Hangzhou: Day 6

Stupid blogger! I had to retype this entire entry cos stupid blogger couldn't post it earlier and when I clicked the "back" button, everything was gone! Damnit!!!

We started the day by taking a cruise along the "West Lake" (Xi Hu). We sat in a boat which is similar to the one featured in this pict.

While we were on board, a local guide introduced us to Hangzhou. One thing for sure, Hangzhou is a famous place for many of its love stories scenes...

• Liang Shan Po and Chuk Ying Tai: Dubbed the butterfly lovers
• Lady White and Xu Xi: Have not heard of their stories before but... the story revolves around how they met at the Broken Bridge and reunited at the Broken Bridge again after suffering lots of hardships

After that, we proceeded to visit another garden with lots of carps... called the "Flower Harbour Park" (Huagang Guang Yu) which is translated as "Viewing Fish in a Flowering Harbour". The garden consists of several sections, such as the the Peony Yard, the Red Fish Pool, the Thick Forest Zone and the New Flower Harbor etc. This park was so famous in Hangzhou that even Emperor Kang Xi of Qing Dynasty visited it some 300 years ago and left a handwritten tablet in honor of the fishes in the park.

We had lunch at this restaurant that has a huge pond next to it... think they rear their own fishes... One thing bout the fishes that we ate in China... they are pretty bony...

After that, we were taken to the "Mei Jia Wu Village" which is a village famous for their tea plantation. The famous Dragon-Well (Long Jing) Tea is grown here.

After that, we visited Hangzhou's (Liu Lang Wen Ying), a place called "Listening to Orioles Singing in the Willows Garden". "Orioles" being birds with yellow and black feathers. However... I don't remember hearing anything... maybe cos it's winter... the birds were probably sleeping... :)

That night, we had a special dinner cos it was the "Tung Je" festival in the Chinese lunar calendar. But instead of the normal "Tang Yuen", we tasted a special kind of "Tang Yuen" with tiny small glutinous balls in sweet, thick broth... So so yummy that I took 3 full bowls...

After dinner, we visited "Qing He Fang Street" (Qing Fe Fang Jie) which was a well-designed old pedestrian street. The original street has been ruined and it recently took on a completely new look after a large-scale restoration. Shops selling art crafts, souvenirs, silk, tea houses, and restaurants line both sides of the street. This street is also otherwise known as the "Snack Street" for the diverse food it serves.

Don't remember doing anything that night. But one thing for sure... I had their "Fang Bian Mian" for supper again... hehehehe...