HANGZHOU FIREWORKS
Coming back into Shanghai after our return to Bali was a bit of a letdown. But we had missed our friends, Larry & Therese, who suggested to us a weekend excursion to Hangzhou for later in the month of October (actually Halloween weekend). Therese very graciously researched accommodations, and soon reservations were made at the Shangri-La in Hangzhou. Larry & Therese generously offered the use of their van and driver for the weekend.
Shortly after we’d made our plans, it was discovered that this was to be the weekend of a large fireworks demonstration in Hangzhou. We couldn’t believe our luck to have gotten (what turned out to be) the last two rooms in the Shangri-La for that particular weekend.
The guys got out of work early Friday afternoon, and Mr. Ji picked us up mid-afternoon as we were hoping to get out of town before the Friday rush hour which can be a thick, immovable mess each week. We still had a little trouble getting out of Shanghai but once outside the district, the sailing was fairly smooth until we reached the outskirts of Hangzhou a couple of hours later.
The Shangri-La is built into the side of a large hill overlooking West Lake which is by far the most pleasant of attractions in Hangzhou. The Shangri-La boasts some of the most beautiful views of not only West Lake but of the cityscape of Hangzhou in the distance. We had surely chosen well. We had lovely rooms (in fact, Randy and I were installed in a small suite) and use of the executive lounge where we could relax with drinks and snacks while watching the tourists bustling along the water's edge and the boats drifting along the lake’s shore.
On Saturday morning, we started out on foot after breakfast in the above mentioned lounge, and quickly discovered that many of the footpaths with which Randy and I were familiar from our last visit to Hangzhou a couple of years earlier were blocked as the fireworks demonstration was being constructed for that evening. We were restricted to only the paths on the very outside of the lake instead of the numerous bridges and causeways that crisscross West Lake. At first, we felt somewhat disappointed in that our journey was being restricted in this way. But we quickly realized that the silver lining of the situation was that all these outside paths were not being traveled by many others as most folks simply gave up idea of the walking tour of West Lake due to the limits put on the lake area. As such, we had lovely long walks with virtually no crowd to fight. We did however see a few bridal parties that had arranged to have their photographs taken along the lake’s edge. We laughed about the brides moving through the beautiful scenery in their big white gowns under which were jeans and sneakers making for some comical scenes as they lifted their trains and layers of white fabric to go from one area to another. We found a small remote bar tucked into a marsh area where we shared bottles of beer marveling at being the only customers in the establishment … a miracle in a country with the population of China, especially in a tourist destination.
During lunch back at the hotel, we hatched a plan to try to arrive at the executive lounge an hour prior to the fireworks demonstration. We’d been told that the patio surrounding the lounge would only hold about 20 people and we were determined to be among the 20 as this was the best view for the fireworks demonstration on the lake. It seems there was a business expo being held in Hangzhou that week which culminated in the fireworks demonstration. This demonstration is basically a chance for fireworks buyers to view the latest and greatest in pyrotechnics offered for their purchase. We just happened to be lucky enough to have decided to visit Hangzhou during this demonstration.
The plan worked quite well. We were able to secure seats on the balcony for what was absolutely the most incredible fireworks display we’ve seen to date. Shapes and colors that boggled the mind were lauched into the air by a dozen barges anchored in the middle of West Lake. The blasts were timed so precisely that they sounded like the percussion section of a drum corps playing staccato cadences. There were fireworks in shapes of hearts, Chinese characters, in the numbers of ’09 (as in 2009), and brilliant, shimmering drapes of light that reminded me of willow trees on fire. The red color was so deep and vibrant, and I wondered what they did to make it appear so.
The show went on for about 45 minutes after which we retired to our room for some card playing, one of our favorite activities with Larry & Therese as they enjoy playing Euchre as much as we do. Euchre seems to be a “Michigan” thing ... most folks we know who are not from Michigan have never heard of it. And as Randy and I both hail from card playing families, we were thrilled when we met them to learn that Larry & Therese not only play but belong to a “league” back in the hometown of Lake Orion, Michigan.
The next day, the walking paths and causeways were opened up so we were able to hike the more traditional routes around and over West Lake which we did until late afternoon when Mr. Ji showed up right on time to fetch us for the trip back to Shanghai. As usual, another great weekend was enjoyed with Larry & Therese who I must say have sort of become our best friends in Shanghai. As we have SO much in common with them, we always enjoy time spent with them.
Shortly after we’d made our plans, it was discovered that this was to be the weekend of a large fireworks demonstration in Hangzhou. We couldn’t believe our luck to have gotten (what turned out to be) the last two rooms in the Shangri-La for that particular weekend.
The guys got out of work early Friday afternoon, and Mr. Ji picked us up mid-afternoon as we were hoping to get out of town before the Friday rush hour which can be a thick, immovable mess each week. We still had a little trouble getting out of Shanghai but once outside the district, the sailing was fairly smooth until we reached the outskirts of Hangzhou a couple of hours later.
The Shangri-La is built into the side of a large hill overlooking West Lake which is by far the most pleasant of attractions in Hangzhou. The Shangri-La boasts some of the most beautiful views of not only West Lake but of the cityscape of Hangzhou in the distance. We had surely chosen well. We had lovely rooms (in fact, Randy and I were installed in a small suite) and use of the executive lounge where we could relax with drinks and snacks while watching the tourists bustling along the water's edge and the boats drifting along the lake’s shore.
On Saturday morning, we started out on foot after breakfast in the above mentioned lounge, and quickly discovered that many of the footpaths with which Randy and I were familiar from our last visit to Hangzhou a couple of years earlier were blocked as the fireworks demonstration was being constructed for that evening. We were restricted to only the paths on the very outside of the lake instead of the numerous bridges and causeways that crisscross West Lake. At first, we felt somewhat disappointed in that our journey was being restricted in this way. But we quickly realized that the silver lining of the situation was that all these outside paths were not being traveled by many others as most folks simply gave up idea of the walking tour of West Lake due to the limits put on the lake area. As such, we had lovely long walks with virtually no crowd to fight. We did however see a few bridal parties that had arranged to have their photographs taken along the lake’s edge. We laughed about the brides moving through the beautiful scenery in their big white gowns under which were jeans and sneakers making for some comical scenes as they lifted their trains and layers of white fabric to go from one area to another. We found a small remote bar tucked into a marsh area where we shared bottles of beer marveling at being the only customers in the establishment … a miracle in a country with the population of China, especially in a tourist destination.
During lunch back at the hotel, we hatched a plan to try to arrive at the executive lounge an hour prior to the fireworks demonstration. We’d been told that the patio surrounding the lounge would only hold about 20 people and we were determined to be among the 20 as this was the best view for the fireworks demonstration on the lake. It seems there was a business expo being held in Hangzhou that week which culminated in the fireworks demonstration. This demonstration is basically a chance for fireworks buyers to view the latest and greatest in pyrotechnics offered for their purchase. We just happened to be lucky enough to have decided to visit Hangzhou during this demonstration.
The plan worked quite well. We were able to secure seats on the balcony for what was absolutely the most incredible fireworks display we’ve seen to date. Shapes and colors that boggled the mind were lauched into the air by a dozen barges anchored in the middle of West Lake. The blasts were timed so precisely that they sounded like the percussion section of a drum corps playing staccato cadences. There were fireworks in shapes of hearts, Chinese characters, in the numbers of ’09 (as in 2009), and brilliant, shimmering drapes of light that reminded me of willow trees on fire. The red color was so deep and vibrant, and I wondered what they did to make it appear so.
The show went on for about 45 minutes after which we retired to our room for some card playing, one of our favorite activities with Larry & Therese as they enjoy playing Euchre as much as we do. Euchre seems to be a “Michigan” thing ... most folks we know who are not from Michigan have never heard of it. And as Randy and I both hail from card playing families, we were thrilled when we met them to learn that Larry & Therese not only play but belong to a “league” back in the hometown of Lake Orion, Michigan.
The next day, the walking paths and causeways were opened up so we were able to hike the more traditional routes around and over West Lake which we did until late afternoon when Mr. Ji showed up right on time to fetch us for the trip back to Shanghai. As usual, another great weekend was enjoyed with Larry & Therese who I must say have sort of become our best friends in Shanghai. As we have SO much in common with them, we always enjoy time spent with them.
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