Busy day in Guangzhou

After our visit to the factory we had lunch with the factory owner and his family.

Then we went to the Chen Clan Academy. It was built from 1888 till 1894 and it’s one of the oldest preserved buildings in the region. It used to be a clan temple but it server as an academy of arts now.

The temple was being renovated when we visited it.

Watch the Bamboo scaffolding.

After visiting the Chen Clan temple we wanted to go to another temple which is situated in a shopping street. In this street you can only find shops that sell Jade gemstones. Jade was known in China as 'yu', the 'royal gem'. In the long history of the art and culture of the enormous Chinese empire, jade has always had a very special significance, roughly comparable with that of gold and diamonds in the West. It embodies the virtues of wisdom, justice, compassion, modesty and courage, yet it also symbolises the female-erotic.


Back to the temple, it was closed…

So we decided to go to the restaurant. It’s called ‘Made in Kitchen’ and it’s a sort of fusion restaurant. One of the most noticeable features of Made in Kitchen is the large open kitchen, allowing you to watch the chefs make and prepare your food. Every time when you go to the table, you need to pass the long runway making you feel like a model on a catwalk (for better or worse!)

2nd day in Hangzhou

Today we visited an island in the Westlake Lesser Yingzhou Isle (Three Pools Mirroring the Moon). The island was built in the early 1600s, this is the largest island on the lake. When there is a full moon, candles inside the pagodas are lit, and in the candle light it appears as though you see the moonlight (if you are romantic enough to see it), hence the name.

We took a (tourist) boat to the island.
The island was very beautiful, but it was a pity that the island was being renovated. So we could not see the whole island and its buildings.

It was very crowded, but what do you expect on a Sunday?


After visiting the island we went to the city centre of Hangzhou. We walked by the lake and we visited a temple. And strange enough it was very quiet in the temple.

Once we got outside again the liveliness returned. We walked through the park. And when we got out of the park we wanted to take a taxi back to the hotel. But that was not an easy task.

After walking quite a while Toine decided to hail some sort of a
Riksja. Because Niki’s feet were hurting.
A woman stopped and took Niki and Manon. Then a man stopped and Guy and I got in. But then there was a lot of fuss. And the man told Guy and I to get out. And the women drove of with Manon and Niki.

The four of us were still trying to get a taxi. Finally a taxi stopped but he didn’t want to take us, because we were in a one way street and he had to make a detour.

So we walked back to the lake. Earlier on the day we tried to make a trip with a rowing boat, but it was expensive.
We were desperate so we tried again. Toine was negotiating with one man, but his price was too high. When we walked off another man came after us and his price was much better, so we got in.


He didn’t bring us to the hotel as we agreed on, but he dropped us at the bridge in the middle of the lake. So we had to walk the last bit to our hotel.

After a drink in the bar and showering we had dinner in the restaurant of the hotel. It was really nice. The noodles were really good! We wanted to order the ‘Beggars Chicken’ a speciality of the region, but you had to order it two hours in advance.

It was a lovely day.