West Mountain

Heard of West Lake in Hangzhou? I am sure you did if you know China a little bit, but have you heard of West Mountain? Yes, it's seemingly familiar to you because it has a "west", but it's a small island in Suzhou in the center of the big Tai Lake. It's a good idea to go there for the team building, although this time the weather was very hot. We were supposed to buy peaches or waxberries from the local orchard directly, but it seems the they were too popular to await our arrival. So we just cruised the lake on day one and climbed the highest mountain on the island on day two. Although no matter how much sunscreen you put on, you still got burned somewhere on the skin which was exposed in the sun most of the day. I am quite satisfied with the food there-we had different kind of local fish, shrimps and some other local vegetables-all were well cooked. I think it would be a great place to go to when it's not so hot and steamy, especially staying there for a week would be quite relaxing if time allows. The lake is quite huge, and it looks endless beside the lake-no wonder it's the third biggest lake in China, with its size bigger than the entire area of great Shanghai. Maybe it was because of the hot weather, we scarcely saw anybody walking on the street. It was quite comfortable and chilling to drive on the road there, even for those who don't drive like me. I liked the winding road with one side of the mountain and the other of the lake. I am not sure if I would go back there again, but it's definitely a good resort for people who would like to have a getaway when it's not too hot or too cold. It takes 2 hours to drive to the island from Shanghai by the bye.

View From the Hotel Window
Lake Tai
A Fish Boat
The Bridge Connecting Suzhou and West Mountain
The Pavilion On The Top
Xishan Village Beside Tai Lake
The New Tourist Spot Under Construction