Local senior citizens in Hangzhou generally hear about the ancient town of Tangxi by two means. It is famous for the golden loquat or juicy sugar canes that delivered to town in early summer, or you catch a ferry to Suzhou City by the Grand Canal and will pass by the ancient town, with a 7-hole bridge as its landmark. There has been one more way to pay a visit to the ancient town since the National Day Holiday, that is, go by boat from Wulinmen Quay.

At 9:10am on Oct. 11th two ancient style boats left the Wulinmen Quay one after another heading north on the Grand Canal towards Tangxi, an ancient town located 28km away from Hangzhou.

I boarded with Han Dan, a photography journalist with around 100 citizens. I've been in Hangzhou for 5 years, yet this was the first time for me to travel by boat on the Grand Canal.

Approaching to Hangzhou Engine Factory before the Zhaohui Bridge, I heard passengers raised their voice pointing at the waves along the river. As narrow as it was, the waves were crashing against the banks. The tourist guide Miss Xu Lu started her narration to attract all the passengers' attention to the sceneries along the canal.

Under the Chaowang Bridge there stood four statues of Emperor Tide who died of fighting against the flood. After it there was the Desheng Bridge, a good spot to remember a national hero General Han Shizhong.

Centuries ago the water level in this section was high on the north and low on the south, the Desheng Dan was thus built for barges from Beijing for delivery of gold, food and groceries. A rice storeroom was built nearby. More bridges could be seen while the boat travelled further north. At a speed of more than 10km per hour, the boat sailed smoothly like on a calm river. The big TV screen on the boat displayed the scenery ahead of us. Some passengers recognized the Xixi Wetland, Qiaoxi Historical & Cultural Block, Grand Canal Museum and Gongchen Bridge, where the boat slowed down. This was the landmark of the southern end of Grand Canal Hangzhou section.

"How many bridges total on the way?" I checked the resources when I went back to the office. On Hangzhou section there are total 15 ancient bridges, which have been renovated since 2004.

Exiting the Gongchen Bridge, the northern gate of Hangzhou, the sceneries along the river became more industrial with countless factories, ferry quays, warehouses etc. instead of willows. Boats with coals, sands, bricks etc. came from the opposite direction.

At 10:43am, we arrived at the Shunde Quay in Tangxi. Without any traffic jams it took us about 2 hours to cover the distance of 28km. The famous Guangji Bridge with 7 holes stood right before the quay. The hole in the middle had a width of 15.6m.

Stepping on the 160 stone steps on the bridge, looking to the west, there was a snack street of local produces. The most popular is Fagen's Bakery where you can get a Hungry Man's cookies at 2.5yuan and double sesame sweets at 6 yuan.

It took us about 1 hour by taxi on our return journey to Hangzhou.

（Translated by E.C. Hick)