On Monday morning, which was a national holiday in observance of the Mid-Autumn Festival, we took an hour-long bullet train ride to a former capital of the empire, Hangzhou. The general report we had heard about the city was that it was perhaps the most beautiful place in China, so were excited for the opportunity to look around. We were told it had a nice, large lake and pretty surrounding scenery, as well as impressive Buddha statues and cool-looking temples.
Upon arriving, my first thought was that beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder. The lake was nice, but it was no Lake Tahoe. In all fairness, I reckon it would have been gorgeous had the air been free of smog; the water would have been blue, reflecting the sky that should have been there, and we would be able to see the lusciously green surrounding mountains. Because of the smog, however, the water was grey and you could barely make out anything but shapes beyond the shores.
That being said I’m actually glad that we went, as there were some really cool areas besides the lake. We went on a cool walk along a nearby creek, where there were numerous Buddha’s carved into the rock-walls and caves, and the lake had a neat island in the middle complete with it’s own pond and very Chinese-looking walkways over the water. Also the food we got there was amazing, and the hostile we stayed at that night had a very artsy and relaxing atmosphere. We met a Scottish girl there who was studying in the area, but always hung out at the hostile because she liked it so much.
All in all it was a fun day. Most beautiful place in the mammoth country of China? I certainly hope not. But it was quite pleasant, and I’m glad we had the chance to check it out.
Oh ya, and this was my first time on a bullet train! It was so fast! At it’s top speed, it was going about 180 miles-per-hour. The tracks were a bit elevated, so that made it seem like we weren’t going quite that fast, but it still felt pretty quick, and much smoother than a car or Amtrak train.
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