Xitang: A River Town

上有天堂，下有西塘；不去一趟，实在冤枉。

"Above there is paradise, below there is Xitang; To not go one time, would be very wrong."

We have returned safely from our weekend trip to Hangzhou City and Xitang, both between 2 and 3 hours from our base of operations in Shanghai. Apparently there are numerous such river towns in China, but this one is particularly known. The streets are tiny and there are lots of quality bridges spanning the small rivers. The locals all have road level stores selling knock-offs, beverages, and little odds and ends. I can't say it's paradise on earth. The interesting part is watching the locals go about their daily lives in an old-fashioned setting. The trip inspired me to plan a future boat voyage exploring the waterways of the Yangtze River delta.

Hangzhou is known as China's most beautiful city, as it surrounds a large lake and sits at the base of the mountains. Six of us hired a boatman to row us across the lake Saturday night and we were able to enjoy the many temples lit up like Christmas trees around the lake.

We also visited a tea plantation and sat through a thirty minute lecture/advertisement of green tea's countless healing qualities (you'll lose weight, you won't get cancer, you won't age, it helps digestion, it tightens your skin, it can steam your eyes- see the video link below, and it's all available for sale in four varieties, how much do you all want to buy? Yes, we were suckered into buying a whole boatload of the stuff but it was enjoyable.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=YH_QQyvHNWE