Hangzhou, China

Our bullet train today took us to Hangzhou where we would spend the day and overnight before our return to Shanghai and our trip home. We visited our last Asian temple, the Ling Yin Temple, one of the ten most famous, and wealthiest, Buddhist temples of China and a premier showplace of the West Lake region. In 1961 the temple was listed for protection as a key provincial historical and cultural site and is considered a leading center for research relative to Chinese Buddhist culture. While there, we witnessed a major event as the temple was filled with chanting monks who had just completed their studies. This afternoon we took a small boat cruise on west Lake followed by a visit to a tea village and the area of Long Jing, Dragon Well where one of the most famous Chinese green teas is grown. 

After dinner, we enjoyed the Impression West Lake Show. This show, a spectacle of light, music, and dancers is directed by Zhang Yimou who was in charge of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. It is a beautiful outdoor show, performed on the water, and the dancers appear to be walking on water as every step kicks up a spray. Afterwards we adjourned to our lovely Chinese garden hotel to prepare for our return home. It has been a wonderful month and we have many great memories to take home with us.

Chinese family with Dave at entrance to temple

Happy Buddha

Golden Buddha

Monks at prayer

On West Lake 

Suzchou, China

Today we traveled by bullet train to the garden city of Suzhou (Soochow) where we visited the Master of Fishing Nets Garden, a scholar's garden named as an allusion to the simple life of a fisherman. It is one of the smallest, but considered one of the best and most elegant of the private gardens still existing. Its Courtyard of the Jade Spring Abode was used as a model for a Chinese court in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Later we  hopped onto a sampan for a ride through the canals of the city then walked through the ancient cultural street through the open markets. After lunch we visited the Silk Embroidery Institute where masters create exquisite embroidery pieces that are often perfectly stitched on both sides and sell for thousands of dollars.

An interesting aside…All over China we have run into young women having pictures taken in public places. Our guide tells us these are brides, and they are traditionally photographed, alone or with their grooms-to-be, in several dresses that they will wear on their wedding day. We saw two couples today as we walked around Suzhou.

Master of Fishing Nets Garden

Canal on Suzhou 

Canal closer to town 

Bride and Groom

And another

Shanghai, China

Monday, October 21

We were initially bumped off our flight from Yichang to Shanghai because of over booking, but with the help of our agent in Seattle and our industrious local guide, we were given seats and left Yichang as scheduled, arriving in Shanghai in time to for bed. The following morning, we met our new guide and headed out on a tour of the Pudong, a new area which is comprised of the majority of land in eastern Shanghai that merged in May 2009 and has since become China's financial and commercial hub. The architecture of the new city is spectacular, including the striking Oriental Pearl TV Tower, the Shanghai World Financial Center that looks like a bottle opener, and the Shanghai Tower, currently under construction that, at 2070 ft. will be China's tallest building.

This visit to the new area was followed by a visit to the old Town and Yu Yuan Garden which was the template for the "Willow Pattern" English china which features the centrally positioned tea house. Next was a soup dumpling lunch at Din Tai Fung that had me in heaven .We had heard about Shanghai soup dumplings that have the rich soup broth inside the dumpling. It's tricky to eat them as you have to poke or bite a small hole in the side of the dumpling so you can suck out some of the soup before you pop it in your mouth and get another burst of soup with the filling. Delicious! We walked off lunch by strolling around the town and visiting a silk factory where I thoroughly enjoyed the shopping.

Yu Yuan Gardens

Making Soup Dumplings

Silk factory - pulling silk to make a filling for a comforter

Shanghai at night with Pearl Tower at left