hitting major attractions today. first stop, lingyin temple, temple of secluded inspiration, built in AD 326, which would mean the info on the back of the ticket is wrong. and which was already thronging with tourists, devotees and peddlers at 8.30 in the morning. "During the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) celebrations, about 70,000 people per day come to the temple to worship." good to know. temples are not generally my thing, think I overdosed on the ones in and around beijing, but lingyinsi does have its attractions: the "traditional depiction of guanyin and the 500 arhats at vulture peak" with its detailed rendition of heaven, earth and sea, as well as a 20-m high statue of Sikamoni, the 'second largest indoor one.' (more info at www.orientalarchitecture.com/hangzhou/LINGYIN.htm)
took 35 rmb to get into the attraction area and another 30 rmb to get into the temple grounds. the area also features the flying-from-afar-peak, with sculpted figures from the 10th to 14th centuries. both the peak and the temple had escaped largely unscathed from the cultural revolution due to the intervention of premier zhou enlai. the peak was also home to ‘a slit of sky’ which can only be viewed from one particular spot (helpfully marked by a daub of paint) in a cave. more like ‘a speck of sky’ though it certainly wasn’t helped by the overcast sky. soon got disgruntled by the crowds at the temple of inspired seclusion. it was even more crowded when I left, with the road to the temple backed up for a ways.
took Y2 (one of the tourist bus routes) to the ‘broken bridge’ for 3 rmb. timed it for an early lunch at louwailou, a dining institution dating back to 1848 located on an islet (though linked to the bank) in West Lake. ordered the hangzhou specialties: west lake carp in sweet and sour sauce (38 rmb), longjing shrimp (98 rmb), fish soup (13.5 rmb) and a glass of longjing tea (3 rmb). the carp’s vinegary sauce grew rather monotonous, though it was true that the grass carp did not taste of mud. which meant that they were usually full of muddy crap? failed to detect any delicate longjing fragrance in the shrimp, though it could have been masked by the vinegar I was dunking it in. a couple who came in at abt the same time I did grew irate waiting for their soup, which arrived as I was getting my check. left the lunchtime melee to find an irritable line of hungry folk waiting.
paid 45 rmb for a boat ride to two of west lake’s islets: huxinting (mid lake pavilion) and sanyueyintan (3 pools reflecting the moon). the vistas were invariably disappointing and i soon tired of yet another ‘fantastic scene.’ the Chinese signs are decidedly less grating, if no less lofty in their descriptions.
decided not to go up leifeng tower, though of all the monuments and attractions, this was the one with the greatest immediacy since it was where Lady White Snake of legend was imprisoned. still, the 40 rmb entry was a put-off. besides, the best views of the tower were not from the tower itself, a fact that was grasped by many. perhaps realizing that getting people to climb up a newly-constructed structure would be an uphill battle, the leifeng tower featured a superior marketing campaign complete with glossy posters on the ‘mystery’ of the tower.
headed back to the hostel to pick up my bag before leaving for the airport. the thing about staying in a youth hostel is that whenever you ask for advice, you get the cheap option. query about what time to leave for the airport meandered into calculating the time to get to the bus stop and then the journey time for the shuttle itself. had to somewhat sheepishly tell them I was just planning to catch a cab. the attempt to bargain with the cabbie down to 70 rmb failed, so it was meter on, which came to 82 rmb in the end. the out-of-the-way location of the airport in xiaoshan had apparently brought down one mayor as it was the result of bribery.
tried the airport express in beijing for the first time. 16 rmb and it reached dongzhimen in under 30 min. sweet.