Laura Griffin Designs

China Trip: Day 7 – West Lake Boat Trip

On the misty morning of Day 7, we boarded our bus & headed towards West Lake. Here is a view from the bus along the way…

When we arrived at our destination, we boarded a small boat, and were on our way to view the most famous sites of the lake.

Nope – we didn’t board this one…

But one of these… *LOL*

To give you a little background… West Lake was originally a lagoon adjoining the Qiantang River. In the 8th century, the governor of Hangzhou had a dyke built that cut it off from the river completely.

The average depth of the lake is only 7.5 ft. Three of its sides are surrounded by mountains and one side by the city. The natural setting of strangely shaped peaks, serene forests, & dense foliage are enhanced by a treasury of sculpture and architectural features.

One of the most famous architectural features of the lake is the “Broken Bridge” located at the east end of Bai Causeway. (more…)

China Trip Observation – Street Vendors

At every tourist spot in China, you must be prepared to be accosted by street vendors. They sell everything you can think of. I can’t remember how many times I was asked if I wanted to buy a Rolex watch. That would be the fake kind, of course, at the bargain price of around $2. *LOL*

This woman was selling Groucho Marx style glasses that had noisemakers on either end so when you blew through a tube…they would come out of the moustache.

A number of street vendors sell food. We were advised never to buy food from them since it is cleaned with tap water (if even cleaned)…and the tap water is not drinkable in China. Beware of buying bottled water/drinks from street vendors as well. They tend to pick up empty bottles off of the street, refill them with tap water, and call them new. Yuck!

This woman was selling fruit from her baskets (or at least, I think that’s what it is?!) See “more” for closeups. (more…)

China Trip Observation – Nuclear Power Plants

While we were driving through China, we had to have seen at least 4-5 different nuclear power plants. They were obvious from their massive cooling towers. In some cases, they were located right next to the street and appeared to have no obvious security. Kinda strange.

After we returned to the US, we did some research to see if China is actually utilizing more nuclear power than the US. Surprisingly, mainland China has only nine nuclear power reactors in commercial operation. So apparently, we saw over half of them during our trip! Although you rarely see them in the US, over 100 nuclear reactors are in operation that provide almost 20% of our electricity.

Here are some pics of a couple of Chinese power plants that I took from the bus. This one is only yards away.

And here’s another from a distance… (more…)

China Trip: Day 6 – A Traditional Chinese Massage…

After being on our feet all day long for several days, we were all ready to experience a traditional Chinese foot massage! Luckily, our hotel had its very own Foot Reflexology Center that was open until 2 a.m. The prices were great (around $20 per hour) so we were sold on the idea.

We opted to have an hour-long reflexology massage followed by a traditional full-body massage. That’s pampering with a capital “P”! My friend Mimi joined us for the first hour & had a foot massage as well.

I’d never had a reflexology treatment before, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. (more…)

China Trip: Day 6 – New Century Grand Hotel Hangzhou

Wow. The Century Grand Hotel was by far the best hotel yet. When we arrived, we walked in the front door & had another one of those “how the heck can we be staying in such a nice place and have paid only $800 for this trip” moments. *LOL*

There was what appeared to be a beautiful Dale Chihuly in the entryway. It looked stunning from both sides. These hotel pics are a bit dark since it was at night…but hopefully you’ll get the idea.

I love how the curves of the ceiling repeat in the floor… (click on more) (more…)

China Trip: Day 6 – Hanshan Temple

After visiting the pearl factory, we headed to Hanshan Temple (also known as Cold Mountain Temple) in Suzhou.

Here is a view of the main pagoda from outside the temple gates

When you walk through the front gates you are met by this fierce guy & his friends. Check out their eyes!

Not sure if the lute is supposed to be a weapon?! *LOL*

(Click on more for another 13 pics & journaling) (more…)

China Trip: Day 6 – Liyuan Gardens

Although I enjoyed the Turtle Head Gardens – they were nothing compared to what we saw next. The Liyuan Garden is one of the most famous gardens for lake scenery in Southern China.

Here is our local tour guide leading us through the front gate…

The garden sits on Liyu lake and was formerly the residence of ancient minister Fan Li. There is a very famous love story about him and one of the four ancient beauties, Xishi, that originated here between 770-476 BC. The below image is from a wonderful mural in the garden that tells their story. You can read about them here.

As we began walking through the gardens, we saw an open-doored garden house that had the most beautiful windows…

This bonzai tree was outside the front door. Notice the parquet-style stone tiling on the walkway as well…

As we neared the water gardens…we saw these cute characters welcoming us…I think they were there for a spring festival as we had seen some similar style butterflies up front.

The thing about Chinese water garden design is that every pathway leads you to even more beatiful views. There is no such thing as a bad angle…which makes it such a peaceful & serene place to be. (Click on more for 20 additional pics of the gardens.) (more…)

China Trip: Day 6 – Pearl Farm

After visiting Turtle Head Isle, we headed towards a nearby freshwater pearl farm on Lake Taihu. When we walked inside, we were ushered into a small room with a long table to sit down. Each seat had a cup of tea in front of it.

A pearl farm representative began to explain the uses of freshwater pearls. To our surprise, pearls are not only used for adornment, but actually have proven medical benefits. They can be ground into powder which is later placed in topical skin creams or beverages for ingestion. In fact, the tea that was sitting in front of us contained pearl powder in it! (We promptly drank it up.)

Apparently, the Chinese have been using pearls for medicinal purposes for over 2000 years. Used internally, pearl powder is believed to detoxify the system, clean and clear the skin, remove age and liver spots, give skin a younger appearance, adjust your body energy, calm the liver, relieve stress, treat sore throat, adjust the nervous system, regulate metabolism, improve eyesight, treat insomnia, and energize the body. Sounds like the miracle drug, eh?

When used topically, pearl cream is famous for keeping skin smooth, soft, & lustrous. It is also used in the treatment of open sores, burns, & cuts. Here are boxes of the magical day & night “pearl cream”.

According to Chinese history, artists in the Tang Dynasty began using pearl powder on their faces when putting on stage makeup. This practice spread to women in high society until Empress Dowage of the Ching Dynasty began taking Pearl Powder internally as well as applying it to her face. She found that it resulted in improved complexion, softer skin, and a more youthful appearance. Supposedly at age 74 she appeared to be in her 40s. Hmmm…not sure if any kind of powder can provide that miracle?

We then discussed how to judge the value of a pearl. Pearls are judged on 4 main characteristics: Size, Shape, Lustre & Color. Obviously the larger the size and the rounder the shape…the more valuable the pearl. The lustre is simply the shine of the pearl…and the shinier, the better. Certain colors of pearls also have inherently more value because they are more expensive to make. Pearl farmers discovered over the years that they can control the temperature & lighting of a mussel’s environment, and the mussel will naturally produce pearls of different colors. Currently, the most valuable freshwater pearls are gold-colored.

Next we watched a demo of how to open up a mussel & find the pearl inside. Click on more for these images. If you’re not a fan of gooey innards…I’d suggest you skip this part. *LOL* (more…)

China Trip Observation – Did I just see a bicycle carrying…?

Ok – Another bicycle observation… I had to share these two blurry pics I took from the bus window of things people were actually transporting by bicycle or small motorbike in China. Ok – so they do have carts attached…but this is crazy!!!

#1) A refrigerator… ‘nough said. *LOL*

#2) A gigantic mound of what appears to be trash…and this was not an unusual sight during the trip.

China Trip Observation – Transporting Children

I may be the only person thinking this… but I found it really interesting the way children are transported around China. Because most individuals cannot afford cars, they use bicycles or mopeds to get around. Everywhere we went, be it in the city or countryside, I saw little children holding on to their parents for dear life as they were taken around on these vehicles.

In some cases they were on the backs of the bike holding on to their parents (with no apparent safety devices). In other cases, they were sitting or standing just in front of their parents on mopeds or sandwiched inbetween a mother or father. Any way you look at it, though, they appeared like they could tumble off the vehicle at any second! *LOL* Here are some of the blurry photos I was able to take from my bus window. Hard to see … but you’ll get the idea… (more…)