I guess it is about time I posted something about Hangzhou since I'm already on my third trip here since the new year. I've been coming to this city for a number of years now, but always on business trips of 5 days or less, so I've really never had a chance to explore much till now. This time I've been here over several weekends, and had a chance to experience some of the other parts of Hangzhou than then office and the hotel.
When I came here in the end of January, Cindy came with me for part of the trip. One of my colleagues, Harry, who had spent some time in Manila, and his wife Chris took us around to the Hangzhou Food Museum, afterwards we did a bit of walking around the 8 sided field, and up to some caves on the hills above Hangzhou. Along the way we found a small temple.
At the top of the hill we found a cave which had been used for some sort of religious purposes. There are statues inside, which are hard to see without additional light.
At the end of the day they took us to He Fung street, which is modeled after an old fashioned shopping street, and is now a tourist attraction. Here we saw a number of things, including these fruits which were candied and on sale all over the place.
Shortly before Spring Festival, I went to West Lake, and took some photos around the lake.
I thought the trees were beginning to bloom, but then I realized that the flowers were fake and wired onto the tree. Later next month, the flowers really came out and were even more beautiful. There were many people around the lake, even though the weather wasn't very warm, and many tourists taking photos.
I climbed one of the hills and visited the pagoda at the top. I thought it a bit odd to have this rather childish looking emblem for some city campaign in front of the classical building.
but the view was spectacular. I noticed some smoke coming from behind a building next door. Later I realized they were burning the offerings from the temple there. 
Towards the end of that trip, it snowed
Notice the flying saucers on the bridge, this is just next to my hotel.
On my second trip it started out very cold again. And again it snowed in the first few days. On the weekend I went to westlake and ran into someone who invited me to "English Corner" which happens on Sundays. I decided to go that Sunday. Here I met a variety of people--young and old, who wanted to practice their English. This lady is a Chemistry Professor.
And this is Mr. Yu who is over 90, and organizes the English Corner.
And of course there are younger people as well. These young ladies wanted a picture with me, so I insisted I get one as well. 
I went to a couple of pagodas-- Leifung pagoda sits close to the lake on the southeast side, and commands a beautiful view of the lake. The day I went was a bit cold and hazy, but very nice.
Most of my pictures of the actual pagoda didn't come out very well, so I'll have to go back again.
I also visited a Buddhist temple north of west lake on another day. It was really interesting to see, as it was possible to discern the South Indian/ Sri Lankan influence in some of the carvings.
This guy was close to the entrance. By now the flowers were truly out on the trees everywhere. 
Spring definitely had come to Hangzhou.
I also took one day and made a long walk from Binjiang, where my hotel is, over the number 1 bridge, up to Tiger Spring
and then on to West Lake. There was a tulip show going on at the north west corner of the lake, complete with simulated Dutch windmill. 
It was so jammed with people, you could hardly walk down the path. And people were picnicking all over the park. It was a lot of fun in a way.
Then I walked across the causeway going across the north part of the lake, and stopped from time to time to rest.
Here you can see Leifung pagoda in the distance.
I ended up going all the way around the lake-- stopping for a late lunch somewhere in a little Chinese restaurant where I managed to order some vegetables by picking them out in pictures on the menu. That has to be one of the hardest things for me, I haven't learned enough words to order anything yet. I'm trying but the language isn't easy for me to pick up. All in all that day I walked 18Km or more, and was exhausted by the time I got back to the hotel.
Since I have visited the Zhejiang Museum and seen a couple of exhibits
The first of these is a local painter, with some interesting paintings. But the second was fascinating. It was prints from the 50s to current times. They looked like they could have been silk screens, or lithographs, I'm not sure. But the earlier ones were very definitely a sort of propaganda art. Always scenes of workers, in the fields, factories, road work or whatever. Beautifully done, but very definitely "celebrating" the communist ideals. As time progressed, the what I would call propaganda themes slowly dissipated, and the scenes were more just artistic. It was a real study in how the art was reflected by the times. I hope it is still there when Cindy next comes to Hangzhou as I'd love to visit it again with her.
On my most recent trip, my co-worker Tony took me and his son Tony for a hike. We went just west of the number 1 bridge, and into the mountains. From there we walked up a very steep trail--actually stone steps set into the hillside, up to the top of the range. Then we walked along for a while till we got to a view out over the tea plantations there.
Here you see the two Tonys resting on our way down. 
So as you can see I've really been enjoying Hangzhou, and intend to do so much more after moving here later this spring.
When I came here in the end of January, Cindy came with me for part of the trip. One of my colleagues, Harry, who had spent some time in Manila, and his wife Chris took us around to the Hangzhou Food Museum, afterwards we did a bit of walking around the 8 sided field, and up to some caves on the hills above Hangzhou. Along the way we found a small temple.
At the top of the hill we found a cave which had been used for some sort of religious purposes. There are statues inside, which are hard to see without additional light.
At the end of the day they took us to He Fung street, which is modeled after an old fashioned shopping street, and is now a tourist attraction. Here we saw a number of things, including these fruits which were candied and on sale all over the place.
Shortly before Spring Festival, I went to West Lake, and took some photos around the lake.
I thought the trees were beginning to bloom, but then I realized that the flowers were fake and wired onto the tree. Later next month, the flowers really came out and were even more beautiful. There were many people around the lake, even though the weather wasn't very warm, and many tourists taking photos.
I climbed one of the hills and visited the pagoda at the top. I thought it a bit odd to have this rather childish looking emblem for some city campaign in front of the classical building.
but the view was spectacular. I noticed some smoke coming from behind a building next door. Later I realized they were burning the offerings from the temple there. Towards the end of that trip, it snowed
Notice the flying saucers on the bridge, this is just next to my hotel. On my second trip it started out very cold again. And again it snowed in the first few days. On the weekend I went to westlake and ran into someone who invited me to "English Corner" which happens on Sundays. I decided to go that Sunday. Here I met a variety of people--young and old, who wanted to practice their English. This lady is a Chemistry Professor.
And this is Mr. Yu who is over 90, and organizes the English Corner. And of course there are younger people as well. These young ladies wanted a picture with me, so I insisted I get one as well. I went to a couple of pagodas-- Leifung pagoda sits close to the lake on the southeast side, and commands a beautiful view of the lake. The day I went was a bit cold and hazy, but very nice.
Most of my pictures of the actual pagoda didn't come out very well, so I'll have to go back again.I also visited a Buddhist temple north of west lake on another day. It was really interesting to see, as it was possible to discern the South Indian/ Sri Lankan influence in some of the carvings.
This guy was close to the entrance. By now the flowers were truly out on the trees everywhere. Spring definitely had come to Hangzhou.I also took one day and made a long walk from Binjiang, where my hotel is, over the number 1 bridge, up to Tiger Spring
and then on to West Lake. There was a tulip show going on at the north west corner of the lake, complete with simulated Dutch windmill. It was so jammed with people, you could hardly walk down the path. And people were picnicking all over the park. It was a lot of fun in a way. Then I walked across the causeway going across the north part of the lake, and stopped from time to time to rest.
Here you can see Leifung pagoda in the distance.I ended up going all the way around the lake-- stopping for a late lunch somewhere in a little Chinese restaurant where I managed to order some vegetables by picking them out in pictures on the menu. That has to be one of the hardest things for me, I haven't learned enough words to order anything yet. I'm trying but the language isn't easy for me to pick up. All in all that day I walked 18Km or more, and was exhausted by the time I got back to the hotel.
Since I have visited the Zhejiang Museum and seen a couple of exhibits
On my most recent trip, my co-worker Tony took me and his son Tony for a hike. We went just west of the number 1 bridge, and into the mountains. From there we walked up a very steep trail--actually stone steps set into the hillside, up to the top of the range. Then we walked along for a while till we got to a view out over the tea plantations there.
Here you see the two Tonys resting on our way down. So as you can see I've really been enjoying Hangzhou, and intend to do so much more after moving here later this spring.
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