What a Chinese university dormitory look like

I don't know if this applies to all universities in China, but the university dormitory I've experienced living in for about a week in Hangzhou deviates from what I have in mind for an ordinary dormitory. Thanks to China's economic miracle - their university dormitories look like 3- or 4-star hotels. My room at Zhejiang Gongshang University Guesthouse was a twin-bed medium-sized room complete with a flat-screen TV, a balcony, a toilet, towels and other basic hygiene effects.

One-day itinerary in Shanghai

If you only got a day to see Shanghai, where would you go? If you're an easy go lucky type of traveler, not rushing here and there to see as many things as you can, I say go to East Nanjing Road, to do your shopping and some sight-seeing. Then try Oriental Pearl Tower, there's already a lot of modern architectural designs you'd be able to see. During my trip in China, I only had a day to spend in Shanghai. The China travel, an official one, was spent mostly in Hangzhou. However, because I have to fly from Shanghai back home, I booked a day in Shanghai basically to have a look and see.

Travelling to Hangzhou from Shanghai

Hangzhou is a fine city accessible via Shanghai. From Shanghai going to Hangzhou, you can either ride the bus or board the train.
1. By bus
From departure of the Shanghai Pudong Airport, look for the signs going to the station of "long distance bus." It is not difficult to navigate through the airport, just note that literally it takes quite long before you can see the station but it is within the airport. Go and buy ticket, costs about 100 yuan at the counter. They have a waiting area but be alert and mind your schedule, because nobody dares to announce things in English. Show your ticket immediately to the staff if you suspect that the bus currently loading is indeed your bus. The travel time is approximately 3 hours. The bus takes you to the downtown Hangzhou. Get a cab from there to go to your destination in Hangzhou. Note: The bus is comfortable enough.
2. By high-speed train

From Shanghai Pudong Airport, you need to ride the subway Line 2, which takes about an hour, to Shanghai Hongqiao Airport Station (Terminal 2). Then from there, get a ticket for the high speed train. The travel takes about 45 to 1 hour, much faster than the bus.
The high speed train is a better way to go to Hangzhou from Shanghai, especially if you are already in downtown Shanghai, because then you would be nearer the Hongqiao Airport Station where the high-speed trains are. The photo shown here shows the interior of the hi-speed train going to Shanghai from Hangzhou. You would know your platform, car, and seat numbers by looking at your ticket. The ticket costs only 87 yuan (about USD14), one-way.

Hangzhou is famous for its green tea - the Longjing Tea and fine quality silk. It's main attraction is the West Lake - a world heritage site.









TIP: It is highly recommended you bring with you a translator. If you can't, then print out the names of ALL your destinations in Chinese (Google translate may help) including shopping areas, key tourist spots, your hotels, and the train/bus stations. These will lessen the hassle, because believe me, it's very difficult, and I mean it, to meet a Chinese person  on the street (in Hangzhou) who can communicate in English. You are lucky if you find a Chinese youth/student, they are surprisingly helpful and can speak English. If you need to more about this, I have found great links which you can read from:

WikiHow - for useful tips
Wangjianshuo's Blog - for other means of going there, the Train D
Hangzhou site - bus schedules