If China had a national bird, it would be the crane. It soars over every skyline we’ve seen. A large number of these are building giant commercial/residential towers. Although many of these towers appear to be empty, I’m sure time will have a purpose for them in this rapidly developing country.
From SuZhou we took a train to Hangzhou on May 16th. Hangzhou is an urban area of 4-million in northern Zhejiang province in eastern China. The city dated back 2,200 years to the Qin Dynasty and is one of the ancient capitals of China. Our one-night stay was packed with Hangzhou. Hanzi’s friends picked us up and dropped us off at the airport and saw us the whole way in-between.
We had dinner at a restaurant inside one of the nicest malls I’ve ever seen. It had an open floor layout for stories and stories with the top labels. It’s the older one of at least two in the city. Concurred this is a wealthy city and apparently has been for the last thousand years due to trade with close urban areas and its natural beauty. I’ve made a point to avoid going into detail with food, but I can say it was another rotating table of never-before-seen delicious.
They brought us to the civic center on the new development waterfront area of Hangzhou. It was straight out of Tron. Big, huge, giant with lights, a glass ‘entryway’ half the size of a soccer field and four round towers connected by a circular walkway at least 30 stories up, with an abstract glass arena in the middle. Once they finish construction, I picture the place buzzing like something out of a sci-fi movie. Next to the civic center was a lux hotel shaped like the Death Star and lit up like a rainbow. I’ve only imagined this stuff happening in a 3D architectural modeling program.
Some time later that night we walked around on a causeway that was constructed over West Lake in 591. No big deal.
The original city of Hangzhou was constructed around the North and East sides of West Lake. Now parks border the lake and its islands. We found the paths were well made and the park a mix of natural and planted throughout. The city is historically known for its green tea and Dragon Well Longjing tea is still grown around West Lake. We got a chance to see some of the plantations on our walk.
We visited the new campus of the China Academy of the Arts. It’s located outside Hangzhou in the country. Its design is a smart mix of natural and industrial and the buildings have been LEED-rated.
From there we boarded the plane for Xi’An. We are getting all too comfortable with travel.
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