Project Littleones: 杭州

Saturday, September 8, 2012

杭州

As a tea lover, Hangzhou is 'the place' for a taste of good quality 龙井茶. We chanced upon hills of fresh 龙井 as we were searching for a fast food restaurant to rest our feet after scaling the 雷蚌 pagoda with an active 3 years old whose appreciation for history is not quite there and scenery, despite it being beautiful, has yet had its appeal from her perspective.
The pagoda which had been destroyed a couple of times was cited to signify the fall of ill treatment of woman as according to folklore belief it was built to trap the White Snake.
People also believed that bricks from the tower could repel illness or prevent miscarriage, as a result many stole bricks from the tower to grind into powder. The pagoda collapsed yet again due to prolonged abuse.
We watched "westlake impression" Staged entirely upon the lake itself (a stage has been built 3 centimeters below the surface). Directed by Zhang Yimou and music by Kitaro,impression West Lake is a spectacle of light, music, dance and theatrics. The story is based on a Hangzhou legend (somewhat lost on natalie but that does not detract her from commenting on the parts about the couple being forced apart and reunited later! She would ask question like "why did they take the ma ma away?" "the papa is so sad ya" etc.
Using the lake and its surroundings as props, lights and hundreds of actors the directors created a sensational performance. Although it rained, we were not affected as our seats were on a sheltered boathouse! In fact, chris and i watched a Similar performance staged on lijiang entitled 留三姐 and effects were just as impressive!

We visited 宋城 on the 2nd day. It's basically a replica of the Song city with staff dressed in traditional costumes and offers street food and entertainments along interesting street names such as 怪街、佛山、市井街、宋城河、千年古樟、九龙广场、城楼广场、文化广场、聊斋惊魂、南宋风情. We watched a staged performance entitled 宋城千古情. Again its an impressive performance! They literally created a waterfall on stage and relived the scene at westlake! When it rains on stage, the audience could also feel the light patters and breeze! Performers reached to audiences and served tea. What impressed me most was the war scenes where live horses were brought on stage! With the pyrotechnics, it made the war scene believable for the 3 year old, who hid behind papa during this part of the show!

Best part of the trip from natalie's perspective is probably the wonderful service at Oakwood hotel! She loved the suite that comes with a living area and kitchen! And not forgetting the huge bath tub coupled with bath salts and washer cum dryer which made life so Much easier for us!