You know where the ancestral hall of Zhou Family is? Which dynasty does the scene “the firewood carriers flock outside Qingbo Gate” trace back to? To know the answers and learn more about the Qingbo Gate, the former site of the ancient Baoning Temple outside the gate, the Jujing Garden, the Xueshi Bridge Ferry and the former site of the Ancestral Hall of Zhou Family, follow Cao Xiaobo, director of the Hangzhou History Society and an expert in local culture to get to learn the historical stories happening near the Qingbo Gate. The above-mentioned attractions are the spots of “Qingbo Gate Travel for Experiencing Song culture”, the maiden round of City Walk.

To promote the integrated development of culture and tourism of Hangzhou and enhance the soft power of the historical and cultural city, the Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, TV and Tourism launched the program called City Walk. Starting on September 15, the first season of City Walk will engage people to appreciate Hangzhou’s cultural sites on foot.

Following well-known experts, people could have a citywide stroll to learn more about this paradise, bathe themselves in natural and cultural attractions and enjoy immersive culture learning. Through the introduction of experts, scholars and industrial practitioners, people could savor the beauty of the city’s culture by walking on its land, and thus the city’s tourism will be raised to a new height.

From this September 15 to next March, the Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, TV and Tourism will launch twenty rounds of City Walk as the first season, each calling for 30 to 40 participants. The expert-guided walks and vivid introduction will revolve around the Qingbo Gate near the scenic site of Orioles Singing in the Willows, which is also known as the “Water Gate” of the Wu-Yue State in the Five Dynasties period, the unparalleled Xiling Seal Engravers’ Society at the west foot of the Solitary Hill, the Twenty-three Lanes (Twenty-three Fangxiang) that bear the traces of the imperial city of the Southern Song Dynasty, the museums that reveal the time-honored secrets of Hangzhou, the cliff carvings in Nanshan Village of Pingyao Town that reflect ancient literati’s commitment to the lofty ideals of Taoism, integrity, benevolence and joyful learning, the “art complex” Tianmuli, the Bai Causeway mentioned in ancient Chinese poetry, the relic of the imperial city of the Southern Song Dynasty, the poetic West Lake depicted in Zhang Dai’s Dream of West Lake (Xihu Mengxun) and the intriguing forest insects. Prioritizing culture over popular science, the programs will expose to people the amazing things hidden in the city.

Hua Fang, deputy chief planner of Hangzhou Urban Planning and Design Institute, Chen Shuihua, director general of Zhejiang Provincial Museum and Meng Fanhao, co-founder of GAD line+ will serve as tour guides to take travelers to the mountains and waters of Hangzhou and unveil to them the secrets of the city along the bank of the Grand Canal, at the foot of the Solitary Hill and in front of the Dongzi Guan where the guides’ research, creation, preservation and observation work are conducted.

If you are interested in history, culture or city walks, subscribe the official WeChat account of Hangzhou Wenlv Zhinan, and find “City Walk Sign-up” under “Culture and Tourism Services” to join them.