Last Days in Hangzhou

---

---

It seems that my time in Hangzhou has ended in spite of feeling like I just got here. So here is what I have been up to and even a preview into what I will do tomorrow.

Probably the first thing that I did was tour West Lake by way of bicycle with one of the friends that I made from the big campus of Zhejiang. We rented the public bikes, a very efficient system that is cheap and easy to use, and went for a ride for a few miles. We went to the scenic road, visited a park that was dedicated to a top achieving scholar from a few centuries ago (saw a peacock there), and took a boat out to the 30 moons statues (I would like to apologize for the lack of official names). After this we biked to the Lei Fung Temple and saw no only an amazing view of the city but also the story of the Snake woman (the story behind the origins of the temple).

Later that week we went to the hideout of Lin Biao, the head of the PLA for a time under Mao until his shady death in a plane crash in 1971 while escaping to the USSR. The house was still preserved and there was a very elaborate hidden tunnel system under the house that was able to house many different military personel. On the visit we were also able to take a picture with a tank. Pretty nifty.

That Friday (the 17th) we all went to a karaoke club called KTV with Chinese friends. But Karaoke is better here than karaoke bars in the United States. This place has a buffet (not really good) and you have rooms that you go into to sing with groups. Our group had 3 rooms and we split up. It was really fun because the rooms are soundproof and can be really loud. The music is also popular American music that we all knew. It was a really fun night and we all enjoyed ourselves.

The next day we went to a tea plantation, and in a sense a “tea town.” I say that because the town’s dominant source of economic exchange revolves around tea. The town was absolutely beautiful and in the ground floor of most houses there were restaurants. It was a rainy day so it was not the best day to do the next thing I did. We went to the Bamboo Forest and saw the nature and wildlife and vegetation. It really began to pour and this is the reason that my shoes smell half like, well, ass. The subsequent dose of Axe body spray a couple days’ later accounts for the other half of the smell. I am almost sad that it causes others discomfort. Anyway, we headed then to a show of the Song dynasty. It was a Chinese play that showed several aspects of the Song dynasty with vibrant scenery and music. It was kind of like West Lake impressions on a stage.

This past Tuesday (the 21st) we went to the university here in Hangzhou that specializes in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Traditional Chinese Medicine is much more different from western medicine. It examines the body on the whole, identifying certain organs or symptoms with yin or yang or an element and giving medicine to correct the imbalance of these things. Each Chinese herb has elemental qualities and thus medicine is made by mixing around 15 ingredients that have very specific directions as to how they are to be opened. If you have an ear ache, the doctor will never look at your ear and will examine your meridians and diagnose what is the cure. However crazy this sounds, some of the oldest medicines has properties that are similar to western medicines still used today. The key difference is that the Chinese has used these thousands of years before the West.

In one of my last days here I decided to go to the top of the mountain (or steep hill) right next to campus. It was worth it. I have never had the chance to see a clearer view of Hangzhou. This city is absolutely gigantic. There magnitude of the urbanization of China is astounding. It is however disturbing at the same time. When look at one side of the city, it appeared that I could see a large storm front coming in. Nope, its just pollution from the industry here. Always nice to see. I also toured campus and took pictures of the library and Mao statue; both of which you could see on top of the mountain. That night I went to the night market which is a really fascinating place. There are all sorts of fake and real merchandise that goes on sale every night in this one particular street. There were a lot of stand that just go up and then back down almost instantly.

After finals today, we have all been doing nothing, except for the delicious banquet that we attended tonight. Apologies for the lateness of getting this blog out. I was going to last Saturday but I got tired and lazy. Any, FLIGHT INFO. I will be coming into Raleigh-Durham at around 2:15. But be prepared early in case we make good time. The flight number is 4271. Hopefully I will be able to blog about the Beijing trip before I get back, but I have no clue as to the availability of the internet in Beijing.

On that topic we will be heading to Beijing on a train for 12 hours. When we get there it will be early morning an time to start touring. It will be a long one. But I look forward to it, so if there is nothing else that I am forgetting, you will either hear from me in a couple of days on here, or in person when I get back. So until next time...

---

Photos

Tea
This is just some of the Tea crop in the town that we visited. This is a very small part of the total tea production there.

Statue of Mao Zedong
This is the largest landmark in the university and is easily recognizable from the top of the hill.

730 Steps...
This is the entrance to the staircase to the top of the hill. It gets pretty scary coming back down with nothing around you.

A Clear Day
You know its a clear day when you can see the sky, something that is extremely uncommon in Hangzhou.