Live Your Best Lives
Hangzhou once became the embodiment of paradise in people's minds because of the saying "There is heaven above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below". It was also draped with the veil of poignant romance because of "Butterfly Lovers" and "The Legend of White Snake". The beautiful scenery of West Lake is deeply remembered by people.
West Lake is always home to moving stories, and the post-G20 era has given Hangzhou a new appreciation for the city. Hangzhou feels both familiar and new to me. I used to frequently visit Hangzhou on business trips, and I've explored the traditional "Ten Scenic Spots of West Lake." This year, when I returned to Hangzhou, I decided to try something a little different: visit the Songcheng Scenic Area.
Take a flight to Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport, then take a taxi to Hangzhou Songcheng Scenic Area. Jiuzhaigou Eternal Love Theme Hotel is right at the entrance of the scenic area.
I booked a ride in advance, and the fare from the airport to Songcheng was 80 yuan.
Alternatively, take the airport shuttle bus to the Wulinmen Civil Aviation Ticket Office (walk to Wulinmen Station) and transfer to bus No. 318 to Songcheng Station.
In Hangzhou, you can take Bus No. 308, 318, 354, 4, 510, or Night Line No. 202 and get off at Songcheng Station; Bus No. 334 and get off at Ganyingqiaonan (Songcheng) Station; Bus No. 103 or Bus No. 324 and get off at Ganyingqiaobei (Songcheng) Station.
1. From Hangzhou Station (Chengzhan Railway Station), take Metro Line 1 (towards Wenze Road and Linping) to Songcheng Station, get off at Longxiang Bridge Station, and transfer to bus No. 504.
2. From Hangzhou East Railway Station, take Metro Line 1 (towards Xianghu Lake) to Songcheng Station, get off at Longxiang Bridge Station, and transfer to bus No. 504.
3. From Hangzhou Bus Center Station, take Metro Line 1 (towards Xianghu Lake) to Songcheng Station, get off at Longxiang Bridge Station, and transfer to Bus No. 504.
4. Linping - Take Songcheng Metro Line 1 to Longxiang Bridge and transfer to Bus 504, or transfer to Bus 308 at Ding'an Road.
Locate Songcheng Scenic Area or Jiuzhaigou Eternal Love Theme Hotel on the map. Driving from Hangzhou: Fuxing Road, Hupao Road, Meiling South Road, Qianjiang First Bridge (Qiantang River Bridge) → Zhijiang Road → Zhuantang. Driving from other directions: Hangzhou Ring Expressway → Zhijiang Road → Zhuantang.
There are many accommodations around Songcheng, and there are also some self-operated theme hotels in the Songcheng scenic area. This time I stayed at Jiuzhaigou Eternal Love Theme Hotel. There are also Sanya Eternal Love Theme Hotel and Lijiang Eternal Love Theme Hotel.
The advantage of staying here is that it is close to the scenic area, only a 5-minute walk away. After checking in, you can freely enter and exit the scenic area throughout the next day. It is very convenient and more suitable for family trips. You can go back to the hotel to rest when you are tired.
Entering the magnificent Jiuzhaigou Eternal Love Theme Hotel lobby, vibrantly colored prayer flags greet the eye, and a rich Tibetan atmosphere washes over you. Whether in the lobby, hallways, or rooms, guests are immersed in the rich Tibetan cultural atmosphere.
Walking into the lobby, you will see hotel staff wearing Tibetan costumes, and many beautiful dancers performing Reba drum dance in the lobby, presenting Hada, which represents blessings, to welcome tourists to Songcheng.
It is worth mentioning that the hotel now allows self-service check-in. After checking in, there is a robot to lead the way to the room, which is really convenient.
The hotel has many room types, each with its own characteristics, such as the Tibetan-style rooms, which are decorated with Tibetan elements. The Chinese-style rooms are very Zen-like, where you can sit and drink tea and read a book.
In addition, all room types can be booked according to your needs. If you are traveling with a baby, it is recommended to book the hotel's parent-child room. The room has a wooden horse, a tent and a swing. The layout is very warm and the staff are very clean.
Tickets for the Songcheng Scenic Area in Hangzhou: Songcheng Grand Entrance Ticket + Eternal Love Auditorium Adult Ticket 310 yuan/person
Opening hours: 10:00-21:00
(The park usually closes 40 minutes after the last Songcheng Eternal Love performance.)
The performance times of Songcheng Eternal Love are uncertain. You can choose the specific time according to your own situation on that day after entering the park.
When visiting the Songcheng Scenic Area, you can get a guide map of the Hangzhou Songcheng Scenic Area at the entrance. There is a timetable in it, which makes it more convenient to watch the performances.
Entering the scenic area, you will see the Song River running through the north and south, with pavilions standing on both sides and red lanterns swaying in the wind everywhere.
Arriving at Songcheng's East Street, the first thing that catches your eye is the Dasong Money House, a place where Jiaozi (Chinese currency) are exchanged. Jiaozi, a currency issued during the Northern Song Dynasty, was the earliest official paper currency in my country. Some shops offer a 10% discount for paying with Jiaozi.
East Street has the Four Great Inventions Workshop, a pharmacy, and some art shops, which you can visit if you have time. There is also the Liu Yong Fengyue Pavilion, where there are daily performances of Fengyue Meiren (a romantic comedy), and minors under 18 are prohibited from entering.
At the end of East Street is the Love Bridge. Passing through the Love Gate, Friendship Gate, and Family Gate, visitors can find their wishes on both sides. A blessing, a lifelong prayer.
Walking through Lijiang's Eternal Love Square, the four characters "Paradise Scenery" come into view. This is the gate tower of Song Dynasty City. The gate tower was the gateway to the Song Dynasty capital, serving as a defense and maintaining public order in ancient times.
The tower, 20 meters high and 50 meters wide, was rebuilt exactly as it appears in the painting "Along the River During the Qingming Festival." The gate tower is simple, majestic, and magnificent. Notices from the government office, wanted notices from the Dali Temple, and imperial edicts hang between the towers, creating a sense of time travel through millennia.
Songcheng is neither large nor small. The scenic area, comprising Market Street, Rouge Alley, Weird Street, Foshan, Songcheng River, Kowloon Square, City Tower Square, Six-Room Square, Sanya Eternal Love Square, and Lijiang Eternal Love Square, evokes the customs and practices of the Song Dynasty, from the architecture to the attire of the staff.
After visiting East Street, you should not miss West Street, where you can enjoy a series of study tours, including sumo, archery, pitching pots and other Song Dynasty entertainments.
When talking about sumo, everyone thinks it is a sport belonging to Japan, but it is not. Songcheng tells everyone through a series of funny competitions that sumo originated in my country. It was called Jiaodi in the Qin and Han Dynasties, and it was called Sumo from the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Southern Song Dynasty. We get happiness from watching the performances and learn about history from the happiness.
If you have children at home, it is worth visiting Songcheng in April to let the children learn about movable type printing, papermaking, and shipbuilding, and to lead the children to understand the advanced skills of the Song Dynasty. They can also copy Song poems, participate in poetry competitions, and become a romantic and literary youth of the Song Dynasty.
In Songcheng, besides the blockbuster performance of "A Thousand Years of Love," smaller folk performances attract crowds daily. Folk stunts like meteor hammers, magic whips, fire-breathing, and life-threatening knife-throwing performances are all captivating, each one awe-inspiring.
If that’s not exciting enough, you can go to Shijing Street to watch a time-travel flash mob and experience the spectacular scene of thousands of people in ancient costumes dancing together.
This is a street performance that incorporates modern elements. Xuanzang, Jigong, beauties from the Western Regions, four talented men, common people, etc. all come out to dance together, creating endless joy and a great atmosphere.
There will be different wonderful performances at different times in the park, including "Life Hanging on a Thread", "Yue Fei Inspecting the Troops", "Miss Wang Throwing the Embroidered Ball", "Time Travel Flash Mob Show", "Gongzhuang Carnival", "Folk Skills" and other 20 performances, which bring tourists a unique and wonderful experience.
When you are tired of walking around, you can sit by the Songcheng River and take some photos, or take a pontoon boat to enjoy the scenery on both sides of the Songcheng River.
As one of the three most famous shows in the world, "Songcheng Eternal Love" uses advanced sound, light, electricity and stage machinery to create a gorgeous dream world for the audience. The entire space is like a dynamic textbook, vividly depicting the history, legends and culture of Hangzhou.
The performance, "A Romance Through the Ages," consists of five acts: the prologue "The Light of Liangzhu," the first act "Feast and Dance in the Song Palace," the second act "Golden Arms and Iron Horses," the third act "Legend of Xizi," and the fourth act "Charming Hangzhou." The performance unfolds from an introduction to ancient Hangzhou to the Song Dynasty's rise from glory to war, from heroes in troubled times to romantic love, and from ancient times to modern times.
Liangzhu culture was named after Liangzhu, Hangzhou, where it was first discovered in 1936. It is known as the "Light of Chinese Civilization" and is one of the most valuable parts of Chinese civilization.
It tells the story of the period when the economy of the Southern Song Dynasty was at its peak. The actors in the performance are dressed in gorgeous clothes, and the stage lights show the prosperity and luxury of the early Southern Song Dynasty. The dancers perform very gracefully and neatly.
The performance is not limited to the stage in front of you. Before you know it, a large group of palace beauties will pass by behind you, allowing you to enjoy this magnificent spectacle up close.
"At thirty, fame and glory are now dust and dirt; at eight thousand miles, the journey is now cloud and moon. Don't wait until your hair turns white and you are filled with regret." I learned about Yue Fei's image from the textbook "Man Jiang Hong" when I was a child, and it became even more vivid in the performance of this chapter.
The tragic story of Yue Fei, a famous general of the Southern Song Dynasty, who led the Yue Family Army to fight on the battlefield and be loyal to his country. The actors, wearing armor from the Song Dynasty and accompanied by magnificent music, felt as if they were in the chaotic world a thousand years ago, and their inner patriotic feelings surged spontaneously.
The plot is compact and touching. The most surprising thing is the three cannonballs. The several cannon shots produced by realistic props "scared" the audience to applaud. The audience could even smell the smell of gunpowder on the scene, and the sense of immersion was very strong.
The performances were about the stories of Xu Xian and the White Snake and Liang Zhu. Both stories took place during the Song Dynasty and are famous Chinese love stories. When the music of "A Thousand Years of Waiting" sounded on the scene, I couldn't help but sing along. The image of Zhao Yazhi's version of Bai Suzhen always came to my mind. Coupled with the wonderful performance of the actors on the scene, it made me miss that poignant love story even more.
The story reached its climax when the "Water Flooded Jinshan Temple" was staged. The huge Jinshan Temple suddenly appeared in front of everyone. The key point was that there was really water, and it was a very large amount of water. The audience applauded continuously.
The actors began to perform the cultural charm of modern Hangzhou wearing the costumes of modern tea pickers. The performance started with the tea pickers being in the tea garden, picking the refreshing Longjing tea leaves with graceful dance moves. The tender and affectionate performance showed the charm of contemporary Hangzhou.
Time flies. It has been 11 years since the Wenchuan earthquake. I was deeply shocked when I watched the performance of "The Great Earthquake" at the Qianguqing Theater in Sanya last time. This time, I saw "The Great Earthquake" again in Songcheng Theater, and it was still so touching and shocking.
The performance used high-tech 5D technology to recreate the devastating scene of the 5.12 Wenchuan earthquake. Mountains collapsed, buildings collapsed, and the entire theater and thousands of seats shook violently.
The end of one stop is the beginning of the next. I boarded the return train. The two days were neither long nor short. I felt nostalgic and reluctant to leave, bidding farewell to Songcheng’s wonderful performances and picturesque scenery.
Every separation is for a better meeting. I look forward to the eternal love at the next stop! I also hope that we can meet again on the next journey.
