Near Hefang Street, a popular tourist attraction in Hangzhou is the Wulin Square, and within it, the Flower and Animal Market. The building has four floors, with the flower market located on the ground floor. The selection includes fresh-cut and potted flowers, dried and artificial flowers. It’s a carnival of colors and shapes, but unfortunately, you couldn’t really enjoy the scent of the flowers :-(.

On Level -1 is the pet market. Mice, turtles, cicadas, geckos, chinchillas, rabbits, squirrels, fish, and cats await their fate. The fish are kept in the best conditions, and there are surprisingly high-quality aquariums on display. 

The second floor is the herbal medicine level. Everything used in Chinese medicine can be found here: mushrooms, seeds, roots, dried plant parts, flowers, etc. There’s plenty of ginseng root; in some cases, it can be purchased for as much as 800,000 RMB. A ginseng root can be anywhere from 50 to 100 years old. Wild-grown roots have a longer lifespan than cultivated varieties, and naturally, the older the root, the higher the price. Many people also buy them as investments, just like products made from jade.
On the 3rd floor, you can find jade jewelry, and other objects that are essential elements of Chinese homes and are believed to bring good luck, health, wealth, and more.
A visit to the market can be a nice addition to a walk along Hefang Street.

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January, 2018