| Feilai Feng Temple | Insane Cycle Ride |
| Tea Plantation | Hangzhou Gardens |
Feilai Feng Temple
If you ever thought China was an atheist country, think again. 70% of the chinese are Buddhists. This is a staggering figure and one that is hard to comprehend considering China's actions with respect to Tibet. However, the figure does reflect the amount of Buddhist material you see travelling around the country, especially in peoples houses. It is the government of China that publicises the atheist stance and ordered the invasion of China, not the people. During the Cultural Revolution is was a punishable crime to be religious. You could have had your possessions confiscated, including your home, lose your job and end up a social pariah.
Today Buddhism is clearly in the ascendance over all other religions in China (there's a long list), and the Feilai Feng Temple is an example of that. Thousands of chinese swarmed all over the complex burning incence and offering prayers. The monasteries were inspiring and the rock carvings were beautiful despite their great antiquity.
Why do you think I called this cycle ride insane ? Look at that bike, not exactly a svelt gazelle is it ? (never minding the pilot). In fact it was leased from one of the staff at our hotel (not service with a sneer, just no service at all). This bike, along with another half a dozen similar models came with this long list of unadvertised features - no gears, no brakes, non adjustable seat, dodgy steering, no bell, split saddle, shall I continue ? So what do you think we did ? We cycled up a steep hill for an hour until we could cycle no more, then pushed the lightweight racers for another half hour until we collapsed at the summit. We stayed there for a good hour, drinking tea and (more insanity:) beer until we could move again. What goes up must go down, so for 10 exhillarating minutes we flew down the other side of the hill, trying first to stay on the road, second to avoid hitting oncoming traffic and third enjoy the scenary - a pleasure denied by exhaustion on the climb. Back on the flat we cycled into Hangzhou and over some of the many bridges crossing the central lake. Stopped for ice cream and gradually recovered. Was it worth it ; four hours of insanity ? Well I'm probably mad to say this or to have done it, but at the end of it, yes - definitely!
Eyes down for a full house. We visited a tea plantation near Hangzhou where we sat and listened to a chat all about chinese Green Tea. It was actually quite interesting stuff, some of the claims of the presenter seemed silly whilst others were weirdly backed up with science. For instance, did you know that steaming your eyes over hot green tea is a traditional beauty treatment in these parts ? Or did you know that despite half the adult population of China smoking, the death rate from tobacco related diseases is abnormally low ? The reason, according to Australian scientists - antioxidants contained in Green Tea. Of course after a couple of weeks in China you've already drunk so much of the stuff over meals, it's actually stopped reminding you of hot horse pee and you buy some tins to serve to unwelcome guests..
It is no accident that Hangzhou is the honeymoon capital of China. The central West Lake is surrounded by beautiful gardens and criss-crossed by many low bridges, alighting on numerous low grassey islands. This is the tranquile centre to an otherwise vibrant city. As you walk amongst the lakes' islands, over the hump-backed bridges and along the water's edge you will see many couples cooing at eachother. Everywhere you stroll there are shady vistas, yearning to be enjoyed. It's not hard to fall in love with Hangzhou, it's a loveable place.
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