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November 2, 2016

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Home » City specials » Hangzhou

It’s a great time to enjoy Hangzhou’s scenery

By Wu Huixin | November 2, 2016, Wednesday | Print Edition

NOVEMBER could be dubbed “public excursion and physical exercise month” because a series of sports and sightseeing events will be hosted in Hangzhou. Shanghai Daily takes a look at them and picks three of the most popular.

Hangzhou Xishan Mountain Climbing Festival

The annual climbing festival was first held in 2011 after a 108-kilometer climbing trail was built on Xishan Mountain. It proved a great success and attracted many climbing enthusiasts from home and abroad.

Since then, it has been a traditional event in Xihu District in late autumn every year. This year, it will kick off on November 5. The route starts from Hejia Village, winds its way through Longwu Village and Xishan Mountain Forest Park, and then back to Hejia.

Unlike professional climbing events that require special equipment and a high level of fitness, the route is considered friendly to most people since organizers arrange many flat sections and roads in order to attract ordinary citizens.

The route is also a scenic outing, passing through many picturesque areas. The extensive tea plantations roll out along the gentle slopes and seem to engulf hikers as they pass through.

Longwu boasts most of the area’s tea gardens. And the local government has given the village a proper facelift. Villas were required to paint their walls white and their roofs black, aimed at creating identical appearances to match the beautiful surroundings. Roads, gardens and other infrastructure have also been upgraded.

More than 90 percent of Xishan Mountain Forest Park is covered by vegetation, which provides ample shade for those exploring the area’s trails, streams and waterfalls. Safe stone-step paths help make it easier for hikers.

Hangzhou Marathon

The 2016 Hangzhou Marathon will be held on November 6. The competition is one of the oldest annual marathons in China and dates back to 1987. The race regularly draws competitors from all over the world.

This year’s event will include full, half and mini marathons, a couples run and a run for kids and families.

The annual marathon boasts some of most beautiful scenic routes for runners in the country. Course highlights include the West Lake, tea gardens, Qiantang River and the G20 Summit venue.

A total of 32,000 marathon runners are selected by lottery from the record-breaking 73,127 online applicants. But many runners said they had a difficult time registering for the race because its website crashed due to heavy demand.

The Hangzhou government has prepared plans to develop the public sports industry in the next decade, during which the city will host the 2022 Asian Games and the 2018 FINA Short Course World Championships. The recreation sector was worth an estimated 120 billion yuan (US$18 billion) last year.

In fact, the Hangzhou Marathon has proven a golden boon for the area and fuelled a fever for running that is helping businesses beyond hotels and food.

Each runner pays 40-80 yuan to register and the marathon also attracts millions in sponsorships. Organizers are spending a coupe of million yuan to have CCTV broadcast the race, including some aerial shots from a helicopter.

As for the city, the marathon is a big opportunity to promote its tourism industry. The TV broadcasts show off Hangzhou’s scenic landscape, cultural sights and modern skyscrapers to provide an impressive show for television audiences.

Jiande Tourism Festival

Jiande County will host a tourism festival this month to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Daciyan Mountain Scenic Area. The festival includes a wide variety of activities, including fruit picking, gourmet events and folk shows. Meanwhile, Jiande’s idyllic scenery is great for an outing on a sunny weekend.

Daciyan Mountain is a spiritual place for Buddhists and followers of Confucianism. What makes it famous is the 147-meter-high standing Buddha that looks like a statue of Ksitigarbha — one of Mahayana Buddhism’s four main bodhisattvas.

The ancient Ksitigarbha Temple is half-embedded into the rock near the top of the cliff and half protruding into the air, which makes it look as if it’s suspended in the sky. Since the design is similar to the noted Xuankong Temple in Shanxi Province, the temple is dubbed “Jiangnan Xuankong Temple” (jiangnan refers to the southern area in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River).

According to historical documents, during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), a Hangzhou local named Mo Ziyuan converted to Buddhism after Buddha appeared in a dream. He came to Daciyan Mountain and spent years building this gorgeous abbey.

In addition to Daciyan Mountian, Jiande also boasts several villages that attract many artists and endless streams of enthusiastic photographers. The most famous are Xinye and Sandu villages.

Their remarkably well-preserved historic black-and-white buildings symbolize classical Yangtze River Delta towns.

When strolling along stone slab roads, it’s basically only locals. Poor infrastructure in the past restricted their contact with the outside world. This in turn helped the villagers retain their traditional ways.

Although this tranquil countryside rose to fame overnight and has featured in many travel and photography magazines due to the architecture, they have not been carved out as a crowded sightseeing spot yet.

Hangzhou


 

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