Festival fun and frolics promised in Hangzhou
The annual Hangzhou West Lake Expo Tourism Festival, running through November, offers a multitude of activities for those residing in the counties and districts of the western side of Hangzhou. Shanghai Daily picks out eight events for visitors.
Persimmon Festival
Persimmon FestivalXixi Wetland National Park boasts more than 4,000 persimmon trees, which were cultivated over 100 years ago. Every year, when the persimmon gets ripe, parent-child activities are held to attract visitors to pick the delicious sweet-tasting fruit. This year, the festival organizers has invited several famous singers to add some musical vibe to the yellow autumn feel.
Date: Through October 29
Address: Hong Pavilion at Xixi Wetland National Park
Admission: 25 yuan
Orange Festival
Sandu Town boasts an abundance of orange trees that produce plentiful juicy fruit in the autumn. The local government will host a series of activities including orange picking, a family-run guesthouse promotion and local delicacy feasts this year.
Date: Late October
Address: Sandu
Admission: Free
Tidal Bore Festival
The tide rushes into the mouth of Qianjiang River from Hangzhou Bay, because of astronomical constellations. As a consequence, it creates the world’s largest tidal bore, a natural phenomenon that sees the tide rise to a height of up to 9 meters every October. Viewing the tide has been a tradition for centuries and dates back to the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), when Hangzhou was the empire’s capital.
Date: October 6-8
Address: Along Qiantang River
Admission: Free
Ginkgo Festival
In autumn, the town is decorated with vibrant colors as the ginkgo leaves turn yellow and their fruit becomes ripe. A batch of local specialties is made from the ginkgo, which is ideal for tourists visiting the festival.
Date: November
Address: Wanshi
Admission: Free
Red Leaves Festival
Qingshan lake is surrounded by the Tianmu Mountain range and spans an area of 10 square kilometers, almost the size of two West Lakes. In autumn, it is ablaze with colorful leaves from light red to crimson, which makes it popular with both hikers and shutterbugs.
Date: Through November
Address: Qingshan Lake ?Scenic Area
Admission: Free
Hongqu Wine Festival
E’shan She Ethnic Minority Town in Tonglu, the only minority region in Hangzhou, is a rustic tourism destination with an ethnic feel, as well wonderful scenery. Hongqu wine has low alcohol content and is a little sweet with a nice aroma from the fermented rice. It is believed to be good for promoting the body’s blood circulation. During the festival, ritual ceremonies are held to celebrate the annual wine festival.
Date: November
Address: Raoshanwu Village of E’shan She Ethnic Minority Town in Tonglu County
Admission: Free
Lion Dance Championship
Six domestic and eight foreign lion dance teams are going to participate in this year’s championship in Thousand Islands Lake. It is hosted every year in order to revive the local folklore and promote authentic Wenyuan culture among visitors.
After the Xin’anjiang Dam was put into operation in 1959, much of ancient QXTD Lion City found itself at the bottom of Thousand Islands Lake. Over recent years, local authorities have spent billions of yuan reproducing parts of the county on dry land. In 2015, a reconstructed section of the county covering 80,000 square meters was opened as an open-air museum.
Date: October 1-8
Address: QXTD Lion City in Jiangjia Town of Chun’an County
Admission: Free