Sembang at Kay's: West Lake Hangzhou

Monday, November 9, 2009

Chillin' in China Part 3 - West Lake Hangzhou...more pics

We took lots of pictures during this trip. And West Lake being such a vast area, offered many interesting spots to go do that "snap, snap" job.

Su Causeway..it connects one part of the lake to the other

Another boat jetty. The boat takes you to other parts of the lake.

Option was to go on the boat or walk...(you gotta be kidding attempting to walk round the lake on foot!!) Choice was obvious...naik boat daaa....

View of Hangzhou downtown from the boat

Now..go figure where else to visit

Pagodas

Fruits...err don't ask me what fruit tree this is. Only know how to makan...

Tall trees that shoot up to the sky

Ahhh...no words to describe this breath taking view

There is even a restaurant on the lake

And another pagoda

Found me self a new BF...tall, dark and handsome, bak kata Busymom100 in FB

And he pun tak mau kalah...nak gak (take picture lah...) with amoi cun ni

And then he walked straight ahead......leaving me (to snap more pics....)

Fruits and sweets, my dear? He offered me....
My reply was, "Nakkk tapi tak tau what they were made of and boleh makan ker???"

"I give you these roses lah....." he offered.
Boleh lah...my reply.

See what roses can do to you....heh..heh :)

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Chillin' in China Part 2 - West Lake Hangzhou

Although it was still early, the lake entrance was already packed with visitors. The majority were Chinese locals, all dressed in their best Sunday outfit. Never before had I seen such eagerness to discover nature’s beauty; a definite far cry from Sunday crowd I’ve seen at the Shah Alam Lake.

The famous West Lake covers an area of 5.6 km² in Hangzhou. Surrounded by hills on three sides and by the downtown area on one side, the lake is divided into five parts by the Su and Bai causeways. West Lake is known for its panoramic scenery, weeping willow trees, flowering peach trees, rockeries, ancient stone bridges, and hills dotted with multi-tiered temple pagodas.

Sunday crowd making their way to West Lake

The famous Song Dynasty poet Su Dongpo (960-1127) composed this poetic verse when he likened the lake to Xizi, a Chinese Cleopatra, for its allure.

"Ripping water shimmering on sunny day,
Misty mountains shrouded the rain;
Plain or gaily decked out like Xizi;
West Lake is always alluring."

It must have been this scenic surroundings that had inspired Su Dongpo to come about with such poetic sentiments.

Contrary to my initial thoughts, West Lake is a not a natural lake. It’s man-made lake, with an average depth of only 6 feet. It was a historically important source of water for the local farmers, but when the dyke collapsed during the first century, West Lake nearly dried out.

We spent the entire morning at the lake, enjoying the marveling serenity and calmness and its surrounding. Sit back now, and enjoy these pictures as much as we had enjoyed the enchanting West Lake.