Hangzhou: Every bit a 'heaven on earth'
Pandaya, The Jakarta Post, Hangzhou/China
After an exciting three-hour trip from Shanghai through the seemingly endless idyllic farmland of Zhejiang province, our bus entered Hangzhou, a town where shops and construction projects dominated the landscape on a misty afternoon.
Yet unlike in metropolitan Shanghai, traffic here was light. Ancient and tall modern buildings stood side by side -- a testament to locals' high regard for history (my imagination momentarily bounced back to Indonesia, where such historic places are shamelessly turned into shopping malls.)
No wonder that Hangzhou, where civilization is said to have begun almost 4,700 years ago, has won international recognition as an important historical and cultural tourist destination.
Our Indonesian-speaking tour guide, Ching Ching, announced to our party of Indonesian journalists and travel agents -- invited by The China National Tourism Administration and Cathay Pacific, whose subsidiary Dragonair has opened routes to important holiday destinations in the mainland -- that we had arrived at "Heaven on Earth".
It is a magnificent ancient city, the birthplace of evergreen tragic love stories, such as Sampek Eng Thay and Legend of White Snake.
"Hangzhou is a city of romance," she said. Later, I saw her point -- literally and figuratively -- when I learned that hugging and kissing in public places is nothing out of the ordinary.
In her rapid-fire Indonesian with distinct Chinese intonations, she quoted an old Chinese couplet that says, "In heaven there is paradise, on earth there is Hangzhou and Suzhou."
My curiosity grew when we went for a quick evening tour to the world renowned West Lake (Si Hu), just 10 minutes by bus from our hotel. And we could not wait for the next day to enjoy some leisure at the lake.
Throughout China, we were told, there are 36 (another version puts the number at "hundreds") of West Lakes, but none compares to Hangzhou's famous example.
One of the seven ancient capitals in China, Hangzhou lies in fertile Zhejiang at the Yangtze river delta. As you explore further into the hilly town, you will be overwhelmed by the canopy of green landscapes.
Marco Polo, who visited the area in the 13th century, reportedly praised Hangzhou as "the most magnificent heavenly city to be found in this world".
The city's main charm really is the gorgeous West Lake, which lies in the heart of the city with ever blue hills in the backdrop. The environ perfectly suits the Chinese traditional belief that if your home has water in front and a mountain at the back, you will be blessed with wealth, good health and longevity.
Life at the six square kilometer lake goes on 24 hours a day. During the day, people stroll along the causeways; young couples believe that doing so will make their love last forever.
On the lake sides are vast, intricately arranged gardens with swaying tall wood, hissing pines, neatly trimmed bushes and ponds teeming with colorful koi -- the fish of luck.
When night falls, the area bustles with packed nightclubs, restaurants, tea houses and coffee shops, where people sing and dance the night away. (I had never imagined such revelry existed in a communist country.)
If you have a keen interest in culture, the magnificent Leifeng Pagoda on the southern line of the West Lake is a wonderful place to go. Sitting on a hill some 70 meters above the lake's water level, the pagoda serves to remind you of the love story between Lady White Snake and Hsu Xian, who entered Indonesian homes as TV series.
Originally built during the Northern Song Dynasty in 975 AD but believed to have collapsed during the 1920s, the shrine was rebuilt and opened to the public last year. Lady White Snake and Hsu Xian would hardly recognize it today, as the five-floor facility has been equipped with modern technology, such as elevators and a lighting system. Their never-ending love story is briefly presented in a relief on the walls.
The fifth floor yields panoramic views of the lake, surrounding lush green gardens and, of course, the concrete jungle of Hangzhou.
For a bit of a thrill, we took a boat trip of the lake's causeways and landscaped islets.
The most charming of the islets is probably the Fairy Island in the center, which boasts a scenic panorama that voyagers can enjoy from the slow-moving boat.
In the center of the islet are beautiful gardens, ponds and pavilions, as well as "Three Towers Mirroring the Moon". The three small pagoda-like structures, built in the water 700 years ago a few meters from the islet, were meant to ward off the evil spirit lurking in the water. During the full moon, they carry a reflection of the moon in their hollow structures.
Just before sunset, we left the West Lake for Mei Jie Wu, a "tea village" some 30 minute drive away. The quaint village is nestled in a hilly area where neatly arranged tea plantations dominate the lush green scenery. Locals are proud to call it the home soil of Longjing green tea, the "official tea" of China.
After a journey through winding rustic roads, we arrived at a teahouse where the tea making process is open for visitors to see. Professional employees also demonstrate the right way of brewing and serving the beverage.
We were told the best tea is picked during spring. The top grade tea, however, is reserved for the "top officials" in Beijing. The Longjing tea found in the market, touted to contain a host of medicinal properties, is thus of second-grade quality.
After dinner, we rushed to Hangzhou opera house, where vignettes of the ancient love stories we had been told about are performed nightly. Folklore and traditional theater remain despite Western arts flooding the market.
It was a dazzling performance in the 50 million yuan (about US$7 million) ultramodern opera house. The operatic show catering mainly to tourists is a spell-binding blend of singing, dancing and typical Chinese acrobats.
The one-hour spectacular of three romances of the Song Dynasty is presented with the help of technology, showing a "flood" on the slope of a mountain to the stage, or the protagonists dancing in a tunnel of lasers.
The show is basically an artistic outline of the ancient mythologies that have made Hangzhou synonymous with romance.
I wished I had more than two days to stay and explore Heaven on Earth.