Hangzhou, China
 |
| View of West Lake from Solitary Hill |
I’ve been to China a number of times and have only scratched the surface on all there is to do, eat, and see. In fact, each time I go I return with a longer list of things that I need to do on the next trip. It usually only takes a short taxi ride from a train station or airport to start tickling my curious inner child. I have been fortunate to have made many wonderful and generous Chinese friends who’ve entertained my curiosity and shown me their wonderful country.
On my first trip to Hangzhou, my friend David was a fabulous tour guide showing me all the highlights of this incredible city. West Lake, Yue Fei Temple and Museum, Lingyin Temple, Peak Flying from Afar, and Leifeng Pagoda were a few places visited. He carefully selected restaurants each day to show off Hangzhou’s cuisine and took me to a tea house which is must do in Hangzhou.
 |
| Shangri-La Hotel, Hangzhou |
We arrived early Sunday morning by train from Beijing. We took a taxi to the Shangri-La Hotel on the north side of West Lake. After checking into the hotel and resting, we headed out to find breakfast. David ensured me that we would find something inexpensive and good to eat right outside the hotel. Sure enough just across Beishan road situated in the middle of the souvenir shops was a little noodle shop. I had noodles with shrimp for breakfast. Sorry, no photo, you’ll have to imagine a bowl of noodle soup with tiny shrimp about 4 cm long completely in the shell. David said I could either eat the whole shrimp or pull the tail off. So after disecting about 4 shrimp I decided the amount of meat inside wasn’t worth the effort so I just ate the whole shrimp. It was delicious, a little crunchy, but delicious.
Fei Lai Feng also known as Grottos on the Peak Flying from Afar
We hopped in a taxi and headed to the Grottos on the Peak Flying from Afar. I love this name. The Chinese have whimsical names like this for everything. My understanding of the legend of the peak is that it was the top of a Buddhist mountain in India that broke off and flew to its current resting place outside Hangzhou. There are hundreds of carvings in the limestone on the peak and in its caves. These photos are just a few examples of the carvings. Maitreya (Happy Buddha or Laughing Buddha) is my favorite. Everytime I’ve visited the Peak, I’ve discovered new carvings that I didn’t see before. It’s this curiosity of what I will find next that brings me back.
If you are standing looking at this Happy Buddha carving, turn around and you’ll be looking at the entrance to the Lingyin Temple.
Lingyin Temple (Temple of the Soul’s Retreat)
The temple is set on a property of many buildings and halls, each serving a different purpose. The grounds are beautiful and the intricate detail in the buildings is hard to describe. Here’s what I mean…
 |
| Lighting incense to offer in prayer |
 |
| An Alter at Lingyin Temple |
 |
| For a little extra, your offering will last longer. |
 |
| Entrance to the Hall of the Great Hero |
 |
| Sakyamuni |
 |
| A dragon well |
If you look closely in the last photo above you’ll see a dragon’s head coming out of the rocks. Water slowly trickles out of the dragon’s mouth to the tiny pool below. Because Linyin Temple is build on the side of a hill and you have to walk up many steps to see each hall, I would imagine this dragon well is part of their elaborate drainage system diverting the water away from the halls. Plus it’s much more decorative that the plain old gutters on my house. The ladies in the photo are trying to toss a coin in the dragon’s mouth. The Chinese believe this will bring you good luck.
Time for Lunch
While you could spend an entire day seeing Feilaifeng and Lingyin, we only spent a couple hours here then returned to West Lake for lunch. We went to a restaurant on Solitary Hill for the famous Hangzhou fish with vinegar (in the dish at the bottom of the photo). The dish above the fish is eel. I was a little nervous to try the eel at first having seen people fillet them at a market in Xian. I’ve had eel with sushi before at home and everything I’d eaten up to this point in China was delicious. I threw caution to the wind, flipped my stomach back over and took a bite. Again, I was wonderfully delighted to discover that the eel was very good. After lunch we met up with another friend and went shopping in the city. Here we found more typical stores selling trendy clothes, shoes, luggage, etc. Then we stopped at a tea house near West Lake.
Tea House
 |
| David at the Tea House |
Visiting a tea house as I mentioned earlier is a must do while in Hangzhou. Its a great place to go with friends. You order a pot of tea or two and there’s usually a buffet of snacks (nuts, fruit, dumplings, lotus nuts, etc.) that’s complimentary with the pot of tea. Hangzhou is famous for it’s Longjing (Dragon Well) tea, which is a green tea. We ordered some Longjing, Jasmine, and Oolong tea. We hung out there for hours talking, drinking tea, and eating. We had a great time. After I was stuffed to the gills, they brought us something to eat that looked like brown finger jello. David said try it, it’s good for the digestion. This is the same friend who introduced me to so many wonderful foods so I said why not. I popped the whole thing in my mouth. As soon as it hit my tongue, I thought I was going to gag. It was awful. I finally discovered something that I didn’t like. I managed to swallow it but it was a struggle. When asked what’s wrong, I just said I’m so full from eating too much. Everyone agreed we should walk back to the hotel. We took a nice leisurely stroll back to the hotel along Bai Causeway, a walkway that connects Solitary Hill to the east side of West Lake. The city was all lit up and the many sights around the lake were lit up. It was a fabulous way to end a great day.
West Lake
Hangzhou is a city of more than 8 million people. West Lake is much more than a lake or a park, it’s a sanctuary on the edge of this busy metropolis. There are countless things to do and see all throughout West Lake. On this day the weather was hot but not as hot as forecasted so David and I decided we would walk around West Lake starting from the Shangri-La Hotel along the east side of the lake all the way to Leifeng Pagoda. We arrived just in time to see the last of the lotus blooming. The flowers were much bigger than expected and they stood high above the water.
 |
| A view of Leifeng Pagoda across West Lake |
 |
| Take a boat ride around the lake |
 |
| Xiling Bridge |
 |
| Blooming Lotus |
 |
| One of many memorials around the lake. |
 |
| Leifeng Pagoda |
Leifeng Pagoda
When we arrived at the pagoda, I was surprised to see it was a newer constructed building. The old pagoda collapsed and was rebuilt in 2002 with the modern conveniences of an escalator up the hill to the pagoda and elevators inside the pagoda.
 |
| Remains of the original pagoda |
Under the pagoda are the few bricks that remain from the original pagoda. We took the elevator all the way to the top and took the stairs down. Each floor tells a different story with elaborate paintings and wood carvings.
 |
| Carving depicting the tale of Bai Suzhen |
This is were I heard the legend of Bai Suzhen (Lady White Snake). The wood carvings on one of the floors tells her tale incorporating West Lake, Broken Bridge, and Leifeng Pagoda. There are many versions of the tale, but I prefer David’s version. I’ll share that in a future post.
 |
| View of Hangzhou from top of Leifeng Pagoda |
There are great views from the top of the pagoda of Hangzhou and the surrounding area. In the photo on the left you can see the city on the other side of West Lake.
Yue Fei Temple and Museum
 |
| General Yue Fei |
Yue Fei was a general in the military during the Song Dynasty. I know this because the Yue Fei Temple, Tomb, and Museum is right next to the Shangri-La Hotel and I’ve visited it on at least three separate trips.
This particular trip was the first time I had the opportunity to visit it and learn about Yue Fei. I was amazed at how large the grounds were and how much there was to see here. It’s my understanding that Yue Fei was very loyal to his country and the emperor, but someone betrayed him and lied to the emperor so he was executed. Later the new emperor learned the truth and this memorial Temple and Museum was built in his honor. This is worth the time to visit. If you are on the north side of West Lake, its hard to miss the entrance.
 |
| Entrance to Yue Fei Temple |
We hopped in a taxi and headed to the Grottos on the Peak Flying from Afar. I love this name. The Chinese have whimsical names like this for everything. My understanding of the legend of the peak is that it was the top of a Buddhist mountain in India that broke off and flew to its current resting place outside Hangzhou. There are hundreds of carvings in the limestone on the peak and in its caves. These photos are just a few examples of the carvings. Maitreya (Happy Buddha or Laughing Buddha) is my favorite. Everytime I’ve visited the Peak, I’ve discovered new carvings that I didn’t see before. It’s this curiosity of what I will find next that brings me back.
While you could spend an entire day seeing Feilaifeng and Lingyin, we only spent a couple hours here then returned to West Lake for lunch. We went to a restaurant on Solitary Hill for the famous Hangzhou fish with vinegar (in the dish at the bottom of the photo). The dish above the fish is eel. I was a little nervous to try the eel at first having seen people fillet them at a market in Xian. I’ve had eel with sushi before at home and everything I’d eaten up to this point in China was delicious. I threw caution to the wind, flipped my stomach back over and took a bite. Again, I was wonderfully delighted to discover that the eel was very good. 
