Thursday, July 31, 2008

Inside Leifeng Pagoda (2)

You can find lots of coins on the ground, and I believe the 1 yuan that I tossed into it years ago was still here.

These coins have been buried by a thick layer of dust.
People tossed these coins as if buddha will receive and listen to their wishes.
Do you believe it?

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Inside Leifeng Pagoda

This is definietly not something you can see as a common tourist. Normally we are not allowed to visit the inner chamber of the Leifeng pagoda, and this photo was taken by my friend when a special edition of the Hangzhou scenic spots were being filmed.
I forgot to take my camera home, so I have to 'borrow' her photos for a few days.
Looks like a tomb..and reminds me all those crazy mummy movies. ha

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

'Waters'

I took the photo at a park in our neighborhood.
This is the moment you can see the end of "waters".

Monday, July 28, 2008

Roadside Delicacy


Photo taken @ East Zhoushan Road
I just had my supper there.
Getting tired with those restaurants, have you ever thought about these roadside food?

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Lake-view Pavillion


I took the photo at a famous pavillion in Hangzhou, the Lake-view pavilion, this is a part of its corridor.
The pavillion is famous for a poem written by a poet named Su Dongpo in the Song dynasty(苏东坡,some of you may even have listened to a song written by him, and performed by a pop singer Jacky Cheung.)
It sits on the right side of the Broken Bridge. Now it also provides tea services. If you want to visit Hangzhou, this is a must see spot. (I should say this is not a good season, too many storms and probably you can't stand the temperature, unless you want to shoot lotus photos)

When you look at the trees and the pavillion, can you believe they have been here for almost a thousand of years?

Saturday, July 26, 2008

CMCC and China Unicom

Business building of CMCC

China unicom,Hangzhou branch. A major phone operator in mainland China. know more about this company, click its wiki link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Unicom


To the opposite of this building is the business building of China Mobile(in the first photo),aka CMCC, the largest mobile phone operator in China, also the world's largest ranked by number of subscribers, with over 380 million customers.

I'm a user of M-zone, one of the service brands of CMCC. Most of the school students choose this operator as it has more favorable services targeting young people. But some of us have two phone numbers, one of CMCC, one of China Unicom, as they charge an extra fee when a customer of CMCC calls a user of China unicom.

They both provides internet access, but we don't use that often as it takes a long time to open a single webpage and the charge is counted by time.. but if you are always on the go and have to use mobile phone to get online, you can choose the 10 yuan monthly charge, which has no time limit, pretty favorable but it still takes a long time to open a wedpage.
still wish you a happy weekend~

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Sky and Building


Happy Friday~
This is the building of Hangzhou Customs. There have been so many maneuvers recently.

Lotus

Happy Thursday to you~
I would prefer those little buds (hidden under the big leaves)to the one in full blossom(under the scorching sun).
B108-DD said : "I finally come to know why people hate to make decisions, because making decisons means taking responsibilities".

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

...

I took the photo at a Hangzhou-based wooden craft shop.
The knots go well with the light in which the pattern is waiting to be discovered.
(Ok, maybe Pldp's right, so I'll just go with "...")

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Melting Of The Broken Bridge


40 celsius degree outside.Broken Bridge is still a hot spot.
(The name suggests a broken bridge sometime in winter ..)
Lotus season again, this is the most beautiful flowering in summer.
Blue sky, lotus, and the broken bridge. Which one do you like most?

Monday, July 21, 2008

Coke Meets Olympic Again


It seems everything has somthing to do with Olympics now in China, and the most intimate are those sponsors. You can see the big characters of Olympic (in Chinese) and Coca cola at the backdrop.

My collegue took the photo at Yellow Dragon Sports Center on our way back to the station, (know more about the stadium, click its wiki link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_Dragon_Stadium)

Chinese kids are too much familiar with this friend. When I was a teenager, I drank so much of it that my dad used to say "more than the water you've had".

Still wish you a happy Monday~

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Rush Hour Hangzhou

I took the photo from the back viewer, a long queue at the rush hour.


An accident happened, and...chaos as a result.
But sometimes such chaos can occur without accidents, partly due to the lack of traffic police officers.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Yi-Shou-Chang Pharmacy

First built in Shandong Province(In northern China, its capital is Qingdao) in 1880, the pharmacy has been existing for 128 years. It mainly sells TCM(traditonal Chinese medicine).

Now it has traveled a long way to the southern reach of the Yangtze river.
Taken on a new look, it still retained the typical style of a traditonal Chinese pharmacy, but the people inside no longer wear Qi-pao a century after 1880.

Friday, July 18, 2008

Moon Before The Storm


I took the photo on my way home.
Just heard the news that a strong tropical storm "sea gull"(ok, I should correct it,"Kalmaegi" ) is on its way to Hangzhou, as you can see, the cloud is a little bit different from usual time. But it's beautiful, isn't it?
Wish you a happy Friday~

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Men'er Lucky Tea Workshop




This is one of the most saught after tea-workshops in Hangzhou, Men'er Lucky Tea workshop. Pretty famous in HAngzhou. Average per capita cost:45 RMB

You all know China is reknowned for its tea culture, which has a history of 3000 years. Tea is the drink of the whole nation. And.. Hangzhou is the hometown of Longjing tea, which I should say is crazily expensive. (the best cultivar costs 110, 000 RMB every 200 gram. )

If you understand tea culture, down to every procedure of its growth, you'll say "yes, it deserves this price", but if you're innocent of tea culture or know just something of it as I am, forget it, it doesn't taste so good as you have imagined.

But most of the tea workshops in HZ serve more than tea drinks, they're also places for a short afternoon rest.
After a whole day's hustle and bustle, we all need a place to take a rest before we focus on our work again.
And that's where efficiency comes from, so don't forget to take a nap when working overnight. :)

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Craftsman Kitchen


Craftsman Kitchen, another local restaurant with high performance/price ratio , I don't know why they love the word "kitchen" so much, but it seems restaurants with that word are always more popular than others.haha (Another good example is 'Grandma's Kitchen')
Very cheap, can you believe the salmon just cost 19 yuan every 50 gram in this restaurant ?
a-o,I was busy eating and forgot to take a photo of the specialty of this restaurant, really delicious...
I wish you a good appetite today~

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Shengli Theater

It's not some mordern architecture, and it looks pretty shabby, but this is one of the most popular theaters in Hangzhou.
Built in 1934, Shengli theater has witnessed most of the ups and downs of this city.
Do you feel a sense of history?

Monday, July 14, 2008

Dreaming of tiger spring at hupao valley


Photo taken at one of the Ten New Views of the West Lake, 'Dreaming of tiger spring at hupao valley'.
Beautiful, isn't it?
Take a close look and you'll find those little fishes there. Sooo cute.
I wish you a happy Monday~

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Panda feast

Ok, I've decided not to follow the rules of Daily Photo at this happy weekend.
It has nothing to do with Hangzhou, but I just watched a movie 'Kungfu panda',really funny, and I'm very much interested in pandas now.

here are some funny shots on the internet
http://qbar.qq.com/u2002461 the original post

Geez, I get stucked.
Gosh.. you are so heavy, gotta lose some weight

I'm the BOSS

It seems yours are more delicious.
"seek and hide"

Drank a little bit over last night, and she locked me outside the door..

Look! So many people get jailed!

I hate paparazzi! Get away!

oo7 girl

Too many homework today...

I belong to the first class
I'm a little down today

Don't you think it's a little bit impolite to watch me eating?

Hey hey , can you find me?

Mr.doctor....could you be kind enough to give me one???

Drop your gun!!

Sir,I promise I'll never do that again.
To be or not to be, it's a question..
Thomas circle

A moment of tribute..
Just for fun, hope you enjoy it~

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Azalea?

Actually I don't know the name of the flower, maybe azalea?
I was thinking of a close shot, but as you can see, they have a little guest up there busy doing his job. So I decided not to 'bother' them.

I wish you a great weekend~

Friday, July 11, 2008

Steamed Eggs with Hard Clams

Steamed Eggs with Hard Clams
Not spicy, it tastes really good.
It costs 36 yuan in G.K ,but the price might vary from restaurant to restaurant.
Have you ever tried it?

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Rosy Clouds


Hoping you have a great day^^
4:35 am, uptown of Hangzhou.
Another unexpected gift for sleepless people.


Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Lou-Wai-Lou



This photo was taken back in 2007. This is the most famous restaurant in Hangzhou, and the most expensive I should say. I have posted a Hangzhou dish, "crystal shrimp", of this restaurant in one of the previous posts.

Many foreign visitors will be lead to this famous restaurant by those crazy tourist guides. If you are not the one to pay the bill, that's a pretty cool experience, but if you are the 'boss', watch out....

The name of this restaurant was given by a poet in Song Dynasty. Louwailou, literally “a house sets outside another building” in Chinese.

Correction: Louwailou is the most expensive LOCAL restaurant in Hangzhou, while the most expensive restaurant in Hangzhou goes to the Four Seasons in Radisson, where lots of celebrities haunts.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Hot Toufu

Back to our topic HZDP, this is a dish of 'Hot Tofu', kinda spicy, I guess you all have tried it in restaurants at China town, but, you'll get surprised at the price here, 3 yuan!! that is less than 0.4 dollars... Much more cheaper than China town.
I took the photo at Grandma's Kitchen, a famous local restaurant in Hangzhou. It's Very Very cheap,but the environment is pretty good and romantic, has nothing to do with Grandma, ha.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Leifeng Pagoda


A sunset view of the Leifeng pagoda, I didn't use Photoshop.
Leifeng Pagoda is currently a five story tall tower which has eight sides and is located on Sunset Hill along the south route of the West lake. The original pagoda was built in 975 AD, during the Five Dynasties and Ten kingdoms period. It has been a popular tourist attraction since being rebuilt in 2002.
Know more about this pagoda, you can check its wiki link below.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Taiziwan Park



Happy Sunday to you.

I took the photo at Taiziwan park, one of the most beautiful parks in Hangzhou.
Locating at the south-western corner to the Westlake, the park covers an area of 80.03 hectares and is sorrounded by ranges of mountains. It's VERY VERY beautiful.
Unfortunately there're no bus stops near the park, and most foreign visitors don't hold an international driving license, so my suggestion is to rent a bicycle, or just walk along the Nanshan Road, where dozens of night bars dot along.

The name of this park "Taizi", in Chinese that is "太子", means 'prince' in English, but a little bit different from that, because Taizi in ancient China is the successor of an emperor, while a prince may not.(I'm not so sure about the definition of a prince, but so far as I know, a prince may not always be the successor, right?)

It is said that this park was the "攒园"(means 'royal garden', the place for royal families to take rests) of two princes in the Southern-Song Dynasty, and that's how the name comes from.

PS: It may be better for your understanding if I tell you that Hangzhou(formerly Lin An ‘'临安') is the capital of China in the southern-Song Dynasty.
It seems this site has been ignored by us, but I'll never abandon it.
Hangzhou is a beautiful place and there are endless photos waiting for you.
"Know more about China? Go to Hangzhou!" This is one of the few commercials on CCTV Internatinal.
So, keep visiting HZDP!

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Glutinous Rice (Zongzi)


Photo taken at Dragon Boat Festivel, May 5th. This is the food we eat on that particular occasion.