Visiting Hangzhou

On Saturday I was in the city of Hangzhou, the capital and largest city of Zhejiang providence (a bordering providence of Shanghai).  It's one of the most prosperous cities in China (there are car dealerships for Aston Martin, Porsche, Maserati, and Ferrari) for the last 1,000 years and its most known attraction is West Lake (1).  West Lake is popular for its natural beauty and its association with many scholars, national heroes, and revolutionary martyrs (2).  It's surrounded by mountains on three sides and is absolutely gorgeous.  It was 44 deg. C (111 deg. F) outside when my coworkers EL, J, and I started walking around the lake and it was 45 deg. C (113 deg. F) when we got back to the car a few hours later.  It was hot!

West Lake in Hangzhou

After walking around West Lake we drove into the Wuling Mountains to the Buddist temple, Lingyin Temple.  Lingyin Temple is one of the largest and wealthiest Buddhist temples in China, and the largest temple in the Wuling Mountains.  Instead of visiting Lingyin Temple however, we took a cable car up the North Peak Mountain to the 1,600 year old Lingshun Temple - known as the God of Wealth Temple to most.  The view of West Lake from the top of the mountain is lovely, as are the tea fields the cable car travels over.

Lingshun Temple

After visiting the temple we walked along the Bamboo-Lined Path at Yunqi.  The name "Yunqi" means cloud lingering; it was said that a number of auspicious colorful clouds came flying here from the nearby Color Mountain and stayed.  Intermixed with the bamboo are large trees that I saw ranging from 200 to over 1000 years.  There weren't a lot of other tourists in the area so frequently my coworkers and I were the only ones present. 

Along the path there are several pavilions: Sanju Pavilion, Huilong Pavilion, Xixin Pavilion, Yuyu Pavilion, and Shuangbei Pavilion.  My favorite was the mind purifying pond/meditation pavilion.  

Meditation Pavilion

Yunqi Temple was built by the king of Wuyue Kingdom in the 5th year of Qiande Reign (967 A.D.).  The temple was rebuilt and revived by Master Lianchi, an eminent monk in the Ming Dynasty, and became one of the four famous temples in Hangzhou.  The tomb of Master Lianchi is located beside the site of the temple.  

Stopping to rest at a tea house, my coworkers and I enjoyed a glass of Longjing tea.  This green tea is also known as Dragon Well tea and its Wikipedia page says it's often called the national drink of China though J says that isn't true.  While at the tea house a palm/face reader came by and offered to tell us our fortunes.  J and EL had their fortunes told, and the palm reader, perhaps sensing that I was fresh out of RMB, did not offer to read my palm. By the time we finished our tea the sun had set.  

Longjing Tea Field

The next place we visited was Leifeng Pagoda, a seven-story octagon built of the summit of the south bank of West Lake.  It was first built in 977 A.D. but collapsed in 1924 due to covert digging at the base of the tower (people would steal the bricks and grind them into powder because they believed it would prevent illness and miscarriage) and was rebuilt in 2002.  

Aesthetically, Leifeng Pagoda marked the mature period of tower construction in China.  Its wood structure and pavilion-type octagonal shape was innovative and had a far-reaching influence.  

Leifeng Pagoda

In terms of folk customs, Leifeng Pagoda carries the image of feminine beauty of West Lake and features in the mystery and romance of love stories.  The story of Lady White Snake is closely related to this pagoda.  In the short version of the story of Lady White Snake, an immortal snake falls in love with a mortal man.  She transforms into a woman so she can be with him but a sorcerer (who is actually a turtle) named Fahai believes immortals and mortals should not be together and so he imprisons her in Leifeng Pagoda.  Wikipedia has a much better, longer version of the story.

By then it was quite late (8:30 PM) and the only place we could find for dinner by our hotel was a tea house.  This tea house had something special that one often doesn't see in tea houses (or coffee shops for that matter) - a kitten.  This kitten was named Maneki Neko after the Japanese sculpture believed to bring good luck/fortune to the owner.  We spent a long time playing with the cat and taking pictures of it.

Maneki Neko