Hangzhou

Pronounced hong-joe :)

So the weekend of September 22nd and 23rd my friends and I made a quick weekend trip to a nearby city. Famous for its Temples, Pagodas, and of course the West Lake!

Early Saturday morning we loaded up a high speed train and ventured to the beautiful city. It was really breath taking in its serenity. The main attraction being the lake, we all walked around the lake and made rounds in the city.

Sunday morning we woke up early again and made way to the Lingyin Temple. It was so huge, the scenery was gorgeous. There were several smaller temples inside as well as several tea fields growing. My friends and I didn't really know what to do when we would walk through a temple and awkwardly watch as Chinese people prayed. One of the Chinese roommates was kind enough to explain the different temples, and the different statues and what they meant or did.

Where you go to pick out what food you wanted

Around noon we were famished and made way back into Hangzhou for some food. We found our way to an interesting Chinese restaurant. As we sat down the waiter came by and told us to follow him... confused we followed to see what he wanted. He led us back to a room filled to the brim with tons of live fish and crab and various still alive marine creatures. Apparently you are supposed to pick out what you want, they cook it for you, then you eat it. I stuck to fried rice and shrimp, the others had some crab, fish, and noodles.

After the interesting lunch we finally got to the lake. Paid for a boat and floated on the river/went sightseeing for about an hour.

Boat Tour

The last and final stop we made was to the Chinese Traditional Medicine Museum. Everything dating back to the beginning of Chinese Medicine was to be found in this place. Unfortunately by this point I was so tired that nothing could interest me more than the sight of my bed, after walking all day I was ready to be back in Shanghai.

The trip to Hangzhou was a short, simple, and sweet getaway that is just what we needed. It is nice to get out of the hustle and bustle of such a large city. You take for granted not hearing the subway or the sound of car horns.

Well... That's gonna be it for now, I have another Chinese Test tomorrow that I need to study for.




Still to come are my most recent trips to Sanya, China (the "Hawaii" of China) and then Beijing. And in a couple of weeks our whole study abroad program will be going to Hong Kong, Macau (the Las Vegas of China), and some hot springs.

Part of the hike to the top of Lingyin Temple