Will and Izzy's travel blog

---

---

Entry #1:

My name is Chao and I was born in 1191. I am currently 34 years old. I was born into the Bing family and currently live in Kashgar . I have a mom, dad, 2 brothers and a sister. My parents are wealthy people so I am considered to be apart of a high social class. I am going on a journey to find my true self by learning about new cultures and religions. Being an wealthy upper class man, I have never learned about the hardships of travelling or experienced the struggles many middle-class merchants do. On my journeys I plan to travel to the Lingyin Temple near West Lake to learn about Buddhism. This temple was built in 328 and still holds great religious value, even when in Huangzhou, Confucianism is greatly studied. Neo-confucianism is growing rapidly in Huangzhou and is a religion based off of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, which I find very interesting and I would like to learn more about that during my travels. I plan to travel along the Silk Road through Southern China until I reach Huangzhou. The Silk Roads are very safe under Chinese protection and several merchants and travellers use this network. Once I get to Huangzhou, I will need to find a place to stay for the duration of my trip.




Entry #2:

After several weeks of difficult travel, I arrive in Huangzhou. First I need a place to stay, and I quickly found a place where several travellers and merchants will be staying during their time here. I will stay here for the first night of my travels. While walking around the city, I am finding that some women’s feet seem to be oddly formed and that most women are found wearing very bright colors while men seem to be wearing more bland colors. After asking around, I found that women bind their feet to show their wealth. It seems like a very painful process but the women find it important to show their status. Women here are considered to have a high status, which is surprising because I have read that in several other places it is the opposite. The bright colors they wear are to represent this high status, so I am assuming by the footbinding and clothing that social status is very important in Huangzhou. This city is also clearly a major trading center based off of all the foreigners I see. It’s connection to the Silk Road probably helps bring in all of this trade and commerce. One thing I find very interesting here is that they seem to be using a type of paper currency. This kind of paper money must also be a reason for their expansion of trade because it seems to make buying goods much easier. I hope I get a chance to learn more about this new type of currency because it seems very efficient for trade and also for paying taxes. Until then, I am going to get some sleep before I make my journey towards West Lake.




Entry #3:

I travelled to West Lake today, and it was gorgeous. This lake is so well known that even songwriter Su Dongpo has composed songs about its beauty. Near the West Lake is the Lingyin Temple. After visiting West Lake, I went to the temple to learn more about Buddhism and also the newer religion that seems to be growing in Huangzhou known as Neo-Confucianism. When I first arrived at the temple, the enormous building and immense sculptures left me in awe. Back at home, I never saw any of this. As well as it being a beautiful place, it had immense culture represented. People were walking and stopping in to pray at sculptures all while wearing their silk clothing. I spoke to some of the people at the temple and asked more about Neo-Confucianism. This religion is a blend of Confucianism and Buddhism. It stresses education while also promoting people to control their thoughts through meditation. While I made my journey back to the main city, I noticed several shops merchants and store owners had set up. Some shops sold foods like rice and others sold beautiful porcelain and turtle shells. My favorite thing that they had was the green tea. Huangzhou is known to have the best green tea, especially when it's served in handcrafted cups. While purchasing a cup of this tea, I asked what else was sold from Huangzhou. Surprisingly, one of the major exports from this city is gunpowder. Where I am from, we have never used gunpowder so I find it interesting that it is one of their important exports. As I walk, I'm trying to find someone who can guide me to a place to sleep.




Entry #4:

While staying at one of the places where merchants can spend the night, I learned about Feilai Feng from one of the men staying there. This is a park with natural caves where artists carved statued of Buddha into the rock face. I hope to get there in less than an hour.




I just arrived to the park and it's beautiful. It's very different from the last temple. It seems a lot more relaxed and there are kids and families enjoying their days out on the grass. Several people instructed me to go to the Maitreya Buddha. This statue is known as a Happy Buddha with its big belly and big smile. After spending some time examining this statue I headed down to Longhong Cave where there is a seated statue of Avalokitesvara. Like before, there is a different Buddha statue carved into the rock face with beautiful vines and moss draping down onto its face. I then went to Shexu Cave. As I arrived, I noticed a beam of sunlight coming in through the rock tunnels above. After further investigation, I found out that this is a famous scene known as “The Gleam of The Sky”. After seeing all of these interesting statues and landmarks, I travelled back to where I would be spending the next night. There I met a Vietnamese merchant. He told me about rice from Vietnam being a major import to the city. This rice is able to provide two harvests, which means more food for Huangzhou. As more rice is imported, new lands around Huangzhou are being made to farmland in order to double rice production in all of the South. Apparently, before this new rice, the soil in Huangzhou and surrounding areas were too dry but with this new rice the fields are opening up to new crops.




Entry #5:

As I spend time in this city, I am noticing something that I have never seen before. Many people seem to be preparing for some kind of test, but I am unsure what it is for. I will need to ask around to find out.



I struggled to understand what the test is for, but after asking several people, I have found out that this test is called the civil service examination, and it tests people to see if they are capable of being apart of the bureaucratic government. People who wish to get involved must take this test and pass. This government has very odd rules about officials, but they are in place so rulers cannot act unfairly. For example, I have learned that officials can never rule in their native land and they cannot rule for more than six years. Huangzhou is full of scholars who wish to be apart of the government but it is difficult to become an official. These laws seem to be overbearing and strict, but they must be working because Huangzhou is a very organized city. Just by walking around Huangzhou, it is obvious that the technology here is more advanced than most technology I have ever seen. Walking near coastal areas, there are very advanced ships that can travel much farther than previous ones. There is also a new navigation tool called the compass. I was unsure what it did so I asked one of the sailors who was preparing to board the ship and he said it shows where north is and helps them navigate. I am unclear as to how this works but it is obvious that this new invention is very helpful with travel. There is also a new canal connecting Huangzhou to North China called the Grand Canal. This seems to be very important as I can assume this is used for trade between the two areas. As I reach the end of my trip to Huangzhou, I feel as if I have been able to experience a new and advanced culture and hope I can bring some of this knowledge back with me.









Entry #6: Present day

Hello, I am Chao’s great great great great great great great grandson. My name is Ben and I live in Beijing. What brought me to Huangzhou was Chao’s journal and it happens to only be a short flight away. Also, Huangzhou is ranked one of the most beautiful place in China and won the UNESCO award as a World Heritage Site in 2011. First, I took a 2 hour flight from the airport in Beijing and landed in Huangzhou. the first place on my list was West Lake, much like Chao’s. After arriving in a very different place then my ancestor did, I starting finding some of the things he wrote about. His writing mentioned green tea and I made sure to keep my eye out for a stand that carried it, which was not hard because Huangzhou is considered the tea capital of the world. After walking for about an hour around the lake, I came across what seemed like the most populated location. There were food stands and benches overlooking the lake. After getting some chicken and of course, green tea, I made my way over to the temples. Much like Chao said, the buildings were extravagant. My favorite ones were located in the water. The buildings in the water were supported by tall beams and had beautiful roofs. Another interesting thing I learned is that Huangzhou is holding the Asian Games in 2020. Anyways, after lots of walking and thinking, I got a real sense that this places hasn't changed much. Other than a few buildings, it's very simplistic. There's only a concrete walkway around the lake with benches scattered around. Even though Huangzhou is a very simplistic area, there is still new and advanced technology, such as high speed trains and new boats that seem unreal compared to the one my ancestor has written about. As it got late, the sun setted directly down the middle and the reflection off the lake and the buildings are beautiful. After finding a nice bench and some more tea, I sat down and got comfy. It was at this time that I left my worries behind, much like Chao and just focused on me and the world.





https://www.chinahighlights.com/hangzhou/hangzhou-facts.htm

https://www.viator.com/Hangzhou-attractions/Feilai-Peak-Feilai-Feng/d4437-a22102

https://quizlet.com/121405535/hangzhou-flash-cards/

---