Because of the early start time of the tour, we had a rather rushed breakfast at the revolving restaurant on top of the Friendship Hotel. Nothing much was lost by way of the West Lake view, though, as it turned out to be an especially misty morning. "Thick mist over water" is the summary. The hearty and healthy breakfast spread made us happy. Then it's off to the day's adventure in Hangzhou!
First stop of the itinerary was the east shore of West Lake where the tourist boat was waiting to take us to the largest island in the lake. The jetty is near one of the top scenic/vantage areas around West Lake, called Orioles Singing in the Willows (柳浪聞鶯). King Qian, a good king to the people and filial son to his mother, reputedly planted the willows and brought in orioles for his mother to enjoy. Well, they are still there for the world's enjoyment today.
The boat quickly brought us to one of the islands on the lake, from which we viewed the famous 3 Pools Mirroring the Moon (三潭印月). If you have a RMB1 note, you can see this on its back. The guide said that once a year, at full moon in the 8th month of the lunar calendar, visitors can see 32 "moons" at this spot. How? There are 3 stone lantern-like structures rising from the lake. Each has 5 round windows through which candlelight shines out. When these lantern-like structures are lit once a year at Mid-Autumn, their windows glow, making 3 x 5 = 15 "moons". Their reflection in the lake adds 15 more "moons" to the count. Finally, the real (full) moon in the sky and its reflection in the lake caps the count at 32! How fascinating. Visitors crowd the lake annually to catch this sight.
Another ferry conveyed our group to the next destination on the east shore -- the Yue Fei Mausoleum. This is the burial place of the Southern Song dynasty general famed for his loyalty to his country. The well known Chinese song "Man Jiang Hong" was composed by him in captivity. Ironically, it was not the enemy who landed him in prison. Corrupt court officials and emperor Gaozong, whom he served, were responsible for the wicked deed. He died a prisoner, falsely accused of treason, in his own country. Centuries later, people still throng his mausoleum in admiration of a dynasty's hero. Tour guides still tell the story of national governance gone very wrong. But visitors are now discouraged from spitting on the iron statues of his betrayers kneeling across his tomb.
The coach took us around some other tourist spots in Hangzhou, with the predictable mix of commerce with strident promotions of Hangzhou silk and West Lake green tea. It was said that the cheongsams worn by the lady presenters at the Beijing Olympics were Hangzhou silk and Suzhou embroidery. And Hangzhou West Lake Dragon's Well green tea is reputedly one of the very highest grade of tea in China.
We ended a long day with dinner at a local restaurant near the lake. The concept is quite novel. We pay for food tickets first at a counter near the entrance and use these to make food and beverage purchases from different counters inside the restaurant. Any remaining food tickets can be exchanged for cash back at the exit. We tried a local dish, Cat's Ears. No, it was not some exotic meat dish. On the contrary, it was a tame soupy dish with flour bits shaped like tiny cat's ears (well they were small triangles with a dose of imagination) that actually tasted quite good in the cold weather.
After dinner, it was a short trot to the musical fountain at West Lake -- gracefully choreographed water jets with lights and music earned the awws of appreciation from visitors. In that relaxed mood, getting sprayed with water was fun for many standing there.
For us, we were happy to see Friendship Hotel towering beyond the edge of the lake where the musical fountain was. This meant that we were near a warm shower and comfortable bed, all of 20 minutes walk across a few streets. We could have been faster, but my Reeboks gave up (they were eventually left behind in Shanghai). The day's packed schedule was the final straw, I guess. Along the way back, we saw a handicapped man writing very beautiful calligraphy on the sidewalk in chalk. Glad he had some donations. But it is indeed hard for him to earn his keep this way, in the dust of road traffic. We have seen many sides of Hangzhou today.
