The rain continued as we ventured out to Qing He Feng Food Street in Hongzhou. Qing He Feng is unique because it is the only part of the old imperial city that has been almost completely preserved. It served as the Southern Song's political, cultural and commercial hub. Today, one can find century-old storefronts selling anything from tea, medicine, food, souvenirs and such.
The street is very interesting and picturesque, there are colorful decorations hanging from many old wooden structures and some sculptures are in the middle of the pedestrian only road.
On our way to the Lingyin Temple we passed many fields where the Longjing tea is grown. This very high quality tea is one of the most famous teas from China and it can be purchased at many locations in Hangzhou.
There are individual shops or stands that sell food or larger shops with many different vendors.
The choices are plentiful and the prices are low.
There were plenty of crabs, dumplings, bao, rice dishes, soups, seafood or meats on a skewer, etc.
This was our favorite thing that we ate, a Peking duck in a pancake. These men were making everything fresh, putting it all together as we waited.
Six was the minimum, so I split it with my husband. The thin pancake, the fresh and flavorful duck, the crunchy cucumber and the tangy sauce; all made for one delicious snack.
These men were making gong tang, a peanut butter brittle - like cracker. They were singing and pounding the peanuts and sesame seeds. We bought a package of the peanut gong tang, not my thing, but my husband liked it.
White pomegranates!!!!
One of many souvenir shops.
One vendor was selling all the really gross but fun "foods".
My husband got these dumplings, to be totally honest, they were mediocre.
I had to get the scorpion. I thought that the salesperson would just hand it to me, but she fried him, put some spices on top and then gave him to me.
I did not eat it, not brave/crazy enough to do so. He became my pet for the day,
he accompanied me as I had a nice dessert at the hotel,
and he enjoyed a ride in a taxi, I think it was his first time in a car!
All in all, Qing He Fang Street is a fun area to get something small to eat, buy souvenirs and see really old, beautiful architecture. There are some very good things to eat, like the duck that we had, but there is plenty of really mediocre food that did not look tasty or fresh. There were many kitschy plastic souvenirs that really cheapen the place and my husband couldn't get out fast enough. It's worth going to see it, but not to devote too much time. If it wasn't raining, we would have walked by the lake instead.
Joanna
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