Greet the sun on Wu Mountain, where you can have a perfect view of West Lake, and then head down and have your breakfast at Yuanfengxiang, a restaurant with over 100 years of history. After breakfast, take a walk along the West Lake, where you can join people doing their morning exercise – sword playing and Tai chi. Once you’ve had your workout, take a rest at Qianwangci, where you will find people performing xiaorehun, a folk art of story-telling through singing

It’s time to go to work. You can visit the West Lake Creative Valley where people with creative ideas and passion gather to start their own businesses. Then take a stroll on Nanshan Road, which is home to the China Academy of Art, along with tons of studios and art galleries. You’ll be sure to find paintings and artwork to keep you interested for a long time.

It’s lunch time. Restaurants catering food from all over the country can be found on Gaoyin Street, also known as the Great Food Street. Here you can feast on dishes from Hangzhou, Sichuan, Xinjiang—you name it. If you realize your eyes are bigger than your stomach, a cup of green tea may help you digest your big meal. Several big name tea houses in Stanching district, including Qingteng teahouse and Chenghuang teahouse, can quench your thirst and ease your full belly.

Night falls. Why not go back to Gaoyin Street for some tasty cuisine? After dinner you may be interested in visiting the Wushan night market, a great choice for shopping. If it’s still too early to go to bed, push open a door of a bar on Nanshan Road, have a glass of beer, listen to some music, and then call it a night.

Editor: Liu Fang