Hi Thor,

I came back home at last! How is it going?

I was so tired after this trip. I arrived in Hangzhou last Saturday and began my one-day sightseeing tour there. Hangzhou is one of the most beautiful cities in China. Mountains and lakes surround the whole city.

Have you ever heard about a famous story which happened near the West Lake (which is the symbol of scenic Hangzhou)? Long long ago, a little boy named Xuxian happened to save a small white snake and put her back into the West Lake. Several years later, the snake turned into a beautiful girl called Baisuzhen. She found that little boy and married him. They ran a medicine shop together and helped a lot of poor people. The second year a lovely boy was born in this happy family. Suddenly one day, a monk broke the peace of the family. He wanted to kill Baisuzhen because he thought she was a ghost.So he firstly caught Xuxian. Bai tried her best to save her husband. Unfortunately she was defeated by that monk and put into the Leifeng Tower near the West Lake. Well, nobody really knows whether she was put into it, but have we all memorized her kindness and virtue today.

The second place of my holiday trip was Suzhou. That is the smallest city I have ever been to. I was eager to climb up the highest building of the city, Beisi Tower, which is only seven or eight stories. I was surprised that there are hardly any high buildings. The guide told us that Suzhou was famous for her garden-buildings with a long history. To keep her former appearance, the goverment decided to develop another area around the city to be an economic development zone. That is why we couldn't find modern scenery in the center of the city. The two days living in Suzhou made me return to ancient times. How interesting it is!

I spent my last holidays in Shanghai. How different with the other two cities. It is one of the most prosperous cities in China,but I don't like it at all. I saw high buildings everywhere, which made me feel nervous and crowded. So my suggestion is that you should never go to the busy areas to spend you vacation!

Yours, Rebecca