Rebecca Goes to China: Day 4: Qi Bao Zheng and Hangzhou

No trip to China is complete without experiencing the crushing crowds of an outdoor market and eating street food. Today we went to Qi Bao Zheng, one of the few remaining “Old Shanghai” sections of town, and perused the offerings of the local merchants. The shops were squeezed into a tiny alleyway, and a sea of shoppers pushed and shoved their way past each other, trying to get to their respective destinations. We ambled along, letting ourselves be propelled by the masses, stopping to sample bits of food offered by the hawkers. We had lamb skewers, red bean sticky rice, sugar cane juice, Korean mochee, and takoyaki (octopus). My mother bought a pair of fur lined shoes for the jaw droppingly low price of 19 RMB ($3 USD). I picked up a beautiful qipao. There was lovely scenery to take in, too: a lazily flowing river, graceful bridges, and pretty little boats.

After we stuffed ourselves at Qi Bao Zheng, we got onto one of the new high speed trains for an hour and a half ride to Hangzhou. The train is a sleek piece of work, and I’m reminded once again how far behind Europe and Asia the United States has fallen in terms of its railway technology. The train glided over the tracks at over 200 miles per hour, quiet as a whisper and smooth as silk. It was way better than the Acela J (Side note: now that I’m back in the States, I’ve now been informed that the high speed rail is a subject of controversy because its lack of riders has so far made it a losing enterprise for the Chinese government, and also because it doesn’t have a very good safety record. But my experience on it was a positive one.)

It was nearly nightfall by the time we got to Hangzhou. I had to do a bit of research to fully understand the significance of this town. I’ve seen it featured in lots of Chinese TV dramas, and I had a fair idea of what it was—there’s a lake, the West Lake (Xi Hu), where the hero and heroine always go to have their romantic interludes. There’s always a lot of fog and lily pads and chirping birds. It turns out there’s a reason why Hangzhou has such a storied reputation. For a thousand years, kings, artists, pilgrims, and nameless plain folk have descended on the shores of beautiful West Lake to admire its stunning beauty. It’s unofficially known as “heaven on earth.” It’s where emperors go to fall in love and poets retire to write their last verses. During the day, a gentle lake breeze whispers through the swaying willows, and during the night, moonbeams dance over the placid water. Even though the modern day version of Xi Hu is a booming tourist attraction, with stores and restaurants crowding out some of its natural beauty, it was still incredible to stand on its shores and think about all the illustrious stories of love, intrigue, and betrayal that have taken place there since the Southern Song Dynasty.

Dinner was an eye-opening experience. Instead of a menu, we were invited to head to a room where fish were still swimming and vegetables were still growing in pits to pick out what we wanted to have for dinner. I’d heard of such places, but never got to experience it for myself. Like all things I’ve eaten in China, the food was out-of-the-world delicious, but as a bonus, was also very healthy!