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Published: July 14th 2009
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Small, but surprisingly powerful
Our Chinese bikes. Very popular here. Very small. Easy to pedal. Strangely comfortable and efficient. Hmmmm. Hello from the thriving metropolis of DanYang, China. It's early Tuesday evening here, pouring rain right now, mixed with some small hail, which is not unusual for this place and time of year. It is in the mid-90's during the day with high humidity and it does not cool off in the evening but just like Tampa, Florida, we get some great storms here! Me and Monkey Girl (they have a children's TV show here called the Monkey King and that nickname cracks her up!) are in the last week of teaching Summer Camp at my high school, Sheng Dan Zhong, and it has clearly been a 'hit or miss' experience for both of us. More on the trials and tribulations of teaching in China later...
I was headed out to shoot some pool tonight (believe it or not!) with a bloke from the U.K. we met a few weeks back who is teaching English at a technical school here (one of only two folks we have met in six months here who are foreigners) but the rain has forced me in for an evening of MG's dumpling soup and the latest Jim Carey movie, "Yes, Man!" - it's been
my worst day of teaching in the last six months so I am using the time to catch up with my other passion - the GypsyKing blog.
MG and I finished up our first semester on the 26th of June and I negotiated a week off for vacation before coming back and starting up their two week Summer Camp for 150 students. So we put together a quick trip to a neighboring city, a much larger city, named Hangzhou. We had been here before but only for a one night stopover on our way to Huang Shan (Yellow Mountain). Last time we had a few drinks out in the expat area but didn't see much of the city or the nightlife. This time we spent several days in Hangzhou, found a very comfortable and cheap hotel,
Braim Wansong Hotel, near the biggest city attraction,
West Lake, and plunged into our roles as Ambassadors from the USA. We even rented bicycles and got out there in traffic with the rest of the 6.16 million folks, all of who seemed to be visiting the Lake the same day as us...😊
Ripping water shimmering on sunny day,
Misty mountains shrouded the rain;
Plain or Wedded bliss...
Wedding pics are a huge industry here. This couple chose West Lake and were immune to the crowds of onlookers. They shoot these weeks ahead of the wedding - the bride has Nike's on underneath her dress. gaily decked out like Xizi;
West Lake is always alluring.
These are not my words after a long, hot day bicycling around West Lake here in Hangzhou, China. On the contrary, these are the words from a famous poet (Song Dynasty, 960-1127) when he compared his long, hot day around the lake to a woman named Xi Zi - the most beautiful woman in ancient China. His passion leaves no doubt of the glory of the scenery that inspired him, and inspired us, as we hopped on two rented bicycles (50 yuan = $7 all day) and made our way around the most beautiful lake in this large city.
This city has a thriving downtown, several prestigious universities, and the lake. Specifically, West Lake, or Xi Hi. The lake was originally a shallow sea inlet. With an average depth of only 5 ft., the lake is about 1,404 acres and it comprises five distinct sections.
The largest part is called the Outer Lake and it is surrounded by the North Inner Lake, Yuehu Lake, West Inner Lake, and Lesser South Lake. All around are hilly peaks on three sides, and it has been an attraction for centuries
and it is also a famous imperial retreat.
One very cool attraction is Lotus leaves on the lake. Overlooking a river estuary stands a 13 story high Six Harmonies Pagoda. Dating from 970 and built on the site of an earlier pagoda that served as a lighthouse, the name refers to the six codes of Buddhism i.e. harmony of the body, speech and thought and the renunciation of personal pleasure, opinions and wealth. We didn't climb it but we thought about it and vibrated internally as we passed it on our bikes.
Crossing the river is the Qiantang River Bridge. This is the first two-tier bridge to have been designed and built by Chinese engineers in modern times. The other great feat of much earlier engineering is the Grand Canal. Linking Hangzhou in the south with Beijing in the north, this is the longest man-made waterway in China and surpasses both the Suez and Panama canals.
After biking all morning we stopped in a reputable hotel called the
Shangri-La (they are all over the world) and this one offered a special Jazz Brunch this Sunday. Not only did we gorge ourselves on some of the best seafood
and western style food, they also poured all the champagne/wine/beer we wanted along with an all you can eat sushi bar. Needless to say, we stayed for a few hours eating and listening to a rare treat - a three piece jazz band. What a pity we could not stay longer. It was delicious, indeed!
By the time we were done and pedaling home, we had biked around the entire lake and crossed both bridges, hit a few snack shacks for a few more hot, cheap beers to cool off (?), and we were exhausted, drenched in sweat, but grateful to have seen the famous West Lake.
We headed back to DanYang just in time to unpack, put our lesson plans together, and Sunday evening we went for a formal dinner to meet and greet three new teachers who flew all the way from Canada to help us teach our Summer Camp. It surprised both of us how much we enjoyed having a dinner and not having to talk in our "English-teacher in China" language. We did not have to talk slooowly, use our hands and face to emphasize words and meaning, say everything twice, and hope for
at least a glimmer of understanding. Nope. We ate, we laughed, we drank a few beers, we had real conversation - even though they are Canadians, eh!
I'll blog more about teaching the Summer Camp, and our upcoming travels in another blog.
Cheers to everyone and yes, me and Monkey Girl are safe and sound - thank you all for your concerns. The riots between the Muslims and Chinese took place a distance equal to the difference between Tampa, Florida and Las Vegas (about 3,000 miles away from us)...that city is almost right on the border with Pakistan, which explains why the minority Muslims are upset and raising Allah in the first place.
Peace.
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Bobby Luv
non-member comment
Enjoying your blog
Sean, Your writing is excellent when it comes to describing your Chinese adventure. I haven't been able to read all your blog entries but I have enjoyed the ones I have had time to read. Take Care & Stay Safe, Bobby Luv