Human race is eternally fascinated by the concept of Paradise! So whenever humans feel complete bliss in a place they call it Paradise. Every country has their own paradise. Today we are going to Hangzhou, Paradise of the most populated country in the world, China.
In China they say that,"up there is the heaven and here on the earth, there is Suhang!" Suhang means two cities, Suzhou and Hangzhou. Both of them are extremely beautiful and surely deserve a separate post for each one. So this post is about Hangzhou.
Hangzhou is about 200 km from Shanghai which is approximately 1 hour by the bullet train. The trains have a good frequency and so you can do a one day trip from Shanghai. But I would suggest to spare at least two days for Hangzhou so that you can really absorb the beauty of the city.
Hangzhou is ranked as a fast growing city as well as best commercial city in China. It has head office of the internet giant Chinese company Alibaba. You can see the ultramodern buildings, wonders of the modern architecture. In one and half year Hangzhou will be all over the social media as it's hosting 2022 Asian games!
Today we are not going to see the ultramodern city, but we will go to those parts of Hangzhou due to which, it has secured a place in UNESCO World Heritage Site list.
According to the excavations in that area, Hangzhou was inhabited by human beings since 7000 years and it's history can be traced back since 200 B.C. i.e. since 2200 years. Many travelers like Marco Polo (13th century), Ibn Battuta(14th century), Odoric of Pordenone (13th century) have described Hangzhou as " City of heaven, beyond dispute the noblest and finest city in the world. "
Being an important city on the Silk route, even in ancient times Hangzhou received merchants and visitors from all over the world. It was well connected to Beijing by the Grand Canal.
Hangzhou has many beautiful parks with greenery, flowers and sculptures.
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Musical Fountain Show
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Statue of Chinese soldier
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Farewell to governor and great poet Bai Juyi(772-846)
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Human touch!
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Studies, a ' pretty ' serious way!
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Discussion
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West lake is the symbol of Hangzhou and is a UNESCO world heritage site. Since ancient times West lake is well known for it's natural beauty. Surely it is one of the most beautiful sights in China. It's beauty has charmed many artists and you will find hundreds of poems and many novels and romantic stories, folk tales attached to West lake.
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Boating around West lake
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It is a fresh water lake with causeways and has many temples, pagodas, islands, bridges and pavilions. Any season is best season to visit West lake. It's known for it's changing beauty with each season.
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Baochu Pagoda as seen from the boat.
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There are many islands in West lake. One of the island, the entire village on the island, is converted into a hotel. One island is having various art workshops and shops. In ancient times West lake islands were well known for the grand palaces and villas on it.
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From the boat
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There are ten most scenic places around West lake. We will see some of them.
Three pools mirroring the moon is the largest island in the West lake. It has many halls,temples,bridges on it.
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One of the three pagodas in the lake.
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There are three pagodas like this in water. Their picture appears on the Chinese currency notes. When lit from inside, the light from the holes appears like moons in the water. Who else can have such imagination? Of course a poet! Hangzhou was lucky to have two poets as it's governor in different eras.
These pagodas and the Su Causeway were built by Su Shi who was the governor (1086-1094) and a great poet. the causeway was renovated or rebuilt many times since then.
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| Pavilions |
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Dongpu Bridge on Su Causeway
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Causeway
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Have you ever heard of an island in the lake having again a lake on it and small island in that lake? You can see it here!
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An Island in the lake, lake on that island and a small island in that lake!
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Wanzi pavilion was rebuilt in 2005 according to the original design in 1875. this pavilion is in the shape of a Swastik like Buddhist symbol showing all is in peace.
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| Wanzi Pavilion |
Water, hills, hillocks and mountains, beautiful islands, causeways, bridges, pavilions, flowers and willows give West lake its charm and scenic beauty.
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The exquisite color palate
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Lotus
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Lotus in West Lake - an inspiration for thousands of poems!
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Flowers.. Flowers..everywhere
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West lake and it's famous willows
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Famous Water Gardens in West lake.
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Gardens on West lake
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Where Bridge Meets It's Reflection!
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Yue Fei was a valiant general when Hangzhou was capital of China in Song Dynasty. His tomb, temple and memorial park are important sites on West lake.
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Yue Fei
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Yue Fei was known for his valor and loyalty. It is said that his mother had tattooed these letters on his back.
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Jinzhong Baoguo- Serve the nation with full loyalty
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Traditional entrance.
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Zonglie Temple.
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I had told you about the two poet governors of Hangzhou. One was Su Shi and the other was Bai Juyi (772-840). When Bai Juyi came to Hangzhou, he was already famous as a poet but his deeds of constructing a dam and dike and saving the farmers from severe drought, fetched him the title of great governor.
He ordered construction of a causeway to stroll over the lake which is known as Bai Causeway which was originally a white sand dike. He writes about it as," The east of the scenic west lake I love best, strolling the willow shaded white sand dike I enjoy most." Today the causeway is lined with grass, willow and peach trees. I could imagine how beautiful, it must be, when all the peach trees were blossoming!
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Bai Causeway
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No caption needed!
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You will see many villas like Jiuzi villa, Yi Yun Ji Lu Villa etc. They are are well known for their location and architecture. They say that the gardens of West lake were inspiration for many Japanese and Korean gardens.
West lake is famous for it's Lotus, Peach, Plum blossoms and many other beautiful flowering trees. The temporary Imperial Palace was named as Jiuxiang yard by emperor Quianlong (1735-1795). It was named after the fragrant Laurel trees.
According to ancient tales in China, these trees are present on the Gradhrukta Parvat (A Sanskrit name meaning Holy Vulture Peak) where Buddha stays in inspired state.
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Pavallion in the Jiuxiang Yard
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Laurel trees
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Without the mention of Leifeng Pagoda, no post on West Lake can be written!! Originally built in 977 A.D. to preserve a lock of Sakyamuni's hair, this octagonal five storied structure stands tall on the south bank of the West lake. The original pagoda was an archaeological wonder in China's history. Being a perfect combination of nature, architecture, religion and history, it was an inspiration for hundreds of poems, legends, tales and literature. After surviving for thousand years, it sadly and suddenly collapsed in 1924. For some decades, West lake was without the Leifeng pagoda. The new pagoda was erected in 2002 according to the original design but using steel as the building material.
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Leifeng Pagoda
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Near the entrance.
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Originally, an underground palace was built for the Buddha's statue sitting on dragon lotus throne, Indian emperor Ayu's (Ashoka's) pure silver pagoda and some Buddhist relics. In excavation in 2000-2001, all these artifacts, some precious stones and silver, gold coated Buddha's hair was found. It is kept in the museum in the Leifeng Pagoda.
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Relics of the original Pagoda
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Indian Emperor Ashoka's pure silver pagoda
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Original Pagoda Model
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Sakyamuni on Dragon Lotus Throne
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Roof of the pagoda
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Beautiful View from the top floor of the pagoda
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There were many places of religious, historical, cultural importance around West Lake and Hangzhou. They were constructed before some centuries. Time, weather and natural deterioration destructed some of them. Though it is not written, they say that many places were destroyed in cultural revolution.
Some of them could be reconstructed. There are some ancient caves as well. About all these, we will see in second part. Till that time, you enjoy a leisurely walk on the causeways and bridges of West Lake. You will surely start believing that it's Paradise.
#ParadiseInChina #WestLakeHangzhou #SuShi #BaiJuyi #LeiFengPagoda #SakymuniHair #IndianEmperorAyuAshoka #SuHang
You've kindled my interest in ancient Chinese structures and of the Indian connection through King Ashoka. Great read. Thanks
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