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| Ms Waterman (teacher) |
When we were in Beijing a few weeks ago (actually, it was almost a month ago- wow!), we saw the Grand Canal as we toured the hutongs of the old city. Our guide told us that we would see the canal again when we arrived in Hangzhou because the man-made canal connects the two old cities and measures about 1,500 km in length. The fact that it is man-made is incredible but the size of the project didn’t really strike me until I stumbled upon the canal on one of my afternoon walks. In Hangzhou, the Grand Canal stretches for miles and miles as it winds its way through the city from north to south. It is over one hundred meters wide in Hangzhou and used to be heavily used for trade. Now it is mostly quiet, but I have seen many large barges transporting cargo southward.
I have walked along the canal at least 5 times in the past 2 weeks and I have found it to be a wonderful place to walk in the spring. Most of the paths that follow the river on both sides of the canal are shaded by flowering trees (on windy days, I’ve walked through showers of pollen and tree seeds) and lead past bridges, apartment complexes, small playgrounds, and parks with pergolas covered in lilac vines. Unlike so much of the city sidewalks, these paths are quiet and calm and I never worry that I will be run over by a bike, scooter, or car. Needless to say, I’ve really enjoyed these walks!
Anyway, last night, Kelby and I went on an adventure with her wonderfully generous host family to the village of Wu Zhen. The village is on the Grand Canal about one hour northeast of Hangzhou. We arrived just after sunset but in time to see night fall. The village is modeled after the architecture of the Qing Dynasty and its narrow stone walkways, carved wooden exteriors of small shops and cafés, and arched bridges stretched over small waterways reminded me of Lijiang and also Venice, Italy. We were surprised by now many people were still there at such a late hour, but the lights of the buildings and bridges that were reflected in the water made us realize just how beautiful the village is at night.
After a delicious dinner in a restaurant that was tucked away down a small street, we walked to the pagoda at the northernmost point of the village. Our plan to climb up to the top (seventh) floor to see the view of the village was foiled, though, since it was already 8:30 PM and the stairs were closed. Not to be deterred from giving us a nice view, Henry’s parents brought us to the boat dock at the foot of the pagoda so that we could take a boat back through the village to the entrance. I was skeptical about the boat ride- would it really be a different view? I’m happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised! The ride was calm and very quiet, giving us a totally different experience than the crowded, loud sidewalks. Since we were at the level of the water, we could see that the buildings were on stilts and that many of them had their own docks. (Henry and Kelby made up their own tongue-twisters with the words “duck, dock, and dark”. Their favorite was “The ducks on the docks in the dark.” and Henry’s dad even joined in to try his hand at the pronunciation.) We laughed, we admired the lights in the village, Henry’s mom gave me a demonstration of how her Hunan province dialect differs from the Hangzhou dialect and the standard Mandarin dialect (spoken in Beijing and taught in schools), but mostly we relaxed and enjoyed the view. By the time we got back to the car at 9:45 PM, Kelby and I were so relaxed that we fell asleep soon after we set off. I got back to my apartment at 11:00 PM (so late for me!) and I slept well.
This morning (after I had some longjing green tea to perk me up a bit- thank you, caffeine!), we all met at the school gate to see another part of the Grand Canal. We were accompanied by Will, an English teacher from HangGao who teaches grade 10. Together, we went to the Hangzhou Arts and Crafts Museum Community on the Canal near the Gongchen Bridge. The community has four specialized museums of which we visited two - the Umbrella Museum and the Knives, Scissors, and Swords Museum. In the umbrella museum, Will taught me a few new Chinese characters (bamboo, umbrella, west, industry) and I enjoyed looking at the different styles of umbrellas (oilpaper, silk, embroidered). I loved how similar the Chinese character for umbrella is to the object itself- 伞. In the Knives, Scissors, and Swords Museum, Will and I talked about how much history we had learned in school about each other’s countries. The consensus was that we hadn’t learned much but that American students learn more about China now. As proof of their knowlede, the girls sang their Chinese Dynasty song and Will was impressed (thanks, Ms. Viz!).
On the way to lunch, we walked along the Canal and enjoyed the sunshine and blue sky. We passed shops and café patios and everyone seemed happy to be outside. The girls met a graduate student from Zhejiang University who was conducting a survey about westerners’ experiences at various cultural sites in Hangzhou. Since we had just visited one of those cultural sites, the girls were great subjects to complete the survey! We were all happy to sit down to a relaxing lunch, and after lunch, Kelby and I set off on another adventure with her host family. We are on our way to the Yellow Mountain! More to come tomorrow!
After a delicious dinner in a restaurant that was tucked away down a small street, we walked to the pagoda at the northernmost point of the village. Our plan to climb up to the top (seventh) floor to see the view of the village was foiled, though, since it was already 8:30 PM and the stairs were closed. Not to be deterred from giving us a nice view, Henry’s parents brought us to the boat dock at the foot of the pagoda so that we could take a boat back through the village to the entrance. I was skeptical about the boat ride- would it really be a different view? I’m happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised! The ride was calm and very quiet, giving us a totally different experience than the crowded, loud sidewalks. Since we were at the level of the water, we could see that the buildings were on stilts and that many of them had their own docks. (Henry and Kelby made up their own tongue-twisters with the words “duck, dock, and dark”. Their favorite was “The ducks on the docks in the dark.” and Henry’s dad even joined in to try his hand at the pronunciation.) We laughed, we admired the lights in the village, Henry’s mom gave me a demonstration of how her Hunan province dialect differs from the Hangzhou dialect and the standard Mandarin dialect (spoken in Beijing and taught in schools), but mostly we relaxed and enjoyed the view. By the time we got back to the car at 9:45 PM, Kelby and I were so relaxed that we fell asleep soon after we set off. I got back to my apartment at 11:00 PM (so late for me!) and I slept well.
This morning (after I had some longjing green tea to perk me up a bit- thank you, caffeine!), we all met at the school gate to see another part of the Grand Canal. We were accompanied by Will, an English teacher from HangGao who teaches grade 10. Together, we went to the Hangzhou Arts and Crafts Museum Community on the Canal near the Gongchen Bridge. The community has four specialized museums of which we visited two - the Umbrella Museum and the Knives, Scissors, and Swords Museum. In the umbrella museum, Will taught me a few new Chinese characters (bamboo, umbrella, west, industry) and I enjoyed looking at the different styles of umbrellas (oilpaper, silk, embroidered). I loved how similar the Chinese character for umbrella is to the object itself- 伞. In the Knives, Scissors, and Swords Museum, Will and I talked about how much history we had learned in school about each other’s countries. The consensus was that we hadn’t learned much but that American students learn more about China now. As proof of their knowlede, the girls sang their Chinese Dynasty song and Will was impressed (thanks, Ms. Viz!).
On the way to lunch, we walked along the Canal and enjoyed the sunshine and blue sky. We passed shops and café patios and everyone seemed happy to be outside. The girls met a graduate student from Zhejiang University who was conducting a survey about westerners’ experiences at various cultural sites in Hangzhou. Since we had just visited one of those cultural sites, the girls were great subjects to complete the survey! We were all happy to sit down to a relaxing lunch, and after lunch, Kelby and I set off on another adventure with her host family. We are on our way to the Yellow Mountain! More to come tomorrow!
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