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Beat the heat and stay cool by following some chilled-out tips
By Yao Minji |
July 14, 2009, Tuesday
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KNOWN as "heaven on Earth," Hangzhou has another less complimentary name in summer, "furnace," and it definitely feels as hot as hell.
The temperature easily rises above 37 degrees Celsius, and you can literally get soaked in sweat after a 10-minute walk.
Yet, the West Lake with lotus fully blossoming is too beautiful to miss. And you might catch a faint breeze.
The mountains and streams also beckon, and the surrounding air temperature is lower.
What's a good summer tour to avoid the worst of the heat?
Shanghai Daily offers three tips: avoid the crowds, go into the mountains and get close to the water.
Crowds always make the heat worse, but Hangzhou's beautiful attractions are always crowded, even in summer. The idea is to choose the right time, with fewer people.
Taking a boat on the West Lake is comfortable and charming but waiting in line for a boat on a summer afternoon can be unbearable. And even on the water, the sun beating down on the lake seems to broil the passengers.
The best way is to arrive right before sunset - these days about 15 to 20 minutes from 5pm, when most boats are about to finish for the day and most tourists have disembarked.
You can still get a small boat for four people for a two-hour tour.
At this hour you can better enjoy the lake, without worrying about bumping into other boats. The West Lake after sunset is just as inviting as during the day, if not more so. Instead of revealing everything in the sunshine, the lake now is a place of shadows with delicate details to be discovered.
You must search for the towers hidden in the distant mountains and the views of pavilions obscured by trees. The lotus flowers moving in the breeze look different from those by day. You can see and feel the sunset, as well as the moonrise over the tranquil inner West Lake.
The lake in the evening looks more like a traditional Chinese landscape painting. A common technique in landscape painting is to liu bai, meaning to leave a blank space.
The aesthetic is to hide or obscure a small part rather than reveal everything so viewers remain curious about the blank space, imagining what they cannot see.
In tours you can choose between a shorter tour in the outer lake or a full two-hour trip including the inner part. The outer part, although beautiful with the lotuses and its 10 famous attractions, has lost the feeling of tranquility.
The inner part, less touched, manages to retain the essence of the lake - clear calm water where birds swoop down now and then. The Chinese rowing team is said to practice in the area.
The other way to avoid the heat is to go into the mountains and it's even better if the mountains happen to be close to water. Santai Mountain is ideal, only 15 minutes' drive from the West Lake and steps away from the Nine Creeks in Misty Forest.
Santai means three plateaus and is named after the shape of the mountain, with three large natural plateaus from top to bottom.
The Nine Creeks in Misty Forest, a famous attraction, is one of the most popular retreats from the summer heat.
With nine small creeks connecting to each other, the temperature is at least five degrees lower than that outside. And it is even cooler if you wade in the water or visit one of the tea houses nearby.
Walking upward from the lowest stream, you encounter fewer and fewer tourists and the eateries at the top are also cooler and less crowded.
On a hot day you can check into one of the many hotels on Santai Mountain, all just some 15 minutes' drive from the city center. The mountain area has many local attractions that the government is promoting as an "escape-from-the-city."
If you love Chinese tea, you don't have to go all the way to Longjing Village, or Dragon Well Village, to fight the crowds for a nice glass of tea.
Meijiawu, another large Longjing tea village, is only steps away from the mountain and offers exactly the same tea and farmers' homemade dishes. And it's cooler in the mountains.
If you are interested in history and culture, there's nearby Song City, a theme park featuring the culture of the Song Dynasty (960-1279).
Hangzhou was one of the few ancient Chinese capitals in the south, and many royal families of the Song Dynasty retreated to enjoy the warmer area. Most capitals were in the north, in Beijing and Henan Province.
If you want to learn more about Chinese Buddhism or architecture of the temples, the famous Lingyin Temple, or Temple of the Soul's Retreat, is also quite close to the mountain.
And more temples can be found either in Santai Mountain or the mountains nearby. Less popular than the Lingyin Temple, these other temples are less crowded with tourists and often visited by locals.
Start your tranquil tour in the morning and arrive at one of the temples around noon, just in time for a delicious vegetarian meal prepared by the monks.
The temperature easily rises above 37 degrees Celsius, and you can literally get soaked in sweat after a 10-minute walk.
Yet, the West Lake with lotus fully blossoming is too beautiful to miss. And you might catch a faint breeze.
The mountains and streams also beckon, and the surrounding air temperature is lower.
What's a good summer tour to avoid the worst of the heat?
Shanghai Daily offers three tips: avoid the crowds, go into the mountains and get close to the water.
Crowds always make the heat worse, but Hangzhou's beautiful attractions are always crowded, even in summer. The idea is to choose the right time, with fewer people.
Taking a boat on the West Lake is comfortable and charming but waiting in line for a boat on a summer afternoon can be unbearable. And even on the water, the sun beating down on the lake seems to broil the passengers.
The best way is to arrive right before sunset - these days about 15 to 20 minutes from 5pm, when most boats are about to finish for the day and most tourists have disembarked.
You can still get a small boat for four people for a two-hour tour.
At this hour you can better enjoy the lake, without worrying about bumping into other boats. The West Lake after sunset is just as inviting as during the day, if not more so. Instead of revealing everything in the sunshine, the lake now is a place of shadows with delicate details to be discovered.
You must search for the towers hidden in the distant mountains and the views of pavilions obscured by trees. The lotus flowers moving in the breeze look different from those by day. You can see and feel the sunset, as well as the moonrise over the tranquil inner West Lake.
The lake in the evening looks more like a traditional Chinese landscape painting. A common technique in landscape painting is to liu bai, meaning to leave a blank space.
The aesthetic is to hide or obscure a small part rather than reveal everything so viewers remain curious about the blank space, imagining what they cannot see.
In tours you can choose between a shorter tour in the outer lake or a full two-hour trip including the inner part. The outer part, although beautiful with the lotuses and its 10 famous attractions, has lost the feeling of tranquility.
The inner part, less touched, manages to retain the essence of the lake - clear calm water where birds swoop down now and then. The Chinese rowing team is said to practice in the area.
The other way to avoid the heat is to go into the mountains and it's even better if the mountains happen to be close to water. Santai Mountain is ideal, only 15 minutes' drive from the West Lake and steps away from the Nine Creeks in Misty Forest.
Santai means three plateaus and is named after the shape of the mountain, with three large natural plateaus from top to bottom.
The Nine Creeks in Misty Forest, a famous attraction, is one of the most popular retreats from the summer heat.
With nine small creeks connecting to each other, the temperature is at least five degrees lower than that outside. And it is even cooler if you wade in the water or visit one of the tea houses nearby.
Walking upward from the lowest stream, you encounter fewer and fewer tourists and the eateries at the top are also cooler and less crowded.
On a hot day you can check into one of the many hotels on Santai Mountain, all just some 15 minutes' drive from the city center. The mountain area has many local attractions that the government is promoting as an "escape-from-the-city."
If you love Chinese tea, you don't have to go all the way to Longjing Village, or Dragon Well Village, to fight the crowds for a nice glass of tea.
Meijiawu, another large Longjing tea village, is only steps away from the mountain and offers exactly the same tea and farmers' homemade dishes. And it's cooler in the mountains.
If you are interested in history and culture, there's nearby Song City, a theme park featuring the culture of the Song Dynasty (960-1279).
Hangzhou was one of the few ancient Chinese capitals in the south, and many royal families of the Song Dynasty retreated to enjoy the warmer area. Most capitals were in the north, in Beijing and Henan Province.
If you want to learn more about Chinese Buddhism or architecture of the temples, the famous Lingyin Temple, or Temple of the Soul's Retreat, is also quite close to the mountain.
And more temples can be found either in Santai Mountain or the mountains nearby. Less popular than the Lingyin Temple, these other temples are less crowded with tourists and often visited by locals.
Start your tranquil tour in the morning and arrive at one of the temples around noon, just in time for a delicious vegetarian meal prepared by the monks.
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