Morning Rituals around West Lake in Hangzhou

Remember this photo if you are ever in Hangzhou.

Hangzhou is famous in China for its beautiful West Lake and the best way to see all that the lake has to offer is to explore the pathways and causeways. On previous visits to Hangzhou I had seen the big attractions around the lake like Leifeng Pagoda and only caught glimpses of people strolling along the shore and a few people exercising.  On this trip I wanted to spend more time observing people exercising and hopefully see some Tai Chi.  I love martial arts in any form but Tai Chi has a wonderful elegance that exudes the true beauty of the art.  I was told you have to go early in the morning to see people performing their Tai Chi in the parks around the lake.  I was staying at the Shangri-La Hotel again which in my opinion is worth the money as its a great hotel, the service is impeccable, and its excellent location.  It's situated on the north side of West Lake and what I thought was a short distance to Su Causeway.

I rose at an incredibly early hour for me, 6:00 AM.  I really wanted to see Tai Chi if I was up at 6 AM.  I had a quick breakfast with coffee then I was off to observe.  It was late October but still pretty warm in Hangzhou so I was wearing shorts, a t-shirt and running shoes.  I left the hotel, crossed Beishan Road and started walking down Su Causeway.  I was so excited at the prospect of what I might find.  I crossed a bridge and walked a little further when I felt my first indication that I should probably find a bathroom.  It passed and I thought I was fine so on I went.  Then it hits me again, now this is more serious.  Maybe I should have stayed at the hotel a little longer this morning before departing on my adventure.  Maybe I shouldn't have had the second cup of coffee.  I'm well along the Su Causeway in new territory and the only bathroom that I know of is back at the hotel.  So I decide to head back to the hotel.  When I turn around the hotel seemed so far away which only made the situation worse.  Plus I have to cross the busy Beishan Road or go down and up the stairs if I use the underground passage.  Stairs didn't seem like a good idea either.  Then I remembered the restroom just inside the park entrance down the road past the Yue Fei Temple.  I'll go there!

I had a plan and I was off.  The situation seemed more urgent with every step.  After I crossed back over the bridge I saw an opening and a pathway behind the souvenir shops.  Excellent, a short cut!  I pass the souvenir shops and on the other side was everything I was looking for that morning besides the bathroom.  There were tons of people exercising, performing their martial arts routines, Tai Chi, Tai Chi with weapons!  There was a man doing Tai Chi with huge swords!  How cool is that!?!   This was so much more that I could have hoped for but unfortunately there was a more pressing matter at hand.  I couldn't stop to watch, I had to press onward.  There I was, cheeks clenched, walking faster than an Olympic sprinter, past what could have been the coolest martial arts I had ever seen.  I thought, I'll come back here after the restroom. 

After what seemed like an eternity, I arrived at the restroom which was empty.   I made it!  I was sweaty, sure I would be sore later from the clenching, but I made it.  Phew, what a relief!  I washed my hands and walked out passing an elderly gentleman on his way in.  He looked at me really weird.  What?  I turned around and looked at the door, I was in the men's room.  Eeeeewww!  

I returned to the spot where all the cool martial arts were being performed, but they were all gone.  What a bummer.  I'm blaming it on the coffee. 

As you may suspect, there was no time for photos on this tour.  I did take the photo above afterwards to remember where the restroom is located for future reference.  I was back in Hangzhou about 10 months later and walked across Su Causeway.  I made it all the way across this time.  The funny thing is about 20 feet beyond where I turned around in the story above there's a sign that point to a nearby restroom.  I was so close and didn't know it.  I do now.

Hangzhou - one of my favorite places

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