Garden City

---

The day kicked off before the cock crowed with a wakeup call at five in the morning. We had a plane to catch at 8:30 and had already had our bags collected last night at 10:30. Naturally Chelle and I set our own alarms twenty minutes later and rushed breaky just in time to catch the bus.

The plane flight was about two hours and passed over central China. It was a bit of an eye opener to fly up over the layer of pollution and to finally see some clouds and blue sky again. I was hoping that the pollution in China was only concentrated around the main cities, but the whole flight was over a sea of smoke. I could barely make out the mountains, fields and villages below through the thick haze. If the whole world gets as polluted as China, it will be like living in a nightmare - for those of us who would remember what it is like now in unpolluted areas - like back home.

We arrived in Hangzhou, one of the five capitals of ancient China. Hangzhou was originally called the temporary Capital as the Capital was relocated south due to invading tribes from the north. The city itself is beautify with a more tropical climate than the northern areas we had visited. The city has a large natural lake lined with trees and parklands. The Summer Palace we visited in Xian was actually built to remind the Emperors of the beauty of the Hangzhou area.

After a quick trip through the city we dropped off our bags in the hotel. Hangzhou is a wealthy city that is populated by many farmers who have been bought out by government. Many of the farmers have built beautiful four story houses that look like miniature skyscrapers and rent out the bottom levels. The wealth in the city is also evident in the appearance of the many shops in the city centre - even the ‘Famous Speciality Monopolised Shop’. I’m not quite sure what they sell there though!

Our first excursion in Hangzhou was a boat ride on the West Lake. The lake is very scenic with weeping willows on the banks and numerous boats cruising around. Again it’s a shame the air is so polluted and you can only just make out the surrounding mountains and pagodas.

After the cruise we headed to a banquet for lunch. The food in Hangzhou is definitely better than Beijing and Xian. Dinner also reminded us of Chinese take away at home - unlike the majority of Chinese food so far. We even had a deep fried fish, head and all!

The afternoon was spent exploring the Lingyin Temple and the Pagoda of Six Harmonies - Buddhist stuff. The Lingying Temple was awesome. Fifty odd monks were holding a daily ceremony in the main building. The air was filled with burning incense, and was ringing with the sound of bells, the thumping of drums and the drowning voices of the worshiping monks. The temple complex is huge and the decorations and expense compare to the Christian churches of Europe. You’ll have to check out the photos to get the whole picture - including the massive gold plated budda and the room of five hundred hats (enlightened monks - simular to saints in Christianity) made of solid bronze and weighing over a tonne each.

After the Lingyin Temple we visited the Pagoda of Six Harmonies, a massive Pagoda with an internal building of seven stories covered by an external Pagoda of thirteen floors. We only had twenty minutes to have a look around, so I rushed up to the top of the building to check out the hazy view over the river. Again the area would have been stunning back before the air was polluted.

After the Pagoda we headed to dinner at 6:30 and back to the hotel ready for bed at 8:00 - a very long day.

---

Comments

[Barb]

Photos
I have to say your photos are gorgeous! Well done!