Hangzhou: Gushan and Rowing

I got to know one of my new roommates, and since we both have yet to visit Gushan (孤山) (literally, Solitary Hill), we decided to tour it together.

However, first I decided paid a visit to the Jing Ci temple (靜慈禪寺) next door to my hostel:



There were 3 beggars there who seemed very happy, and after their morning begging session was over, they hopped on a bus as normal people like everyone else:



I then walked to Sudi (蘇堤), which was very, very crowded. Very, very different from the Sudi I walked alone on the night before, with spider webs and everything:



A nice view of a pavillion across from Sudi:



I finally got to Gushan and came in along the back to see an old printing press museum:





We then visited Sun Yatsen Park, which used to be the place (before it was renamed) where Emperors would come to hang out and relax:





Next, is a memorial dedicated to two famous poet-governors of Hangzhou, Su Dongpo (蘇東坡) and Bai Juyi (白居易):

We would also go see the Zhejiang Provincial Museum, which was very interesting, and covered the 7000 years of history of the region. Zhejiang has been the area for a number of states, notably Yue (越) during the Spring Autumn Period (春秋戰國), and Wuyue (吳越) during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period (五代十國).

My roommate and I then went to eat at Louwailou again (at least for me):

We ordered a number of interesting items, including this dish with crab meat stuffed in an orange (蟹酿橙):

This soup (西湖莼菜汤) had very interesting vegetables - the texture was a little slippery... perhaps even slimy, but the flavor was quite good:



We ordered dessert (全湯九釀珍珠丸), which consisted of fermented glutinous rice balls, and came in this huge bowl probably more suitable for 6-8 people:

We couldn't finish everything, as the meal was truly a feast (200 RMB, approx $30 USD for two). Our picture in front of Louwailou (different entrance):

We then decided to go rowing next. On the way, there was a statue:

It read, "Hangzhou. The most beautiful and splendid city in the world. - Marco Polo." And rightfully so. If I recall, Marco Polo gave Hangzhou better marks than even Suzhou.

We finally got to the boats, and had an hour to row around:

However, it was more difficult to control than I thought, especially since I had to do most of the rowing. We would aim to go in one direction, and end up going in a completely different one. After awhile, we started aiming in the wrong direction on purpose so we can go in the direction we really wanted to! Towards the end of the session, we figured it out and managed to make it back in time.

Afterwards, my roommate had to go return her bike, while I stayed to watch the sunset. I found a good location to watch on a bridge:

However, it was not time yet, and so I found a pavillion to rest at for a bit:

I pulled out my Herman Hesse book Knulp again, and enjoyed the quiet, unhurried passage of time.

It is at times like these that I sometimes feel that if we all had nothing better to do in life, maybe we'd all be better people. We'd slow down and have time to really observe each, to really see where others can use help. A lot of times people don't do what they should, and use the fact they are too busy as an excuse. Of course, then again, there are people with too much free time on their hands and end up doing more harm than good to society.

Anyhow, after 10-15 minutes or so, it was time. Sunset pictures:

Meanwhile, my roommate also took pictures along the way:

The story goes, there was a guy sailing on the lake:

Apparently he tried to be too cool by trying to fit his sail underneath the moon bridge as he crossed. It didn't work and he flipped over; now he's stuck as another boat is on top of him:

Later that night we went to Hefang St. again and had some tasty snacks before heading back to the hostel.