Zhejiang University, China 2013

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.

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Beautiful tree lined Yuquan Campus, at Zhegiang University is my home for three weeks and I’m beginning to feel settled here. There are many international and local students based here. There are several canteens where a freshly cooked meal rarely costs more then a pound sterling.

I’m eating a lot of rice, meat and veggies and there is plenty to choose from.

The jet lag means that I wake up bright and early at 6am so I often wander around the campus occasionally trying out my bad Chinese on local students and in the shops and supermarket.

Its a safe environment but you have to watch out for the bikes and scooters, silent but deadly: they rarely have lights at night, don’t worry about which side of the road they drive on and if they can use the pavement, so much the better. They all have horns, bells and whistles and like to sound them at the last possible moment when approaching. Great sport.

The local students are fairly relaxed about seeing foreign students but we do get stared at a lot. And at tourist sites people stop and stare and we often get our photographs taken.

I wandered out at 7am to look for the statue of Chairman Mao. The trees were just beginning to put out new leaf and shedding a fine brown dust, and the air was misty and fresh, perfect conditions for taking a few pictures. I saw neatly stacked lines of bicycles along the pavement and the road sweepers were out trying to clear the heavy brown dust that seems to get everywhere.

Under Mao a group of ladies were working their way through a Tai-Jia routine. I joined in but struggled to keep up. They were politely amused by my efforts.

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Impressions of China

My first impressions of China as I left Hangzhou airport was bright light through heavy rain. It was .8am and I left snowy Manchester the previous day at 9am; a long flight, the longest I’ve ever done. Slumped in a bus with other Study China students we drove into Hangzhou city towards Yuquan Campus on Zhejiang University, our home for the next three weeks.

We drove along a large straight busy motorway, past a flat landscape of endless straight fields and canals, past quirky three storey apartment blocks and past some of the largest and, frankly, most depressing apartment blocks I have ever seen. My wide angled lens couldn’t cope and neither could I. Plain, ugly, brutal, like an Ancoats warehouse on steroids.

And then I saw the bicycles, the scooters, the umbrellas, the rain coats, hundreds of them at every junction, in bright friendly, human colours: purple, blue, yellow, green. And then I noticed the flowers in bloom, in large beds along the roadside, neatly trimmed hedges in contrasting shades of bronze, copper and gold and avenues of trees beginning to leaf.

After settling into our dorm rooms we met several local students who will be helping us during our stay. We walked around the campus, were shown a local supermarket, some banks, saw a huge statue of Chairman Mao on the campus and ended up at Wallmart and MacDonald’s. I’m not in Kansas anymore…

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Museum Culture in Hanghzou continued.

Hangzhou Museum

China Seal Museum, West Lake

Stunning examples of carved seals and calligraphy.

Zhejiang Provincial Museum

Shufa – Chinese Calligraphy

Large complex with a variety of exhibitions, including pottery, calligraphy, and art work by Hangzhou born artist Chang Shuhong.

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Museum Culture

So, where to begin with China? I’ve had just over two weeks here and my time has been jam packed with wonderful experiences.

I have taken hundreds of photos so I want to make a selection here and show you some of the goodies.

First things first. China is beautiful, the people are friendly and its not at all like I imagined it might be. If you ever get the chance to visit go for it you will not regret it.

I went on an outward bound trip when I was 18 years old, it was a formative experience for me and China feels the same. My world has doubled.

But don’t take my word for it, have a look. I have managed to visit a few of Hangzhou’s amazing museums on my trip and here are a few of my highlights.

Liangzhu Museum

Displaying remarkable examples of early jade cong and bi, excavated from a 5,000 year site.The collection is housed in a beautiful building, with courtyards and pools filled with carp.

China National Silk Museum, Zheigiang.

Near the beautiful West Lake, one of the first state-level museums in China, and the largest centre for textile collection, exhibition, conservation, research and education in the country.

Hangzhou Museum

On the south side of West Lake, beside He Fang old street, an amazing collection of pottery, painting, calligraphy.

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