China Trip – Hangzhou (1)

Hangzhou (杭州) is currently the largest city within Zhejiang Province. Hangzhou used to be a country – Yue Country, more than 2,000 years ago, before China was consolidated.

There were many well-known and beautiful legends in this place, such as White Snake and Liang Shan Bo (梁山伯) and Zhu Ying Tai (the Chinese version of Romeo and Juliet). There are many legendary figures whose home towns are here or who have once stayed here, such as Yue Fei (岳飞), Xi Shi (西施) and Ji Gong (济公).

Xi Shi was one of the Four Beauties of ancient China, together with Wang Zhao Jun (王昭君), Yang Gui Fei (杨贵妃) and Diao Chan (貂蟬). The Four Beauties so pretty that fish had sunk, birds had fallen, moon and flowers had been shy (Chen2 Yu2 Luo4 Yan4; Bi4 Yue4 Xiu1 Hua1; 沉魚落雁,闭月羞花). Our tour guide also shared amusing gossips about the four beauties - their Achilles’ heels. Xi Shi had larger feet than the women of her times. Wang Zhao Jun was believed to have drooping shoulders. Thus, she always wore a cape. Yang Gui Fei had an odd smell from her body, so she had to constantly bathed in flowered water. Diao Chan had slightly long neck, so she cleverly camouflaged this shortcoming by wearing lots of jewelries around her neck.

Due to the fight between Yue Country and Wu Country (吳) (the current Suzhou), Xi Shi was sent by the King of Yue to seduce the King of Wu. In addition, the King of Yue laid low in Wu Country for a couple of years to spy on the enemy. In those years, he would sleep on straw and taste the bile in the gall to constantly remind himself the revenge he needed to take. This subsequently gave rise to the idiom – Wo4 Xin1 Chang2 Dan3 to describe a very hard life.

West Lake (西湖)

I vaguely remember reading a lot about West Lake in one of my Chinese Textbooks. West Lake is touted to be one of the most beautiful lakes in China. There are many poems and verses which sing praises of the beauty of West Lake, which was believed to the incarnation of Xi Shi, so it was also known as Xi Zi Lake.

There is a heaven in the sky.
There is a Su-Hang on the earth.
(Shang4 You3 Tian1 Tang2; Xia4 You3 Su1 Hang2; 上有天堂 下有苏杭)

These 2 verses aptly describe the picturesque Suzhou and Hangzhou where their beauties were comparable to Heaven. Poet Su Dong Po (苏东坡) was best known for his poem on West Lake. There was a famous local dish – Dong Po Meat which was named after this famous Tang Poet.

There are at least 10 scenic spots in West Lake. Some of which include Three Light Towers which reflect the moon (San1 Tan2 Ying4 Yue4; 三潭印月), Broken Bridge (Duan4 Qiao2; 断桥残雪), Su Bridge (Su1 Ti2; 苏堤), Long Bridge (Chang2 Qiao2), Lei Feng Pagoda (Lei2 Feng1 Ta3; 雷峰夕照) and Park of Willows (Liu3 Lang4 Wen2 Ying1; 柳浪闻莺), Nan Ping Bell (Nan2 Ping2 Wan3 Zhong1; 南屏晚钟) etc. Each of these scenic spots has a story associated with it. When the scenery is attached with a meaning, its beauty is enhanced.

The beauty of Three Light Towers reaches its epitome on the 15th day of lunar 8th month when the moon is at its brightest. Lights in the three towers will create the illusion of a total of about 5 moons (3 in the light towers, 1 moon and the moon’s reflection in the lake).

(The three light towers)

Broken bridge is a bridge which seems to be broken during winter when snow covers half of the bridge. This is also the bridge where the love story of White Snake and Xu Xian started.

Su Bridge is most beautiful in spring.

(Su Bridge)

Long Bridge is only an average 4 meters long. It has derived its name from the love story of Liang Shan Bo and Zhu Ying Tai where they have sent each other off on this bridge. Arising from their reluctance to part with each other, this sending off took a long time as if the bridge was very long.

Lei Feng Pagoda was originally known as Huang Fei Pagoda. As it was built on Lei Feng Mountain, so it became known as Lei Feng Pagoda subsequently. The top of the Pagoda is plated in gold. It was the Pagoda where White Snake has been captured. The original pagoda has collapsed in 1924. The current pagoda was rebuilt in 2000. Some people actually believed that with the collapse of the pagoda, White Snake was finally released.

(In the Park of Willows with the Lei Feng Pagoda in the background)

The Park of Willows used to be an imperial garden due to the lush willows lining the lakeside and the happy chirping of the birds can be heard.

Nan Ping Bell is located in Jing Ci Temple. Jing Ci Temple is one of the temples where Ji Gong has once resided in. There was a fire which burnt down the temple. Ji Gong was tasked to rebuild the temple. He has transported the timber required via the rivers and through the well in the temple. However, when the abbot told Ji Gong that there was enough timber, he has left a log in the well. To this day, this log remained standing in the well. This famous well is the Old Well for Timber Transport (Yun4 Mu4 Gu2 Jing3).

(Nan Ping Bell in the Jing Ci Temple)

There is a Chinese saying which states that reading a hundred thousand of books will never be as good as walking a hundred thousand miles. Having read so much about West Lake, I am finally in this very place to experience for myself and be mesmerized by the magnificence of West Lake. West Lake offers different views in the various seasons and in the day and night. There is no one best season or time to admire it. Each season offers different views. However, many will agree that West Lake in the rain is more beautiful than on a sunny day as the rain added a cloud of sadness to its beauty.