Christmas weekend away in Hangzhou

We decided to have a small break from our apartment and spend the weekend at a new youth hostel , VERY close to West Lake.

"Hangzhou Inlake Youth Hostel, located at NO.5 Lv Yang Road, near by Nan Shan Road,with traditional decoration, only a few seconds walk to the West Lake. Quiet and comfortable Cafe Bar close to the reception, serving coffee and beverage, You can spend your leisure time with friends here, lovely music, always served with a bright smile. Nice inner courtyard and a open balcony with lake-view for public use. "

Such a peacefull and quiet hostel, we will have to go again , hopefull with better transport next time .

This is what we used to get there .( actually was quicker than a car because of the heavy Christmas traffic)

and this is what we should have used for transport !!! maybe next time.

You know you have been in China too long when.......

1) everyone hangs their washing on the balcony to dry and you do the same, not even caring who sees those "smalls". [ we are on a main road with balcony very visible from street!!!!

2)  using another squat toilet doesn't even raise an eyebrow , they are everywhere . GET USED TOO IT
3) wife buys a pair of shoes with more bling than material and you agree she looks great in them .
4) spitting in the street doesn't faze you, even tempted to do this yourself [i have a bad cold!!]
5) the idea of employing a local to wait in line  to buy tickets ,[train/bus / at the doctors etc.]  seems a perfectly logical idea.

6) no longer know how to use a knife and fork and get annoyed when restaurant staff don't
    automatically give you chopsticks.
7) pushing to the front of any line seems second nature.

8) screaming at a local because they"stole" your taxi is perfectly normal behaviour.

9) talking Chinese to my non Chinese speaking wife , all i get in reply is  听不懂

10）start to enjoy congee for breakfast [a Chinese style porridge -hot soggy rice floating in lots of water]

11) look forward to another rice cake [ pulverised rice , shaped into loaf and sliced with clag glue used to maintain shape] .

12) purchasing a glass drink bottle to be able to sip hot green tea leaves all day .

13) enjoy green tea at every occasion

14) acquire a taste for lychees.

15) happy to spit bones etc onto the table when eating.

16). You go to the supermarket/deli in your padded pyjamas.

Just another day in China

 Our apartment is almost perfect, the location could not be better, only 100 metres from Zhejiang University. Theres at least 3 cafes below us and numerous restuarants within 10 minutes walk from our place. However there is one small problem. The nieghbour that lives above us in apartment 603, at least I think that is where she lives. On reflexion it could be a male but i doubt it. Every day and we mean every day we hear her running around her apartment in what we think are her high heel shoes . There are a maximum of 9 steps YES we have counted them!!  back and forth from one end of her apartment to the other , Please remember that the apartment ( if the same as ours) is only about 8metres x 8 metres.This racket goes on for hours, we thought she was running late for work every day and was quickly getting ready  , bedroom to bathroom and back and forward again and again as girls do. . 

Today I decided I had enough and posted the following notice onto her door.[ i`m counting on the fact that there is a very minimum chance that a 180cm muscle bound guy lives there ( remember we are in China hahha) .

Hello neighbour,

Christmas is coming soon, can I buy you a pair of soft shoes. Everyday I hear your shoes on the floor , it seems you are running  inside your apartment. Why? 

So, can I buy you a pair of soft shoes or can you please stop running?

 

韦恩

503 号

你好邻居，

圣诞节很快来临，能我买您一个对软的鞋子。 每天我在地板，它上听见您的鞋子似乎您跑在您的公寓里面。 为什么？ 

如此，我可以买您一个对软的鞋子或您能请停止跑？

韦恩

  what she should wear

what we think she wears

Bus travel in Hangzhou

When we are not riding our bike we resort to public transport which is actually very efficient and inexpensive. Yesterday we dediced to show two UWA exchange students directions to one of several wholesale clothes markets. These are huge multi storey shops divided into 3 metre x 3 metre cubicles selling a vast range of clothes  ( all size 4 with more "bling" than material). After spending about one hour there we decide to take the bus to SiJiQing , the largest clothes market in Hangzhou , there are about 40 of these multi story buildings , creating a huge area of shops and shoppers.. most are wholesale and we tread carefully down the narrow aisles as trolleys laden with monstrous bags trundle past us, there is no slowing of speed as the "trolley drivers" yell out some sort of warning ["get out of my way you stupid foreigners" is what they could be saying for all we know] Anyhow actually buying  is another story, before we even begin our market journey I need to relay the bus travelling experience.

The bus to the first market takes about 3/4 of an hour this was uneventful as we get on at the bus terminal,  we are first on the bus and there is plenty of seats so this trip e get to sit down.We always sit near houmen ( back door) as you can only exit from the back.. The buses in China are very frequent, very reliable because bus drivers have a schedule to work to they are also. very cheap usually about 1yuan. although the prices on all buses went up to 2 yuan on the  1st December (officially Winter) because the heaters are now operating. the buses only accepts coins as payment , deposited into a steel tray adjacent the driver , we try to use the copious amount of 1 cent coins we seems to have ( 1mao) . We notice that even when the buses become crowded as more and more passenger get on ,everyone makes a seat available for oldies. There is often a battle with Christine and older Chinese women , each determined to allow the other a seat ,thus proving who is the older. Christine always takes the seat , the poor old Chinese lady smiles triumphantly. SHE HAS WON .

Waiting for a bus is interesting, everyone keeps stepping out onto the road checking its arrival , despite there being and electronic notice displaying arrival times. as there are limited seats , as soon as the bus stops ( perhaps even before it stops) there is a mad scramble to get on , first on gets the remaining seat, despite the bus being full people still crush the doorway. One neat trick we have discovered is slyly sticking one hand into the doorway and dropping some coins into the metal box announcing  I`VE PAID SO YOU MUST LET ME ON !!  Very resourceful people the Chinese. 

The bus finally arrives and we are almost the last to get on ( we have this bad western society idea of being polite and letting other people on first). Before the bus even starts to move there is a huge commotion , someone claims his wallet has been stolen, within 2 minutes 20 peole are having a loud discussion on how he lost his wallet. Both the victim and the driver phone the police. Were not going anywhere and to prove this point the driver closes the doors. We are now stuck inside with barely room to breath let alone stand , people want to get off   THEY DIDN'T STEAL HIS WALLET. Passengers at the back surge forward trying to exit , those at the front ( us) try to tell them the doors are closed , arguments with each other and the driver ensue. Very quickly the police arrive only to find that the theft victim had been locked outside when the doors closed and has now left the scene .Many of us exit the bus just so we can breath, after some discussion between the driver and police we all get back on insisting that we have already paid, so you must let us on ,. hahha  We leave the bus stop  and head towards our next destination , the driver seems unperturbed by the recent events.However that is about to change . There is now more room at the front of the bus and I'm trying out my Chinese with the driver. Not much success there so i give up and turn to talk with Christine, as i do i spot a puppy straining its head to see out of a shopping bag , others notice and begin to pat the cute dog. This comes to the drivers attention and she quickly tell the passenger seated behind her, that dogs are not allowed on bus and she has to get off at the next stop. I suggest to the driver its only a small ( and cute ) puppy , she said ITS STILL A DOG!!  , and tells the passenger she or the dog is bad ( i couldn't quite understand which one she meant) At the next traffic lights the passenger and dog ( inside the  recyclable shopping bag exit the bus , as she does a man waiting for his bus almost falls over laughing as he sees the dog. Our driver then delays us for a few minutes longer as she enters into a  discussion with this complete stranger about dogs and buses.The words meiyou ( not have ) and buhao ( not good ) are mentioned a lot. Christine and I are laughing so much at this, the driver finally decides to continue our journey. Ten minutes later we are at SijiQing markets having enjoyed ( endured) another travel experience.

Posted by Wayne
.

The Collective Consciousness of the Chinese

I found this in a Surviving China magazine and it is exactly what we have experienced but the writer has put in into words for us. The next exciting episode is about train transport.
In my infinatemins late. I truly believed that it was as packed as it possibly could be. Alas, at the next station another dozen people got on. At the next stop two got off and ten stepped on.. The passengers squeezed and elbowed their way down the crammed aisle. The ruthless ME-FIRST mentality that generally seems to dominate entry and exit procedures on any kind of transportation in China was reaching new and unbearable heights.. "seriously" I thought to myself , "why not show a little bit of consideration".
The passengers were swaying and wobbling in involuntary unison, like one single organism, and in the midst of our little 'centipede' a father and his little son had to get off. What had just a moment ago seemed like pure selfishness turned into subconscious collaboration; the teenager behind me took one little ant step to the right, I squeezed into the minimal hole he left open and the women in front pressed up against me. Thus, inch by inch, with elbows unintentionally bumping into faces and people squealing with discomfort, a narrow walkway appeared to let the father and son through.
I reckoned it was the presence of the child that bought about the goodwill of the passengers. But as I looked around i saw the same pattern repeated station after station. All of a sudden I realized that the shoving and accidental head butting was not a bad case of "ME FIRST " mentality. Rather the collective consciousness of the bus organism that sent out a signal
Saying " this person needs to get off, make it happen!" and all at once every passenger was shuffling and huffing to get out of one another's way.

So just remember that you are just two legs in a jostling centipede. And at that, a centepede whose only intention is to get everybody with somewhere to go onto the bus, and guarantee that everyone can actually get off when they reach their destination. So PUSH AWAY.

By Alex Hoe berg
Survive China October. 2011
Posted by Chris

Saturday in Hangzhou

 Last night was -1 degree so a sleep in this morning was in order after riding home from dinner at 9pm the night before we then decided it was time to get out and about in Hangzhou. Riding our bike really means me peddling for a few minutes , letting the battery take over and then coasting for the next 100 metres. gives me  a little exercise and covers a lot more territory. These bikes are of course made for 40 kg Chinese people , not for the 150 + kgs of two fat westerners.  All was going good for the first kilometre then disaster!! I had forgotton to recharge the battery!. Now i had to really pedal while Christine is "resting" on the seat behind me and  snuggling up to keep warm We get a lot of looks from locals as we weave in and out of the traffic and many pedestrians. Of course traffic in China is on the right hand side, often confusing for us , added to this slight problem is the fact that traffic turning right can go at any time  if the road is clear. Even when we have right of way!!  . so as we casually pedal the 100 metres across these enormous intersections , buses and taxis constantly overshadow us.With no battery power this is even more fun than usual Christine moves even closer to me as adouble length bus misses us by inches.

We have decided to visit Booku this morning , a huge bookshop that is maybe 2-3 kilometres from home . Heaps of books and best of all they also have a coffee shop inside. After my peddling for 20 minutes and Christine sleeping and keeping warm on the back seat, we arrive at Booku, Right next door is a battery recharge place. These are everywhere in Hangzhou, pull in ,attach poweer plug , a few coins in the machine and wait 20 minutes. Hey presto  more power.

 Before going Booku we decide to check out the local markest adjacent to the recharge battery place.While waiting for the battery to charge I buy a magaazine which includes another magazine and a free 2012 diary for 5rmb (90c). We need to have a new front  door key cut  , someone lost theirs!!!  10 rmb and 2 minutes later , another problem fixed. We bought some local  food to eat ( it is cold, maybe 4 degrees by now. ( Todays maximum was a crisp 6 degrees, but felt like -6 as i was riding). Christine spots a shoe shop. I am using the term shop very liberally here, often they are just a leanto off the side of apartments, at least this one had lights inside. 20 minutes and 100rmb ( $15) later Christine has a new pair of fluffy lined boots  to keep her feet warm we then bought a fluffy pair of innersoles just the shot. she is now 5mm taller.

Next move , onto Booku we  park our bike out the front, along with hundreds of others. Booku has 3 floors of books, many in English. I find about 10 of them within a few minutes , most are only a few dollars, i could buy hundreds of them , space is now becoming a problem , how to get 50 kgs of books home ???? in a bike basket. Wayne also purchased very cheap CDs and DVDs   By this time we are getting hungry, so time to leave Booku and head home with lunch on the way home.

Wuzhen

Sunday morning we were picked up in a mini van at 7pm and the van continued to pick up other passengers for an hour . We were then taken to a parked tour bus and unloaded for about a 1.5hr drive to Wuzhen. On arrival as usual on a weekend in China the car park, actually BUS park had at least 30/40 bus loads of tourist waiting to enter the historical town. Not before being taken to a Tea road house where you were ushered into a room and were given a sample of hot tea with the idea to purchase, this took 40minutes and not alot of purchasing from what we could see. Every corner shop in china sells tea so it wasn't a special brand.

Chinese people say that unless you visit the Great Wall then you haven't been to China. For any visit south of the Yangtze River; one place not to be missed is the town of Wuzhen.
Located in the centre of the six ancient towns south of Yangtze river, Wuzhen displays its two-thousand-year history in its ancient stone bridges floating on mild water, its stone pathways between the mottled walls and its delicate wood carvings. Also, setting it apart from other towns, it gives a unique experience through its profound cultural background.

It is said that people have lived in Wuzhen for 7000 years and over time it has produced a galaxy of talents. Mao Dun, an outstanding modern Chinese writer, was born here and his masterpiece, 'The Lin's Shop', describes vividly the life of Wuzhen. In 1991, Wuzhen was authorized as the Provincial Ancient Town of History and Culture, so ranking first among the six ancient towns south of the Yangtze River.

Wuzhen's uniqueness lies in its layout, being 2 kilometers long and divided into six districts. These are: Traditional Workshops District, Traditional Local-Styled Dwelling Houses District, Traditional Culture District, Traditional Food and Beverage District, Traditional Shops and Stores District, and Water Township Customs and Life District. Wandering along the east-west-east circuit created by these six districts, you will enjoy the atmosphere of the traditional cultures and the original ancient features of the town that have been preserved intact.
The journey home was slower due to weekend traffic , we stopped off at a silk shop which was within walking distance from the universityand arrived back about 4pm.
The whole day cost us Y125 = $20 each approx. You get alot for your money in China.

Yellow Dragon Cave & Folk Custom Garden

There were no Chinese classes today, so after two hours of study we decided to visit the Yellow Dragon Cave and surrounding Gardens , but first we found a great place for lunch. Great food , great service and only aud$18 for both of us!!

 The weather was kind to us today , maybe about 15 degrees but with almost no wind. The place wasn't crowded but we saw many people gathering with friends to chat, play cards, dance and sing.

Among the gardens was this location with stone tablets depicting much sought after virtues. Standing on these tablets and throwing coins into the centre while making a wish. Christine succeeded twice while my efforts were way off target. :" Coins" are purchased from a nearby kiosk , someone is making money from this!!

 

 

 

This terraced area ( Wish- realizing  terrace)  had numerous chains with heart shaped padlocks, which sworn brothers ,lovers and old friends could place a note or keepsake inside and fix the heart uniting  padlock to the chains. 

Eight Diagram Field 八卦田

Eight Diagram Field Relics Park is hidden north of the Qiantang river and south of West Lake. This fresh and quiet place away from Hangzhou has few people walking around as the surrounding hills shield it from the development of the inner city.
The Eight Diagram Field dates back to the Song Dynasty, when the Emperor moved to Hangzhou and created this field to farm for himself. In reality, farmers were paid to work his field, but the crops that form the octagonal shape are still tended today. In this area there are several walkways and bridges, as well as old-style markets to buy vegetables. Several water wheels and wooden irrigation treadmills can be found throughout the landscape and are still put to use today. Eight kinds of crops are planted in this field.
The shape of the field is not easy to distinguish at ground level, a climb to Jade emperor Hill gives you the best view. Although we didn't reach the top after 1000 steps we were able to get a magnificent view from a tea house after a rest of course, It was worth the climb on a gorgeous autumn day.
As a gardener this place was magic.

 a few of the mnay workers that we could see tending the vegetable garden.

Climbing to the top to take photos ment climbing 1000 steps,  some photos along the way .

Sunday in Hangzhou

Seeing as we have been here for two months we decided it was time to go to church! So we get up  nice and early to catch the number 16 bus, positive that I knew the directions.  Why is it that distance on maps is sooo much further when you are walking AND running late.  We eventually find this beautiful old church.
Si Cheng Church , built in 1927 ,  is the second largest Protestant Church in Hangzhou. During the Cultural Revolution, the church was occupied by the Hangzhou Library. In 1981, according to the revised Chinese Government Religious Policy, Si-Cheng Church was reopened. The number of Christians increased every year. Now, there are three services every Sunday.
 We estimated that there were close to two thousand people at the morning service. Those that were not able to find seats in the main auditorium were accommodated in adjoining buildings with televisions screening the service. As we were late I expected we could sneak into the back row somewhere. NOT so!!! A well meaning usher ( woman) led us right down the centre isle to the front row, where the usher asked people to move so that we could be seated!! . Fortunately everyone was standing, singing hymns so I hope it wasn't too noticeable.  Ok, so we were the only non-Chinese people attending church and were escorted to the front , then politely asked if we need an English translation service and an English hymn book. I politely asked for a hymn book and sat down on hard wooden pews. (a prerequisite for protestant churches).
The Hymns were familiar, well the tunes were , so with 2000 people singing in Chinese we join in the singing in English!!  I  hope no-one could hear us! The Hymns are a collection of old western originated songs, interspersed with some local hymns and gospel songs. According to the Hymn book several songs have been adapted from tradition songs by the Miao ethnic people. ( ok, so i read the book when everyone had their eyes closed.) The hymn books were produced by the Chinese Christian Council and Three Self Movement . This is a Chinese Christian plan for church control as opposed to western influence and refers to 'self-governance, self-support, self-propagation' (自治、自养、自传).The indiginisation of Chinese Christian Churches was evident by the roll taken by the local Hangzhou people.
Interesting the ushers ( perhaps 6 or more ) were all woman , with a woman leading the service and a woman preaching, I could not see any men in leadership capacity, maybe today was a special day , further investigation is required!. The preaching was from the old testament reading , with many of the congregation taking notes. ( Christine spotted several younger woman covertly texting or playing angry birds on their phones)  The majority of the congregation were 50 years old plus with more woman than men.( Christine says 70+ years old)
After the service a quick look around shows a connection with the local community , hot and cold water  was provided afterwards and we noticed they also provided a health clinic service, perhaps an indicated of the age group. We couldn't help but notice the pathways around the church were gopher friendly as we were almost bowled over by three run away gophers.

Wudangshan

After driving for several hours we arrive at Wudangshan in time for lunch where we treat our driver , his mother and his wife`s mother to dinner .(Stefanie`s mother) before we make our way to the hotel.

Grandmothers getting to know each other.
We stay at Wudangshan Jianguo Hotel which is situated at the foot of the mountain alongside the main entrance. It had the MOST comfortable bed Ive tried in China!! At almost ￥700/night i guess they should be good. Pure luxury  (Chris)

Wudangshan is one of several mountains in Chinese that has special significance to Daoists and attracts many visitors , both local and foreign to visit the many temples, have their fortune told and to learn the many forms of martial arts . Tai chi is one of many that was founded at this place. Wudangshan Martial arts community are building a huge new complex.

Daoist monk at Wudangshan dispensing wisdom and fortune telling.

Daoist monks.

New martial arts centre in Wudangshan  (under constrution) being built alongside the hotel we stayed in , would like to come back here when this is finished.

Entrance to mountian scenic departure area, with many small shops  all selling similar junk  ( oops valuable trinkets). The bus terminal is also located here .  in order to get the first bus and arrive at the chairlift area at the top ( almost top) of the mountain i had to line up at the ticket office at 5.00am  !!! It was worth it to arrive early and not have to wait for several hours to buy a chairlift ticket. The bus takes about 30 minutes to climb the 18 klms .  The road is very steep and windy  ...  several locals were travel sick after about 500 metres !!! not pleasant. However  once getting to the top it was worth it . SO many temples and places to see.

So many temples but oh,  so many people too.  This was october 5th an important festival date and also in the middle of the Chinese national week holiday.

Chinese people love the colour red !!!

Prayer is an essential part of visiting Wudangshan.

Children everwhere enjoy a holiday from school !!!

Enjoying the sunshine at Wudangshan .

 Christine and I trying our red ribbons to the tree. Visitors throw the ribbons as high as possiblle , if they saty on the tree it wil bring them good luck  ( it had already bought good luck to the shop that sells many 1000`s of these ribbons !!)

Chrisitne fixing our "heart shaped locks " to a post at Wudangshan summit.  These symbolise love between two people. There are many thousands of these fixed to chains on the stairs leading to the summit.