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Chilling out with polar bears
By Xu Wenwen |
July 12, 2010, Monday
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IN this hot weather, Hangzhou offers numerous options for chilling out away from the downtown. Visitors can cool down at the Polar Ocean Park, relax near beautiful Xiang Lake and take in tranquil Oriental culture. Xu Wenwen reports.
Scenic Xiaoshan is one of the top 10 tourist cities of east China, famed for Xiang Lake, the "sister" of West Lake, an Oriental culture center and the Polar Ocean Park where you can see polar bears.
Xiaoshan in the southern part of Hangzhou has poetic mountain and water scenery, archeological relics and sites going back 8,000 years, and modern recreation spots.
Oriental Culture Park
At the convergence of the Qiantang, Puyang and Fuchun rivers, the Oriental Culture Park promotes ancient Oriental culture, including Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism and I-Ching culture.
Filled with Taoist architecture, the park fuses Confucianism and Buddhism with the enchanting scenery of the lake, the Bagua or Eight Trigrams and other beautiful landscapes.
The Oriental Culture Park features a 2,728-meter-long corridor and scenic enclosures, such as Taoist, Confucian and Buddhist sections, Millennium Square, Big Grassland, Oriental Resort, World's Precious Orchard and Shanrui Place of Interest.
Xiang Lake, Cross-Lake Bridge
Beautiful Xiang Lake, with pure water and sandy beaches, is the "sister" of West Lake, and is separated by the Qiantang River from the West Lake. It's famous for its scenery and history.
Known as the "Eighty Li (40 kilometer) Great Lakeside Scene," the lake's north and south are rimmed by green mountains. The lake is shaped like a calabash, with its rounded upper and lower waters crossed by the Cross-Lake Bridge built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in the narrowest strait.
Cross-Lake Bridge site on the shore is a Neolithic site dating back around 8,000 years.
It was excavated in 1990, 2001 and 2001 and the unearthed stoneware, wood, bone implements and jade objects again prove that the Yangtze River Delta was another source of Chinese civilization.
Archeologists have also discovered thousands of cultivated paddy grains, which date the region's grain cultivation back by 1,000 years. A 7,500-year-old canoe is believed to be one of the oldest in the world.
These treasures are exhibited in the Cross-Lake Bridge Site Museum opened last year.
Polar Ocean Park
Just 7 kilometers from downtown Hangzhou, Polar Ocean Park is one of China's largest such parks, featuring polar bears, whales, walruses, foxes, wolves and other species.
The 1 billion yuan (US$147.5 million) park opened in 2008 and is becoming many families' top option for short vacations.
The 220,000-square-meter area, with 15,000 tons of water, is a habitat for more than 150 polar animals from 160 species and more than 1,000 fish species.
Performances by park staff and foreign troupes are popular attractions, which include aquatic dances by mermaids and clowns. Animals, such as sea lions, also perform.
A restaurant surrounded by an aquarium allows visitors to watch fish, dolphins and whales while they eat.
The park also has one of China's very few therapeutic centers for autistic children.
Scenic Xiaoshan is one of the top 10 tourist cities of east China, famed for Xiang Lake, the "sister" of West Lake, an Oriental culture center and the Polar Ocean Park where you can see polar bears.
Xiaoshan in the southern part of Hangzhou has poetic mountain and water scenery, archeological relics and sites going back 8,000 years, and modern recreation spots.
Oriental Culture Park
At the convergence of the Qiantang, Puyang and Fuchun rivers, the Oriental Culture Park promotes ancient Oriental culture, including Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism and I-Ching culture.
Filled with Taoist architecture, the park fuses Confucianism and Buddhism with the enchanting scenery of the lake, the Bagua or Eight Trigrams and other beautiful landscapes.
The Oriental Culture Park features a 2,728-meter-long corridor and scenic enclosures, such as Taoist, Confucian and Buddhist sections, Millennium Square, Big Grassland, Oriental Resort, World's Precious Orchard and Shanrui Place of Interest.
Xiang Lake, Cross-Lake Bridge
Beautiful Xiang Lake, with pure water and sandy beaches, is the "sister" of West Lake, and is separated by the Qiantang River from the West Lake. It's famous for its scenery and history.
Known as the "Eighty Li (40 kilometer) Great Lakeside Scene," the lake's north and south are rimmed by green mountains. The lake is shaped like a calabash, with its rounded upper and lower waters crossed by the Cross-Lake Bridge built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in the narrowest strait.
Cross-Lake Bridge site on the shore is a Neolithic site dating back around 8,000 years.
It was excavated in 1990, 2001 and 2001 and the unearthed stoneware, wood, bone implements and jade objects again prove that the Yangtze River Delta was another source of Chinese civilization.
Archeologists have also discovered thousands of cultivated paddy grains, which date the region's grain cultivation back by 1,000 years. A 7,500-year-old canoe is believed to be one of the oldest in the world.
These treasures are exhibited in the Cross-Lake Bridge Site Museum opened last year.
Polar Ocean Park
Just 7 kilometers from downtown Hangzhou, Polar Ocean Park is one of China's largest such parks, featuring polar bears, whales, walruses, foxes, wolves and other species.
The 1 billion yuan (US$147.5 million) park opened in 2008 and is becoming many families' top option for short vacations.
The 220,000-square-meter area, with 15,000 tons of water, is a habitat for more than 150 polar animals from 160 species and more than 1,000 fish species.
Performances by park staff and foreign troupes are popular attractions, which include aquatic dances by mermaids and clowns. Animals, such as sea lions, also perform.
A restaurant surrounded by an aquarium allows visitors to watch fish, dolphins and whales while they eat.
The park also has one of China's very few therapeutic centers for autistic children.
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