China Hangzhou West Lake

Fabled for its beauty throughout the ages, most noticably the West Lake Scenic Area (again, thank you communism for this wonderfully sterile name), Hangzhou sits a few hours south west of Shanghai in the Zheijang Province. This region and the surrounding provinces are considered some of the most scenic in the whole of China tours and it didn't take long to see why. With lakes, rivers and canals flanked by forested hills dressed in the most intense green you can imagine, the bustle of the city which surrounds this scenic region is lost in an instance. In fact Hangzhou city turned out to be another modern metropolis, enhancing the beauty of the lake and surrounding hillsides. I came to visit China for three main things; the shear volumes of history, the stunning landscapes and of course, the food. I'd hoped Hangzhou would have them all.What Hangzhou is, is a fantastic recreation of its former glories. Emperors throughout the ages travelled here to admire in the beauty and Su Dongpo (a rather famous Chinese poet and all round gastronome) and yes those (architectural) beauties were destroyed over the ages, but the rebuilds, using original plans and building materials (in most cases) are top in beauty and skill. So after a day of acclimatization and recovery after two days of Shanghai EXPO madness, I set out with my local tour guide around the West Lake and admired the many stunning and typically Ming and Qing styled parks that flank the lakes shores and numerous criss-crossing causeways. It is so picturesque, even on a slightly damp, grey afternoon. My first monument stop was to General Yue Fei's Temple. Being my first piece of Chinese history the stone courtyards surrounded by colourful pagoda style buildings and serene ponds filled with fish captivated my interest. The contrast in colour was fantastic. A walk around the densely forested, intensely green and wonderfully peaceful northern hills followed, the highlight being the wonderfully colourful Bauchu toaist temple, even though it was closed for refurbishment. In the next morning, I visited again the West Lake with my guide, we hired two bikes and headed off to see some spectacular scenery in the hills south of the lake. In true form it was raining - I'm beginning to wonder if China, or at least the east coast ever gets a sunny day - but that did not deter me. With the intensely green hills shrowded in mist I thought I was totally relaxed. I can officially confirm that the fables of West Lakes beauty are still true. The tea tree and forested hills, dotted with (reconstructed) ancient villages and pagodas shrouded in mist quite rightly are things of legend. The ride through tea villages and past waterfalls and pagodas was phenomenal, just what I wanted for this China trip, and the (slightly misty) views over the lake were superb. Soaked we pressed on to the six harmonies pagoda (which had closed for the evening - doh!), and back to west lake where we took in the Leifeng Pagoda. A re-construction, in 2001, the pagoda possesses escalators and lifts so is hardly ancient China but was still highly interesting. The carved beams and classic styled viewing halls were a nice way to round off my time in Hangzhou, and the interactive displays told of the legends of west lake and the history of the pagoda (apparently gods built and then destroyed it). So one last trip to the towns "old street", most notably to the food alley that runs off of this tourist road, and a feast of rice in a pineapple, barbequed meat, noodles and dumplings, followed up by hand-made peanut brittle and an incredibly popular Portguese Egg Tart. I was ready to depart, longing for more time in this incredibly beautiful city. Suzhou will have to wait for another trip, after I've come back to travel China again!