We ventured out from the grimy bosom of Shanghai to visit one of the most beautiful places in China: Hangzhou, home of Dragonwell Tea and West Lake.
Upon arriving at our hostel, we attempted to take a picture of the surrounding misty mountainous tea fields and our camera stopped working.
So the photo above is one someone else took.
If the camera had been working we would've had pictures of Qi Shi Haungdi's personal tea field (think misty understory with creek nearby .5mil dollar mountain estates made of granite),
a perfectly landscaped lake area brimming with weeping willows, blossoming lotuses and ornately carved bridges over causeways, and our Gaudi-esque entrance gate to our hostel.
On our first night in town, we set out to see the sunset over the tea fields, but after a long and buggy hike found it obscured by trees and slope. It was still a successful trip for the way we discovered the Dragon Well itself, a popular new beverage (osmanthus tea), and a friendly farmer of the Lung Ching tea. At the top of the hill we rewarded ourselves with a nip of stinky tofu.
The next day we rented bikes and explored the lake and surrounding streets which were shaded with sycamores and broke off into lush green gardens and temples around every turn. We were frustrated upon a couple of occausions by policemen who wouldn't let us go on certain roads though we saw other people come through on bikes from the other direction. We also had to pass through several hot and exhaust filled mountain tunnels that provoked as much as a spiritual expirience as the temple of the thousand cliff carved Buddhas, which we were on our way to.
I was particularly awestruck by a threeheaded carving of the Buddha with weapons coming out of every orifice. Three separate Chinese tourists found our presence as spiritually enlightening as the holy relics around us, and asked our permission to take part in their photo documentation of the place.
Not many other incredulous things happened, except for when I was served sunflower seeds twice.
Mood ~ Am I sweating or liquifying?
Real Soundtrack ~ Deperadoes Under the Eaves
Fake Soundtrack (aaa quality) - Smoke on the Water
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