A few weeks ago we got to experience National Week here in China, and the whole country had a week-long holiday to celebrate! Traffic was absolutely horrible, but we braved the crowds to check out Hangzhou and Huangshan. Hangzhou is a decently large city with a very pretty lake, and Huangshan is a famous mountain that is a popular, modern-day pilgrimage destination of sorts. We had a great time exploring and hiking! Here are some of the sights:
![Hangzhou Lake 1 duplicate](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/duncan.shanghai.hangzhou-lake-150x150.jpg)
![Hangzhou Lake 1 So much green!](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/duncan.shanghai.hangzhou-lake_1-150x150.jpg)
![Hangzhou Lake 2 I honestly could've sat by this lake all day.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/duncan.shanghai.hangzhou-lake-2-150x150.jpg)
![Hangzhou Lake 3 The landscape was gorgeous.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/duncan.shanghai.hangzhou-lake-3-150x150.jpg)
![Hangzhou Lake People The crowds were a bit crazy, and they seemed to be very interested in foreigners.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/duncan.shanghai.hangzhou-lake-people-150x150.jpg)
![Ting at the Lake Ting had some fun on this trip!](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/duncan.shanghai.hangzhou-lake-ting-150x150.jpg)
![Hangzhou Statues We found some cool statues on our way to dinner, so obviously this photo was necessary.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/duncan.shanghai.hangzhou-statues-150x150.jpg)
![Hangzhou sunset The sunset as we walked to our restaurant](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/duncan.shanghai.hangzhou-street-sunset-150x150.jpg)
![Huangshan bus ride Making your way around China via bus is surprisingly convenient.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/duncan.shanghai.huangshan-bus-ride-150x150.jpg)
![Huangshan mountain entry This was our first sight once in the national park.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/duncan.shanghai.huangshan-entry-building-150x150.jpg)
![Huangshan starting the hike Students looking for the trail to actually begin the hike.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/duncan.shanghai.huangshan-ready-to-hike-150x150.jpg)
![Huangshan mountain characters If you look closely, you can see giant characters inscribed on the mountain. Also notice the line of people walking up the side.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/duncan.shanghai.huangshan-characters-on-the-mountain-150x150.jpg)
![Huangshan rafa and sarah Rafa and I take a break from climbing the stairs.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/duncan.shanghai.huangshan-rafa-and-sarah-150x150.jpg)
![Huangshan line to the top This was the crowd you had to wait in to reach the peak.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/duncan.shanghai.huangshan-line-to-get-to-the-top-150x150.jpg)
![Huangshan top The view from the top.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/duncan.shanghai.huangshan-view-from-the-top-150x150.jpg)
![Huangshan little boy A little boy gets a ride down the mountain on his dad's shoulders, as well as a beautiful view.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/duncan.shanghai.huangshan-little-boy-and-the-view-150x150.jpg)
![Huangshan at the bottom Back to the bottom after a great day on the mountain!](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/duncan.shanghai.huangshan-back-to-the-bottom-150x150.jpg)
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Sarah Duncan
<p><span style="color: rgb(29, 29, 29); font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; background-color: rgb(237, 237, 237);">My name is Sarah Duncan and I am a junior at Davidson College pursuing a degree in Political Science with a minor in Chinese Studies. I am a member of the Women's Lacrosse Team, and I also enjoy running, hiking, and skiing. I am originally from Houston, Texas, but I have been lucky enough to travel frequently with my family and experience a variety of cultures. I am very excited to settle down in a new place for a while, and I look forward to sharing my experiences with y'all!</span></p>