Hangzhou-Water, Tea and History

Sunday, May 25, 2008
Hangzhou-Day 2:

Today was not necessarily an early day for us, but it sure was a busy day. Leaving the hotel at about a quarter to 9 this morning our fist stop was West Lake. Hangzhou is famous for this very large body of water on the Western side of the city...thus the name: West Lake. This lake covers about 3 square miles and is half man-made and half natural. The natural portion was once part of the China Sea, but now is a reservoir. The lake itself is quite shallow with an average depth of 6ft. I found it interesting to note that every 2 weeks the entire body of the lake is pumped and replaced with clean water from which they collect about 2 metric tons of garbage daily. It is also home to the Broken Bridge which is referenced in the Tail of the White Snake Lady. It was named the Broken Bridge for 3 reasons: 1. The snow on top melts faster than that underneath so the bridge appears "broken" 2. The bridge is located at the end of the causeway 3. Broken is the family name.

Our next stop was at the Tea Garden. This is located in a small city that is home to more than 1000 teahouses, most of which are privately owned. Hangzhou's specialty is Green Tea and the specific type grown here is Dragon Well Tea (Longjing). I did not know much about tea before the visit as I myself am not an avid tea drinker but I was stunned to learn that it took 80,000 sprouts to make 1 kilo of tea. (And if that is any indication this Garden was HUGE!) After the sprouts are picked from the plant they are then air dried for about 4 hours and then are dried in a chinese cooking pot at about 110 degrees Celsius. The average drying time for 200g is 45 minutes so the procedure is very labor intensive. We also learned about a few types of tea available here in China. The first is Emperor's Tea. This has a very light color and is picked very early in the season, about February or March. Next comes the Daughter's Tea in March to April, followed by the Daughter-in-laws tea in April-May and finally the Mother-in-Laws Tea at the end of the season. It was also very surprising to know that the only tea that is exported is the mother-in-laws tea (the darkest and last picked) and it is usually ground and put into tea bags. The other three types are only available here in China.

After the Tea Garden we decided that it was time for lunch so we traveled over to The Hangzhou Botanical Garden and stopped at a restaurant by the entrance. After filling our stomaches we made our way out to view the garden. The garden is divided into several sections including, but not limited to, a medicinal garden, a landscape garden and a systematic section. The garden is located on the western outskirts and is quite peaceful as there is not much foot traffic compared to other places we have visited. (Well with the exception of wedding season as we saw many couples dressed up to take their wedding photos.)


After the Garden we were off to the China National Tea Museum. The museum was opened in April 1991, and covers 4.7 Ha with floor space totaling 8000 square meters. The museum is famous because it is the only museum to be specialized in tea and tea culture in China. The museum is not only home to the history and description of tea, but it also provides a location for training and research and is used as a basis to maintain culture. "In 2003, China Tea Culture Exhibition won the fifth session of National Top Ten Exhibition Awards, which was the most valuable award in terms of museum exhibitions in China." This museum has been visited by many in the government including leaders, members of the Communist Party, and friends from all over the world.

After the Garden we stopped back at the hotel to cool off and freshen up for a bit and then made our way to Old Street. Old Street, also known as Hefang Street, is a representation of "old Hangzhou." This street is designed for pedestrians and along both sides there are a numerous amount of shops offering various things such as, tea, silk, food, and many miscellaneous items. It is definitely a place for tourists to shop. Although this is not the real street ( it has been redesigned) the shops look like those dating back into the 1800s as well as the 1700s and possibly even earlier.