A Few Days On the Lake

OK, I know the above photo is probably the worst splicing you’ve ever seen.  I don’t care!  I didn’t take these two photos with the intention of sticking them together so I didn’t try to line them up.  But there’s not much missing between the two, so what you see is pretty much exactly what West Lake looks like.

I traveled to Hangzhou with the express intent of visiting West Lake.  Up to that point, so many people had told me how beautiful West Lake is and how much they enjoyed visiting the city.  So I figured, after my stint in Shanghai, that the short bus ride to Hangzhou was warranted.  Besides, I really wanted to visit Huangshan and this city happened to be on the way.  So why not stop in for a few days?

Hangzhou is a very nice city.  West Lake is a beautiful lake.  The fact that such a large reservoir of water is man-made makes it even more impressive.  But to be perfectly honest, I was a bit under whelmed.  From all the talk I had heard, I was expecting something much more grand.  Growing up on Long Island I’ve had easy access to the ocean for as long as I can remember.  Seeing this lake seemed ho-hum comparatively.

It’s as if I went there and thought to myself, “OK, there’s some water.  There are some pretty plants and flowers, and some nice buildings.  What else?”  Definitely a “been there, done that” sort of feeling.  My CouchSurfing host in Shanghai had similar sentiments.  He grew up in Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes, and therefore was equally unimpressed with West Lake.

Now don’t get me wrong.  West Lake is a great place to visit and I did spend hours walking all around it.  I did enjoy my time there, and from the picture above you can see it’s a beautiful place.  I don’t mean to discourage anyone from going there.  I think anyone with an interest for nature and natural beauty should see it.  It’s just that my gut reaction was not positive because I have lived on or near water pretty much my entire life.  But I am still very glad to have gone there and seen it.

I had a pleasant time walking around the shore of West Lake and over the Bai Causeway to Solitary Hill Island (Gushan).  The island is basically a large recreational park with some pavilions, ponds, and terrific spots to absorb the view of the lake and the surrounding flora and fauna.  The Zhejiang Provincial Museum can also be found there, but I don’t find those sorts of places terribly interesting so I didn’t visit it.

A statue and pavilion on Solitary Hill Island

Walking along the southern part of the lake led me straight to the Evening Sunlight at Thunder Peak Pagoda (Leifeng Xizhao).  Originally built in 975 AD, the pagoda collapsed in 1924 due to disrepair.  The current tower was completed in 2002 and on the bottom floor you can view the active archaeological sight of the original brick foundation, which I thought was a pretty neat feature.  There are also two elevators for an easy ascent to the top, as well as other modern features.  The top of the pagoda provides excellent views of the surrounding area, especially West Lake itself (the top pictures were taken from there).

Lingyin Temple is easily the most impressive temple I have visited thus far in China.  Each of the yellow buildings are so large that I couldn’t fit one in the frame of my camera; they’re just that big.  The buildings contain statues that are simply massive and incredibly imposing.  I wish for your sake that I could have taken photos.  Words alone can’t describe the feeling of being overwhelmed I had when I stepped into the darkened, cavernous shrines and came face to face with the monstrous statues.  Though, to be perfectly honest I don’t think photos could have done it justice anyway.  It really is something you have to go and see for yourself.

Lingyin Temple was founded in 328 AD during the Eastern Jin Dynasty.  From the very beginning, Lingyin has been a famous temple and even today attracts large numbers of tourists.  It is also regarded as one of the richest temples in all of China.  Despite it’s fame and fortune, the temple has not been spared from destruction, having been rebuilt 16 times.  During the Cultural Revolution, the temple was protected by Premier Zhou Enlai though it did not escape without some minor damage from the Red Guards.

The hills surrounding Lingyin Temple are littered with ancient stone carvings.  There are a few in particular you’ve probably seen in many guide books (presuming you’ve ever picked up a guide book for China).  The particular one above is smaller than I had imagined, but impressive nonetheless.

There are several other smaller temples in the mountains which I made a point to go visit.  It’s nice to see the big, important tourist attractions like Lingyin.  But sometimes it’s even better to go off by yourself to some secluded, quiet place where there are much fewer people around to disturb you.

There was a ton of walking and climbing steps; it was totally exhausting.  Little did I know that it couldn’t hold a candle to what awaited me in Huangshan.  Despite being dead tired and barely able to stay on my feet by the end of the day, I had a great time.

If you ever go to Hangzhou, make sure you visit Lingyin Temple.  And be sure to take the time to visit the other temples.  Walking through the peaceful courtyards and climbing the mountains completely by yourself is surreal (if you’ve ever been to China, you know how rare it is to be totally alone when touring around).  Sure they’re not as grand or famous, but they are no less beautiful.  For me it was an experience on par (if not better) than visiting the big ones.

On a path leading to some small temple

Related Posts:

1. Yet Another Lake in Xinjiang
2. A Night on Karakul Lake in a Yurt
3. The Past Few Days
4. Finally Home
5. Photo Essay: All the Little Details