Impressions of China 2
Now that I’ve been is China for nearly three weeks I have a good idea of what Hangzhou is like and on the whole the main impression is the size. Everything is on a massive scale, the people, the buildings, and the pollution. Last week a group of us stood for an hour in the rush hour traffic trying to hail a taxi. There were plenty of taxis but all full. The air was thick with noxious fumes and we felt sick. Many people here wear masks but most don’t. I wondered about the health of taxi drivers, bus drivers etc who drive around in this all day? It is a problem and can only get worse as these mega cities grow even larger.
Hangzhou is considered to be one of the most attractive places to live and lots of tourists visit from China and abroad and I can see why. There is a lot to do here, shops, nightlife and beautiful temples, parks, galleries and museums. The local tea Longjing (dragon well tea) is very famous, I’ve tried it a few times now and it’s very refreshing. Still, I have only scratched the surface during my stay.
One of my main reasons for choosing Zhejiang University was what I read about West Lake and the fact that there is an Art Academy in Hangzhou. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be a very active contemporary arts scene, well if it exists its keeping a very low profile. I’ve been told that I would have a better chance of meeting artists and going to openings in Shanghi and Beijing. Another trip is needed and more thorough research before hand, me thinks!
We had a boat trip to West Lake and to see some of the islands, the lake is large but you could walk round it in a day. It is said that it is best to see West Lake in the rain, the sun or the snow and that day we saw it in the rain. It’s mostly man made and not very deep, the banks are lined with flowering cherry, plum and the willow trees that characterise Chinese painting for me; looking beautiful reflected in the limpid waters of the lake. Another pond in a pavilion contained gold fish, another familiar motif from Chinese painting.
We also managed to visit Morgan Mountain (Morganshan) to see wild flowers, rice fields, tea plantations and bamboo forests. In the mountain we visited the summer residence of Chairman Mao. Interesting, especially the picture of Stalin in the background.
