Blogs from Zhejiang, China, Asia - page 9

Geo: 30.25, 120.17And so that concludes the Malaysian part of my travels and how amazing it was. As I sit on the plane back to Hangzhou unable to sleep as it's a 4 hour flight of incessant turbulence, I got to thinking about just how much has happened over the last 6 Weeks (gotta do something whilst candy crush reloads right?!). I've met people from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Norway, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, America, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Japan, South Korea, Austria, Indonesia, India, Canada and possibly more that I can't remember. Each person had a really interesting story to tell and came from totally different walk of life, I've met civil engineers, lawyers, bankers, export industry workers, marine biologists, musicians, carers, tour guides, oil and gas workers, NGO workers, ... read more

Thursday, October 10 - Sunday, October 13 Zhejiang, Hangzhou and Shanghai, China Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home. I can't tell you how excited and proud I was to present Hangzhou to Rachael. If nothing else can be said of her visit here, it is that the weather managed to cooperate completely over the course of the entire thing. Following a 2-days typhoon, Hangzhou was a sunny and beautiful 18°C/65°F both days, allowing for very successful traipsing. It was dried up and clear, and the air felt incredibly clean and fresh in our Beijing-ed throats and lungs. Hangzhou turned out to be quite possibly the best part of the entire expedition. Hangzhou, I've learned, is really unlike any other major city in all of China. Nothing has made me appreciate this place ... read more

Hi All, I walked from the Leifeng pagonda to the Lingyin Temple which was a bit further than I expected but you do walk past some beautiful gardens along the way. I must admit I was a little bit tired once I got there. The temple was originally built in 326AD and it name translates into "Temple of the Soul's Retreat" and it has been destroyed and rebuilt no fewer that 16 times. The only original parts are the two stone pagodas outside the main hall and there is also a stone structure just outside the entrance. In the main hall there is a 20 metre high statue of Siddhartha Gautama. I got fairly lucky as there was a ceremony going on with all the monks chanting and banging drums and bells. On the walk up ... read more

Hi All, After a stop of in the Zhejiang provincial museum I wandered off up the Bai Causeway towards the city. The city is pretty much a normal Chinese city but one thing does stand out and that is how clean it is. I think this is the cleanest city I've been to in China. The city was reduced to charcoal in the 1860s during the Taiping Rebellion. So virtually nothing really old still exists but saying that I found plenty of little parks besides canals and small ponds. Boy was it hot today. The sun was blazing and I must admit I did a Leanne ;-) and got sunburnt a bit on my arms and face. In the afternoon I took one of the boats over to Xiaoying Island. The island is shaped like the ... read more

Hi All, Went to The LeiFeng Pagoga this morning. Originally built in AD977 it collapsed in the 1920s. It has been reconstructed a couple of times since. As you can see the only parts of the original structure are the foundations. There are some incredible woodcarvings inside the pagoda showing a Chinese legend. The views over the lake were good but I did go in a thunderstorm and I imagine on a sunny day you can see a long way. Enjoy the photos Jah Bless... read more