thus began humanity’s long, long history of drinking tea.

In the exploratory spirit of the Divine Farmer, there’s no place more fitting for a hike through tea culture than Hangzhou’s refreshing tea gardens. You can get to know the people whose livelihoods depend on these little leaves, as well as experience the crisp air, lush mountains, varied flora, crystal clear springs, and tranquil villages.

Every spring, in late March, the lush tea gardens across the slopes in the West Lake region come alive. If you happen to visit during this time, you will find, under the straw hats that dot the green bushes, farmers working as quickly as possible to pick the tender tea leaves. They have a narrow time slot (two weeks or so) to yield the most precious green tea there is, called pre-Qingming Longjing (明前龙井). Once the Qingming Festival (the 15th day after spring equinox) is past, the tea loses its premium status.

Named after a sweet local well called “Longjing”, or “Dragon Well”, (which you will also see along the trail), Longjing tea plants are what you will mainly encounter strolling among the tea gardens spreading on the hills near West Lake. Like a bottle of authentic champagne that can only be produced from the grapes in the Champagne region of France, only tea from the West Lake region, a little over 168 square kilometers, can be named “West Lake Longjing” (西湖龙井). This tea is ranked first on China’s finest tea selections. A limited number of plantations combine with the traditional harvesting method—the fruit of a skilled tea picker’s entire day only yields half a kilogram of ready tea after processing—made this bittersweet, fragrant tea a highly sought-after, though pricy, delight.

To start your journey, the China National Tea Museum, Shuangfeng Branch (中国茶叶博物馆双峰馆区) at Longjing Road serves as a nice first stop to gather all your tea facts. It doesn’t just end at exhibition halls; the museum is actually in Shuangfeng Village (双峰村), one of the major tea producing villages, so the building is surrounded in sublime tea fields.

A number of tempting tea houses can be found in the museum, but you can also head southwest into the village to try a pot. With white walls and black rooftops, the village is somewhat of a throwback to South China’s water towns. Nearly all the families are somehow involved in tea business, and visitors will be able to see tea-makers working in their front yards with frying pans full of tea leaves—an important step in production you’ll already know about from having visited the museum. One fun option for the more dedicated tea lovers might be to pick one of these houses for a weekend afternoon. Hangzhou locals love to take a whole day to relax here, immersed in the tea field surrounding village while tasting fresh tea.

Head west on Longjing Road and you will pass the Eight Scenes of Longjing (龙井八景) that are scattered in the valley, pavilion, temple, pond, spring—each handpicked and named by Emperor Qianlong during his four visits to the Longjing area. One of the spots, Fenghuang Ridge (风篁岭), is covered with bamboo. It’s also the steepest climb along the route. You also don’t want to miss Fangyuan Temple (方圆庵), which has a dome and square base signifying a round sky and the square earth, a mirror for how the ancient Chinese understood the heavens. Today, it’s a popular tea house for weary visitors.

Your next stop should be Longjing Temple (龙井寺) for the surrounding lush tea fields and cool breeze far from the noise and commerce of the city. Most importantly, it’s where the Longjing tea legend began, for the Dragon Well dwells inside. In the Northern Song Dynasty, the temple resembled a high society salon where the most talented literati of the day and highest ranking officials (often they were both) gathered to taste tea and chat. The reverent monk Biancai (辩才) served as their gracious host, offering witty conversation and the fragrant beverages he cultivated himself. On a giant rock in the temple, you will find a fitting phrase for your tour, “龙井问茶”, “investigating the secrets of tea through Longjing”. This tour is also regarded as one of the New Top Ten Scenes of West Lake.

Past the Longjing Temple is Longjing Village (龙井村), a great place for another pit stop to fill up your tea meter in the convenient tea house at the mountain foot of Shifeng Hill (狮峰山). Following along to the tea market, this is where you’ll want to get out your wallet for tea that can’t be found anywhere else. Longjing Village is one of the only places on Earth where you’ll have the opportunity to drink authentic Shifeng Longjing (狮峰龙井) at a fair price. Once they’re packaged and wrapped to be sold in downtown’s tea shops, the price could quadruple. This is one of the few places where you can watch tea made with staggering patience while you drink—turning, pressing, and spreading for hours.

From here, you can either end the journey by walking down the Nine Brooks and 18 Streams all the way to the main road along the Qiantang River; or, enthusiastic explorer that you are, you could choose to continue the journey to climb Shifeng Hill to find the Hugong Temple (胡公庙). A shrine for a beloved local official in Song Dynasty, the temple’s front yard is what really attracts visitors—a small encircled tea garden of 18 stalks. But they were once directly owned by Emperor Qianlong, who picked their leaves and brought them back for his mother. Legend or history, no one can say for sure, but the story does help to promote the tea; in an auction back in 2005, 100 grams of tea from this royal tea garden were sold for 145,000 RMB.

Next, if you still have energy left, follow the trail dubbed by locals “Shili-Langdang Ridge” (十里琅珰) and head to your final destination, Meijiawu Village (梅家坞村), the biggest natural village where the West Lake Longjing tea is produced. This peaceful village nestled in the green mountains is the perfect place to rest your feet in the many tea houses. With a history of 600 years, the village also has quite a few tales to tell.

Following the footsteps of the Divine Farmer through the unknown to discover the secrets of Longjing—it might not be the most grueling hike, but it’s the best one in China for anyone who likes to put their hiking boots to paths that take them through history and modern cultivation culture.