Hangzhou Part 1 (7-25)

Wednesday was travel day—from Wenzhou to Hangzhou. It was a good day to be traveling, as it was raining lightly when I left the hotel and then rained heavily for a couple hours. When I arrived at the station and the security guard told me to “wait a minute,” while he got the English-speaking woman, I knew this was not good. The problem was that my train, on which I’d reserved a seat three weeks earlier, had been “stopped” that day. So I had to change my ticket and take another train. My new train left three hours later than the original one. I was happy it wasn’t longer.

This train trip took three and a half hours. The first part of the trip went along and through the mountains. There were many rice fields between the train tracks and the mountains.

Once in Hangzhou I noticed a sign to the subway and decided to give that a try, remembering the taxi driver in Xi’an who chatted about how I should have taken the metro because it is faster and cheaper. There was a map showing the route with English as well as Chinese. Using my hotel reservation printout, I found the district and selected what looked like a close stop. I did well. When I got off, there were signs to West Lake and then there was a sign to the street I needed. So off I went. Unfortunately, only the first sign to the street had English; so I had to ask for directions a few times. This happens often.

My hotel was close to West Lake, one of the main scenic areas in Hangzhou. After dinner, I walked along the lake for a while, enjoying the evening atmosphere.

I woke up Thursday morning feeling like I could easily overdo it that day and decided to take it easy. First, following my philosophy to plan to get out of town shortly after arriving so I don’t have to worry about it later, I went to the bus station to purchase my ticket to Huangshan. I probably could have gone to the station on Monday and gotten on a bus, but I didn’t want to repeat the Yandangshan experience of having to wait a few hours because I didn’t know what time the train left. Ticket in hand, when I exited the station, I saw a sign to Xixi Wetlands National Park. I had thought about going there but had decided not to because it’s far from the hotel and there are lots of things to do closer. But, there I was, only 1.5 km away from the park. And, since it was raining, it seemed appropriate to visit the wetlands. So I took a taxi there. The rain continued all day, mostly lightly, stopping briefly only a few times. I encountered more English at the park than I have in most places recently. Both young women who sold tickets explained them to me in detail well.

I ended out spending the whole day at the park because I enjoyed it and I didn’t feel like going elsewhere, taking it easy. The first part I walked through, an area full of the huge lotuses, water lilies, and other water plants, was one of my favorites. 

Next I walked through the old street on the way to the “storage battery operated boats” that transport people around the water. (The shuttle buses are also battery operated.) 

On the boat ride, there are four ports to stop at. The longest ride was the first one—half an hour between ports. It’s a peaceful, beautiful ride. 

At that stop, there are a lot of places to walk to, and I went to most of them. The area is beautiful and I was enjoying walking there. Two sites are a nunnery and a temple. The woman at the nunnery greeted me with hands palm to palm. There are a couple lovely, old houses that are now museums. 

The next port has the huge rubber duck that is the park’s mascot. The boat didn’t stop at the fourth port, which was OK, as I was ready to be done. 

Back at the starting point, I exited the area and went to the underwater viewing site I had tried to but couldn’t go to earlier because I hadn’t yet purchased a ticket. I was intrigued enough that I decided I wanted to see it. They’ve constructed Plexiglas tunnels in the water with pathways between them so you can look in to see the plants and fish. It wasn’t spectacular, but it was interesting. 

Then I was done with the park. When I got to the exit, I realized that it wasn’t a good place to get a taxi and ended out walking back to the bus station (1.5 km) to take the bus back to the hotel. I felt good that I knew what to do, as sometimes I’ve been in places that aren’t good to get a taxi and didn’t know what to do.

The park was a perfect way to spend a rainy day when I didn’t want to overdo it.

General observations: Young students seem surprised to see me—a foreigner. On the subway, a boy about ten years old was clearly surprised to see me. His eyes opened widely. He didn’t speak to me, but he did point me out to his friend. When he left, he waved. At the park a few children visibly noticed me. Two girls managed to say “Hi,” which is the greeting I get most in this part of the country. I asked one girl her name, thinking they might know that. They didn’t, but their mothers coached them and they repeated after their mothers. It was fun watching them.

The recording on the metro advises passengers to “please alight on the left side.”

Friday’s destination was China’s Grand Canal, which goes through Hangzhou. At 1100 miles long, it is the oldest and longest canal/man-made waterway in the world. Constructed mostly in the 6^th and 7^th centuries, it connected Beijing to Hangzhou, linking the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers. Now only the southern part is navigable. Last month it became a World Heritage Site. Since I had learned that it can be accessed by metro, I decided to have a look at it and possibly take a boat ride.

I got to the metro fairly easily. The only kink was that the signs in English stopped—again. There were signs pointing out the direction to the metro until the last intersection. Then the only signs were in Chinese. Fortunately, a cleaning woman was there and pointed the direction for me when I asked. I do find it frustrating when this happens. 

The metro stop for the canal is West Lake Cultural Square. It has a huge shopping center and a museum. It also has an old bridge over the canal. I crossed the bridge and joined the line for boats down the canal. Not sure where they were going, I decided to just get on with the line. When one boat arrived, a number of people got on, but the people around me stayed in line; so I did, too. There are modern boats and old-style, smaller boats. I was glad that the one for us was the latter. The trip took 40 minutes. 

The canal has a lot of barges carrying stones and such up and down, which reminded me of watching the barge traffic on the Mekong delta. 

We went under several bridges decorated with carvings. 

As we approached what turned out to be the stopping point, the canal is lined with traditional houses.

The boat’s destination was the 17^th century Gongchen Bridge, the highest and longest arched bridge in the area. 

After walking over the bridge, I discovered that the area is a tourist destination and has three museums and a center for demonstrating traditional arts. This was good news for me, as I like museums and arts. First I went to the demonstration center, which has sections demonstrating, among other crafts, pottery, purple clay, oil paper umbrellas, fans, and scissors. 

At the man making traditional scissors, I met two American women about my age who live on the other side of the bridge. They have both lived in Asia for about 30 years and are in the textile business. They have items made here and exported mostly to the U.S. They don’t know Chinese language but had a younger, possibly also American, woman with them who is fluent. They recommended the Swords, Knives, and Scissors Museum.

I started with the Fans Museum. There I learned that fans were first round and then folded. It’s uncertain whether they first started in Japan or China.

I decided that I needed to eat, but this was not a good place to be looking for food. I found one restaurant and went in. The menu presented was in Chinese with no pictures. There are several foods that I can order, but I drew a blank when I looked at the menu. The waiter suggested curry, and we were discussing that when an American man—the third or fourth American I saw that day, which is a record—came over and offered the assistance of his Chinese wife who is fluent in both English and Chinese. She suggested a noodles dish that they were having but said it’s very big. She got the waiters to agree to serve me half an order. Even so, it was a huge bowl and I ate only about a fourth of it.

Next I went to the Umbrellas museum. It features both oil paper umbrellas and silk umbrellas. There was a group of what looked like middle school students running around getting information to record on their brochures. 

Finally I went to the Swords, Knives, and Scissors Museum. Although it was interesting to see the history of swords and knives, it was my least favorite of the three.

Then it was time to head back. The boat that arrived was the modern, faster on, which was fine since I’d had the leisurely trip up the canal. The return took only 30 minutes. 

When I got off the metro, I decided to walk to Wushan Square, which I’d seen on the map and which has an ancient street in the area and which is in the direction I needed to go.  The area has an abundance of old style buildings. 

One area has what they call the beginning of modern buildings—in the early 20^th century—combining the new, European style with the traditional style. It was fun to walk around the area looking at the buildings and shops in them. Since it was evening, the area was getting crowded and became more crowded as I walked around. 

Vendors sell all kinds of souvenirs. On the way out I came across a plaza that was divided into three sections: two for line dancing and one for roller skating.

When I arrived back at the intersection with the hotel’s street, I turned left. After an appropriate time, I realized that I hadn’t come upon any of the landmarks I knew and realized that the intersection wasn’t where I thought it was. When I came to a park, I decided to enter it and walk back along the lake, joining the Chinese out for a walk. When I arrived at the hotel, I still had energy for the first time in a few days. It felt good not to be exhausted at the end of the day.

Wenzhou Part 2 (7-22)

Tuesday’s adventure was to the Nanxi River Scenic Area, which is one of the places that enticed me to Wenzhou. I looked up places to visit there and wrote them on a paper so I could have them written in Chinese, which is always helpful. The women at the desk could only write one of the names. I think they didn’t know the other places. So off I went with Yantou written in Chinese. After taking the ferry across the river, I showed my paper to a bus driver and was pointed across the way. On the other side, I showed it to another bus driver who pointed me back to the first side. This time a driver pointed me to the right bus. After leaving the city, the hour-long ride goes along the mountains and the river. It’s a beautiful ride. In Yantou, I didn’t know where to go from the bus stop; so I started walking down the main street just to look around and decide what to do. A tricycle driver agreed to take me to Yantou. Since I thought that’s where I was, I was a bit confused. In five minutes we arrived at Lishui Jie, an ancient village along the river on the edge of Yantou. Then he showed me a brochure with beautiful pictures and said he’d take me there. Thinking he was going to take me to those places, I agreed and got in again. On the way he stopped a few times so I could take photos. 

Then he dropped me off at the destination: the entrance to the scenic area. This, of course, required a ticket that includes a shuttle into the area. I learned later that this was Taolong Cave, which is a huge cave inside the mountain. It has a Taoist temple, and there is a waterfall in front of the cave. The area is beautiful. 

The long, thin waterfall drops into a pool that has a pavilion. I decided to go to the pavilion for the view from there and noticed stairs going down. Under the pool there is a path to an altar. It’s lined with sea murals on one side and mirrors on the other. I’ve never seen anything like it.

Back above ground, I asked the women selling snacks how to get to the cave in the middle of the mountain, as I could see people there. They pointed to the boats, but no one was there at the moment. One woman was selling steamed corn on the cob, and I bought two. It’s the most delicious corn I’ve had for a long time—sweet, which most corn here isn’t. Then the boat man came along with other tourists, and we set off to ride through the passage under the cliff into a huge room. From there we walked up inside the mountain to more huge rooms. The stairs are lined with red tube lights, creating an interesting pattern down to a well much lower than where we started.

At the top of the stairs, there are more huge rooms. From the ledge, you can view the waterfall. On one side of the huge room there are a few more huge rooms that are a Taoist temple.

The exit is labeled “To export;” the entrance was “To import.” Curious translations. 

The path down to the starting point goes across and down through a lovely wooded area with bamboo and a type evergreen tree.

Before leaving the area, I had the other woman’s snack: the grass jelly that I like and another jelly that turned out to be mint flavored. At the entrance, there was no transportation back to town; so I asked a couple where they were going and they had me join them in a shuttle that arrived soon. I noticed that they had a green ticket and the man had called the phone number on it. Since I didn’t have a ticket, I had to pay the driver. This shuttle went to the river beach area at the intersection with the road to town. I decided to have a closer look at it since I was there. There are rafts that can be rented with an oarman to float down the river. 

On the other side there were two camels, one of which was being washed in the river. Perhaps camel rides are offered. People were swimming and floating with inner tubes in the water. 

Several women were selling fruit, one of which was totally new to me. So I had to try it. I have no idea what it is. 

The woman showed me to break it in half and then gave me a toothpick to eat the pieces inside. Each piece has a seed which is not eaten. It was interesting to try but not one I’d go out of my way to have again.

Then I looked for a shuttle down the mountain back to Yantou. A woman was selling the green tickets for 100 RMB/$17. She showed me that it goes to several destinations. I didn’t want to purchase a ticket because I’d already paid twice for other transportation, but she clearly was in charge of transportation and wouldn’t agree for me to pay to go only to Cangpo, the village I wanted to visit. My idea was to ride there and then walk to Yantou. A young woman who speaks some English explained the same thing the woman had said and told me that I had to buy the ticket and pay 100 RMB because the trip to Cangpo is farther than the trip to the scenic area. I wasn’t happy about that but there didn’t seem to be another alternative, as no one else was picking up passengers. So I bought the ticket and got in a van.

The driver took me to Cangpo, one of several ancient villages in the area. It was originally built in the 12^th century and is a combination of old buildings and newer buildings with modern ones on the edge. It is visited by tourists but is not touristic. People are living their lives, not catering to tourists. The only things being sold were drinks in a few places. I loved the stone houses. 

I was especially intrigued by the people painted on the temple doors, as their faces look like real men, not the usual guardians. 

Part of the village is built around a rectangular pool, and the reflections were beautiful. 

There is an area with stone slabs for washing clothes at one end.

When I exited the village an hour later and the driver was waiting for me, I rethought my having paid for the ticket and decided he was worth it. I had decided that I was too tired to walk the whole way and it was getting a little late for a long walk, as I wanted to be sure to get a bus back to the ferry. I think the woman told him to take me there and then on to Lishui Jie back in Yantou. When we arrived, he further made himself worth the extra cost when he took me in a side entrance to avoid having to purchase an entrance ticket. The ticket was for more of the area than I would be visiting and I’d already overpaid for transportation; so I didn’t feel bad about not paying the fee. Lishui Jie is a covered walkway along the river that is lined with stalls and shops selling various goods to tourists. 

The buildings in the area were interesting to see, but by this time I was tired and ready to start the journey back to the hotel; so I wasn’t tempted to linger. I was glad I’d spent most of my time in Cangpo.

Again the driver waited for me. Then he took me to the bus stop from which I got a bus back to the ferry. All in all, he turned out to be a worthwhile expense.

Back in Wenzhou, I went for a foot massage. I’d noticed two places on Monday and had decided that a foot massage would be in order before leaving. Four men were in chairs in the entrance. I pointed to one to indicate that I wanted a foot massage. Then I was taken to a room with five other people, and I could see yet another room nearby full of people. The place was busy with both women and men. The woman first scraped my feet, scraping off a lot of dead skin. I’d not had that experience before, but my feet were quite soft and smooth afterwards. She cut my toenails, too. Then she asked if I wanted a massage. I think the man I pointed to must have been having the other work done, not having a massage at that moment. So I ended out getting both treatments, which was great. I walked out feeling much better.

I like Wenzhou, at least the very small part of it that I experienced. Buildings are attractive. Maybe because they are new. Maybe because they were usually seen with sunshine and sometimes a blue sky. The city seems clean. It’s quiet. And traffic stops when the light changes. I encountered very limited English. The hotel staff speak almost none but were all very pleasant and tried to communicate with their translators. School-aged children stared openly and most didn’t respond if I spoke to them. Some, of course, giggled. Adults also stared more than I’m used to in Chengdu. If I greeted them, some would break into a smile. Several men gave me a thumbs up.