Day 1
Place & Transport: Hangzhou
Today's Activities: Six harmonies Pagoda, Eight Diagrams Field, Southern Song Dynasty Official Kiln Museum, The Song Dynasty Imperial Street
Meal: L

- Six Harmonies Pagoda: The Liuhe Pagoda is located on the north bank of the Qiantang River in the south of Hangzhou City. The Liuhe Pagoda is one of the famous ancient pagodas in our country and forms the wonderful sceneries of Hangzhou together with "the ten sceneries of the West Lake".
Highly erected by the Qiantang River and to the south of the West Lake, it is a perfect symbol of brick-and-wood structure built in the ancient China. It was first built in 970 AD in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). The name "six harmonies" comes from the six Buddhist ordinances, meaning "harmonies of the heaven, earth, east, west, south and north"

Six Harmonies Pagoda

-Southern Song Dynasty Official Kiln Museum: Located in the west foot of Turtle Hill of Yuhuang Mountain in Hangzhou, Hangzhou Southern Song Royal Kiln Museum is the first museum on ceramic constructed above the relic of ancient kiln. With around 15,000 square meters of the ground area and 4,364 square meters of building area, the museum fully displays the charm and specialties of Southern Song Royal Kiln, which not only represents the historical, artistic and aesthetic value of official kiln, but reflects the close relationship between Royal Kiln and imperial culture of Southern Song Dynasty, as well as the social convention.

Southern Song Dynasty Official Kiln Museum

-The Octagonal Diagram Field: is a carefully cultivated area of farmland that was established for the imperial family during the Southern Song Dynasty. It imitates a similar feature found in northern capitals of the past. At the heart of this project is the ancient idea that “to govern a country is to develop agriculture.” The field is laid out like an octagon. Walkways divide the field into smaller fields, so you can walk among the different crops. Today, many kinds of organic crops are grown here, including rapeseed, soybeans, eggplant, and more. At the very center of the field is a grove of peach trees.

The Octagonal Diagram Field

- The Song Dynasty Imperial Street: Has been renamed Zhongshanlu Beiduan, but still leads to the Palace of the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127AD). The road that stretches 400 meters (1,310ft) is lined with snack bars that offer local delicacies and shops that sell antiques, embroidered items and silks among others.

The Song Dynasty Imperial Street