Silk Museum and Jade Emperor Hill

We went on another group excursion that started off at the Silk Museum. On the way to the museum, we came across this fashionable lad trying to escape the heat. (The rolled up shirt is a common tactic to keep cool in China.)

Hangzhou is known for its superior silk, and it was interesting to learn about the production of silk. First, the worms are fed mulberry leaves until they are ready to spin cocoons. Then the worms spin silk cocoons and then silk is collected. Then the silk is spun and woven using various wheels and looms.

After lunch, we started our trek up Jade Emperor Hill even though it was very hot. Near the top there is a ledge carved into the hill that you are supposed to try to shuffle across. We all tried it, but it was more difficult than it looked because the wall behind is slightly slanted.

We could also see this octagon shaped garden from the top of the hill. It changes throughout the season as different plants bloom and are replaced.

Next Lars crossed an item off his China bucket list–climbing bamboo.

We climbed down the hill and found some locals out enjoying the weather before heading home.

My Parents in Hangzhou

Once we were back in Hangzhou, I was able to act as tour guide for my parents while taking an extra day off from class. We went to all of the best local spots including the hills behind campus, the Botanical Garden, the tea fields, and my favorite restaurants. We started off with the familiar hike up the hill behind campus that ends in the Botanical Garden.

In the place of blossoms…

we now had leaves. (You can see the same little shrub in each photo for reference)

There were already some baby plums!

We saw many colorful millipedes crawling across the paths that day. Some had sadly been stepped on.

We then went across the street to the Bamboo Forest. No visit is complete without a bamboo photo op.

We also went to the Longjing (Dragon Well) tea fields. We were there past the prime tea picking time; workers had actually pruned many of the plants. The surrounding area was still beautiful though. We also got to go to a tea tasting in the Tea Museum.

On the day I actually had to go to class, my parents explored the West Lake area on their own. Hangzhou became my mom’s favorite spot in China because of the many,  many gardens (beating out Beijing, Dalian, Guilin, Shanghai, Xi’an, and Yangshuo). It was fun to get to show them my Chinese home in person.

Another Day in Yangshuo

We arrived at the travel agency in the morning to meet up with our guide for the first leg of our itinerary. We rode bikes through town and over dirt roads to the start of our river cruise. We were led by our guide on a moped. We were instructed not to stop for photos or we might lose our guide, but I did manage to get some shaky pics while cycling.

Pedaling through the muddy spots was a bit rough sometimes, but we made it to the river. Each bamboo boat had seats for two, and a guide with a pole stood in the back. We cruised on the Yulong River which was not quite as famous as the Li River, but the travel agent had assured us we would like it better.

Every once in a while, there were small “waterfalls” followed by floating stands from which they tried to sell you pictures very much like an amusement park would. It was impressive they were able to hook up all their equipment on the raft.

Dad did end up buying a photo of us that was hilarious and they even laminated it for us. We were not however tempted by the shouts of “Hello, beer! Hello, water!” We were popular as foreigners even on the river, and I caught people taking pictures of us from other rafts. Once when a raft was fairly close to ours, a mother even made her daughter switch seats to be closer to us and practice her English. Another man wanted to demonstrate that he knew the words for bamboo and water.

After the cruise, we found our bicycles that had been trucked down for us. We then biked along the road to our second attraction–the Big Banyan Tree. This might give you an idea of how popular it was.

We also saw several fishing boats being pulled out for the day. In the area around Guilin, they use birds called cormorants to help them fish. Fishermen tie snares around the birds’ necks to keep them from swallowing large fish, and when they catch the fish they bring them back to the boat.

I also saw my first rice paddy up close. I don’t know about you, but before I got to China, I kind of thought rice paddies would be everywhere. They are actually only in the southern part of China.

Our next stop was Moon Hill. We ate lunch at the Moon Hill Cafe before making the climb up the hill. We had one of favorite dishes–eggplant.

Our hike to the top was quite difficult, as it was so very hot and humid (the heat index was at least 100°F). Luckily for us, there was an old Chinese lady that came over to fan us. She followed us almost all the way up and even found a good walking stick she tried to give to Mom. Once at the top, she began trying to sell water and other drinks from her cooler backpack.

That's her on the right.

Only a short while after reaching the top, a storm rolled in and it began pouring. We were mostly sheltered under the rock and joined the rest of the people at the top to wait for a break in the rain.

The rain reduced visibility a bit. Yes, this really is the same spot.

The rain didn’t seem to be letting up, so we decided to just head back down in the rain. It was nice to be cooler but still difficult to walk down the slippery steps. We stopped again at the cafe, but this time it was for some hot tea. On the bike back, we stopped to look at some scenery when I was approached by a news crew. They filmed a short interview with me that included questions about my inspiration for coming to Yangshuo. We never did see if I made it on tv, but it was rather funny.

Butterfly Cave was next on our agenda. It was the most crowded attraction yet still my least favorite. It was a good example of the strange things Chinese tourists love though. The whole time we were in a slowly moving line. We started out in a multi-color lighted cave. They had many (natural?) formations that looked like butterflies.

After the main part of the cave, there was another cavern filled with bells. You could pay one kuai for a mallet and hammer away at the bells as much as you could until you reached the end. We then emerged into another line. Next we would get to walk across a bridge high up between two karst hills. The hold up was that they could only allow a certain number of people on the bridge at a time.

On the other side, we slowly descended the hill until we we reached  a show where you could take photos with different Chinese minorities dressed in their traditional clothing. After going through a gift shop, the tour of Butterfly Cave ended. The only souvenir we bought was a green popsicle with what looked like a pea on the wrapper. We were curious to find out what it tasted like. Mom thought it tasted like soybean, but it wasn’t until our trip to Beijing that I learned it was actually mung bean. Either way it wasn’t my favorite. Across the road from the cave, we found some water buffalo and tried to get close for a picture.

We biked all the way back to Yangshuo. We ended our long day with some pizza and a little more shopping. Then next morning, we took a cab to the airport and flew back to Hangzhou.

Onward to Yangshuo

We awoke in the morning and lugged all of our stuff to the bus stop to buy a ticket. We then had to wait for the departure time, and we bought some street food for breakfast. The bus ride to Yangshuo was uneventful but beautiful. The bus dropped us off in the middle of town, and we walked around trying to find someone to take us to our hotel for a while (while being followed by someone on a bike that wanted to take our luggage for us).

After arriving at our hotel, we found out the difficulty was not yet over as they had no record of our reservation. After much calling and finding someone to speak English, they declared they were full and they couldn’t accommodate us. They didn’t seem very willing to help us either. Knowing that it was a holiday, we didn’t know if we would be able to find lodging on such a short notice, but we eventually found out that they a triple room available. They also said it would be much too small, but after looking at it we found it had three double beds in it. After the hotel debacle, we began exploring the city. Yangshuo would probably be considered a village by Chinese standards, and it was mostly a tourist town that drew Chinese and foreign tourists alike.

Because it was a tourist town, there were many small shops. I had a good opportunity to use some Chinese while bargaining. In other situations,  if I spoke some Chinese, people would assume I was fluent in Chinese and rattle off things I couldn’t understand. In Yangshuo, they seemed to understand I only knew a little Chinese and used simple phrases mixed with English. We made some purchases, and one lady even patted Lars on the back after an especially impressive bargain.

The shopping street

We also walked down to the banks of the Li River, a river known for its scenery that can be found on the twenty yuan note.

Water Buffalo in the distance

Back in the shopping area we spotted this ugly blot on the horizon:

It might at least win the award of the most scenic McDonald's I've ever seen.

We ate at a Japanese chain restaurant instead, and after supper caught a glimpse of the only blue sky of the weekend.

After eating, we stopped at one of the many travel agencies to inquire about a river cruise the next day. The lady spoke English very well and spent quite some time explaining all of our options. We decided on a package that included not only the cruise but also biking, hiking, and a cave. We walked back to our hotel and even got to see a beautiful sunset.

Holiday in Guilin

Lars and I had a long weekend for the May Day holiday, so we decided that it would be a good time for my parents to come visit and take a trip with us to Guilin and Yangshuo. We planned on meeting up at the Hangzhou airport, and as we had not had any contact with my parents since they arrived in China, we hoped they had made it to Hangzhou alright by themselves. Lars and I set out early in the morning to catch a cab before the rush hour. Apparently we aren’t very good at saying airport, but the cab driver eventually made gestures and noises like an airplane and we headed out. After waiting for a bit at the airport, we were glad to find out that my parents really had made it to China.

Hangzhou and the Guilin area are highlighted with purple dots.

We landed in Guilin and took a taxi to check  into our hotel. It was a bit rainy, but we could still see the beautiful hills sticking up everywhere called karst hills. We still had the whole afternoon and evening to wander, and first we walked along one of the many city canals.

We would be seeing many boats like this in the next few days.

We scoped out the bus station so we would be ready to buy tickets to Yangshuo the next morning. We then headed in the direction of Elephant Trunk Hill, one of the apparently many hills in the area that look like an elephant. We had to duck into a couple shops to avoid downpours and also found these pagodas.

At the elephant hill, they have it set up so you can’t actually get a good look at the hill unless you pay to enter the park. Luckily the fee wasn’t too steep. Once inside, we were rewarded with this view.

A Chinese couple seemed to want a photo with Lars and me, but we were in for a surprise when they actually handed their baby to us. The baby was not very happy, however, and the photo op was lost. We began climbing the hill, and it was quite lush.

I promise Mom and Dad were there, but this is the only proof I have.

The views from the top were nice even though it was hazy.

After we descended carfully, it was almost dark and we needed to find a place to eat. We walked by a number of restaurants with all kinds of caged animals outside including buckets of sea creatures, ducks, snakes, and unidentified furry critters. We ended up eating a place that did not have these fresh options available though. We had some delicious food that culminated in a dessert of fried bananas. On our walk back to our hotel, we passed some outdoor karaoke by the canal but didn’t partake.

Not Done Yet…

Even though I have been home safe for over a week, I still plan (or rather, hope) to catch up on my blogging from my last month or so in China. Some observations upon re-entry into the US:

• Beds are really soft here. I felt like my bed was swallowing me up the first night.  Actually I still feel that way.
• Everything is expensive. Our first purchase on US soil was made at Arby’s in the MSP airport. We bought two milks and a large curly fry. It cost more than an expensive meal for two in China.
• I don’t have to use cash everywhere I go. This might explain why I haven’t even bothered to sort out the three currencies that are currently in my wallet.
• Everything is so empty–especially the roads. It’s weird not having bike/moped lanes plus sidewalks everywhere.
• Stores are not extremely over-staffed. When I actually needed a helpful smile in every aisle, I had to search. (There really does seem to be a worker in every aisle in China.)
• There are water fountains here. There aren’t too many in China since you can’t drink the tap water. The ubiquitous electric kettles found in China are lacking here though.
• I have too much stuff. After living out of a suitcase for more than four months, I don’t know what to do with all the stuff I have here.

I’m sure there’s more I could mention, but that was what popped into my head first. Overall, I am glad to be home : )

Tea–it’s my cup of tea.

I’m not really sure where that saying comes from, nor am I sure the exact origins of tea. I just know it’s been around for a long time, especially in China. The tea fields around Hangzhou produce Longjing cha, or Dragon Well tea. It is a green tea and one of the most famous in China. The National Tea Museum is even located in Hangzhou, and it was our first stop.

The museum was situated in the valley where most of the tea grows. The tea grows best in this location because it doesn’t get too much sun and thus takes longer to mature. Each year around April is when the majority of the tea is picked. Only the small, new leaves are picked, and after the tea is harvested, the bushes are pruned with a chainsaw. Longjing tea is also renowned because it is mostly hand-processed–picked by hand and roasted by hand.

Here it is: The Dragon Well

At the museum, I learned that the original tea plant is actually a tree. I had heard of a tea tree before, but I never actually put it together that they were one and the same. The museum also depicted several traditional tea sets from different regions, as well as different tea products. Everything from medicine to toothpaste. After the museum, we ate at a restaurant appropriately called Green Tea Restaurant and then we walked around the area enjoying the beauty.

Roasting tea

We also went to Dragon Well Village, where many people were outside their shops roasting fresh leaves and yelling “Hello, tea!” (a common tactic Chinese use when selling to foreigners). When roasting tea, the bowl is hot, but this man was still able to use his bare hands to (for lack of a better term) swish the leaves around on the bottom. We also tried some of our own “new” tea. Tea that has been picked during the current season is referred to as new tea, but I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. Li Laoshi told us she couldn’t understand why her American friend had tea that was so old; it is common practice to get new tea each season in China.

Longjing Tea

Loose leaf tea can be steeped several times while still retaining its flavor; the number depends on the type of tea. It is said that the second infusion of Longjing tea is the best, and I suppose I could agree. I thought the first infusion was a bit too bitter. There are many, many different variables that go into making a certain type of tea the best it can be including: water, water temperature, time of steeping, number infusions, material of teapot, age of leaves, and I am sure others. While I enjoy tea, I am not enough of a connoisseur to taste these subtle differences.