walk all over China

Chapter 27 Zhejiang Prosperous Water Town
Putuo Mountain

The old streets of Yihe, the quaint stone roads, the deep alleys, the dignified gates, and the scattered arcades seem to be the most straightforward description of Zhejiang Water Town.But those hidden in the bones, the most leisurely and richest temperament, can't be covered up no matter what.This is Zhejiang, this simple and peaceful place has its own kind of prosperity.

Here, the Buddha's voice curls up, the waves sound, and under the sunshine, the whole body seems to be surrounded by warmth.

According to legend, the earliest Mount Putuo was just an ordinary mountain, and fishermen often came here to fish.In the Tang Dynasty, a Japanese eminent monk named Huie felt that the Avalokitesvara on Mount Wutai was effective, so he invited a statue of Avalokitesvara from Mount Wutai to return to China by boat.Unexpectedly, when the boat arrived at Lianhua Ocean in Mount Putuo, it encountered wind and waves.Hui E traveled by boat several times, but failed to fulfill his wish, so he believed that Guanyin would not cross to the east, so he left the holy image on the side of Chaoyin Cave to worship.It is said that Avalokitesvara here is very effective and responsive to requests, so the fragrance of Buddha is very prosperous.In its heyday, there were 3 large temples, 88 nunneries, and more than 4000 monks in the whole mountain. It was called "the first Buddhist country in Sinian".

Deng Putuo must pass through the Lotus Ocean.Those who are destined to cross the lotus ocean and catch the morning tide can see the waves churning on the ocean surface, which looks like thousands of lotus flowers fluctuating with the wind, which makes people imagine.Of course, if there is a strong wind and the waves here are rolling, it will be another scene.

Buddha Festival in Mount Putuo
The beauty of Putuo lies in the universal illumination of Buddha, and in the numerous legends of Avalokitesvara's manifestation.When you arrive at Mount Putuo, walk about 300 meters to the southeast, and you will arrive at Duangudaotou.There are rocks of different sizes and shapes on the beach, which appear in the tide. It is said that these rocks of different sizes are the stepping stones left by Guanyin when he sent food.At that time, two sisters-in-law and sisters-in-law made vows to worship the Buddha. A few years later, with a little savings, they pooled their funds and bought a boat to come to Putuo to fulfill their vows.Unexpectedly, when the boat first berthed at Daotou, my sister-in-law "Tiangui" came and thought that because Mount Putuo was the ashram of Avalokitesvara, the three days related to Avalokitesvara were the days when Putuo held a grand Buddhist meeting.These three days are February [-]th, June [-]th, and September [-]th in the lunar calendar.February [-] is the birthday of Guanyin Bodhisattva, and there will be a Buddha birthday party; June [-] is the day of Bodhisattva's enlightenment, and there will also be a Buddha meeting; September [-] is the day of Bodhisattva's nirvana, and there will be a small incense meeting.

If you are unclean, you dare not get off the boat and go into the mountains.The sister-in-law had no choice but to ask her to wait in the boat, and went to the mountain alone to worship Buddha.At noon, the tide rose and the boat was separated from the shore. My sister was so hungry that she was exhausted. After throwing several stones into the tide, a village woman stepped on the stones to come into the boat and brought her lunch.Later, when my sister-in-law came back from offering incense, she told my sister-in-law that when she worshiped the Buddha just now, she looked up at the lotus seat and found that Guanyin's clothes were wet. I don't know why.The sister-in-law was very shocked, so she talked about the fact that her sister-in-law asked someone to deliver the meal at noon, and the two of them suddenly realized that it was the master Guanyin who did it.So, the two went into the mountain to bow down in front of Avalokitesvara together.Because the sister-in-law complained that the sister-in-law had no fate to meet the Bodhisattva before offering incense, people called this wharf "Short Gudaotou", which means to expose the shortcomings of the sister-in-law.And the stones thrown by Guanyin became the best pier for people to berth their boats.

The Buddha said, "All the fields of blessings are within a square inch; if you look for them from the heart, you can feel everything." Perhaps this is the reason why Putuo makes people happy.

West Lake
Jiangnan is like a painting, words can't describe her beauty, you can only feel the style of Jiangnan with heavy makeup and light makeup with your heart.The beauty of West Lake is like a March day, with the feeling of rain like oil and willows like smoke, and West Lake has been a place full of tenderness since ancient times. Whenever I think about it, there is always an indescribable feeling.Jiangnan is like a painting, words can't describe her beauty, you can only feel the style of Jiangnan with heavy makeup and light makeup with your heart.The beauty of West Lake is like a March day, with the feeling of rain like oil and willow like smoke.And West Lake has been a place full of tenderness since ancient times. Every time I think about it, I always have an indescribable feeling.

The most beautiful place in Hangzhou is in the West Lake. Chaoyang smiled from the top of Leifeng Pagoda half ashamed and half afraid.

The faint fragrance of sweet-scented osmanthus by the lake, the misty mist around the lake, the breeze blowing on the face and the affectionate wicker.They are all telling people about the beauty of the West Lake.In the charming scenery of West Lake, some people are exercising and some are singing opera.People can't help but envy the people of Hangzhou who have such a good place to go, and at the same time sigh their embellishment of the West Lake.

The beauty of West Lake lies in the night tour, and you can feel another scene.The lights are dim, cruise ships come and go like weaving, on the stone steps and benches beside the West Lake, gentle West Lake women and handsome Jiangnan men can be seen everywhere talking and reading.Under the reflection of stars and lights, cruise ships come and go, rippling circles, breezy breeze, the shadows of women and men are lingering and affectionate, gradually it is difficult to tell which is the shadow of a woman and which is a man, maybe they are the one The spirit on the top of the bridge.

snacks in hangzhou

Snacks in Hangzhou come in a wide variety of styles, and the seasons are different, so they have different fashion trends.Spring is the time when all kinds of spring rolls, fresh meat gnocchi, assorted eight-treasure rice, Qingming Aiqing dumplings or Dragon Boat Zongzi are popular; hot summer is a great opportunity to taste bone porridge, mint cake, crystal cake and other pastries; Sanqiu lake crab Fat, the aroma of all kinds of crab meat snacks fills the whole city; in the cold winter months, there are glutinous rice mochi and lard rose rice cake.The most famous snack streets in Hangzhou are Hefang Street and Zhoushan East Road.

There are many beautiful scenery in the West Lake, but the most attractive one is the Broken Bridge, the legendary and emotional place.The woman who was looking for the future day and night met and knew Xu Xian on the Broken Bridge. Even when he least believed in herself, she made a difficult choice to forgive him on the Broken Bridge.Today, the Broken Bridge is quietly leaning halfway by the lake. To say it is beautiful, it is better to say that it hides a lot of affection, just like a girl waiting for her lover.The mist that lingers for many years is like the girl's clear and confused eyes. What can't be guessed is the daughter's deep love. Its inadvertent shyness always makes people go crazy.

The white embankment at the other end of the broken bridge is full of peach blossoms, willows and greenery, bringing infinite beauty and embarrassment.Those trees extend to the distance along the broken bridge, one is bright red and the other is willow green. Looking at it, it seems that countless strings of beads have been hung on the Baidi, slowly extending to the sky of the Baidi.The wind dances with the willow-like waist, the green tender shoots, the love that wants to say but stops, the dance that wants to greet but refuse, it makes people intoxicated in the breeze, intoxicated in this beautiful scenery...

If the bridge of the West Lake is the most moving background in the legend, then the water of the West Lake is like the most beautiful woman, adding a bit of gentleness to this magical place full of legends.In the scorching summer, pointed lotus leaves appeared unknowingly in the gentle waters. After a few days, the endless green lotus leaves and the graceful and beautiful lotus flowers covered the lake.At that time, no matter where you go, you can smell the lotus fragrance of the lake.Take a small boat, walk among the green lotus and red lotus, look at the simple and elegant corridors, pavilions, pavilions, and pavilions in front of you, which are in harmony with the green clouds and the fragrance of lotus. It makes people drunk without drinking.

The West Lake is a slightly intoxicating place. Facing the West Lake is like facing a woman. A clear mountain spring, gentle and plain, but it is unforgettable for a long time.

Qiantang has been prosperous since ancient times
Hangzhou
The southeast is prosperous, the three Wu cities, and Qiantang has been prosperous since ancient times.Smoked willows and painted bridges, wind curtains and emerald curtains, there are 10 families.Clouds and trees surround the embankment and sand, raging waves roll in frost and snow, and the sky is boundless.Pearls are listed in the market, households are full of Luoqi, competing for luxury.The heavy lake is stacked with Qingjia, with Sanqiu osmanthus and ten-mile lotus.

——Liu Yong, "Looking at the Sea Tide"

Every city has a feeling.Beijing is majestic and mixed, Xi'an is full of vicissitudes, Chengdu is a kind of natural leisure, Dali is gorgeous and indifferent, and Qiantang is full of nobility and talent. "Smoky Willow Painting Bridge" and "Cloud Tree Embankment Sand" seem to be the most beautiful fairy tales, but they are the truest descriptions of Hangzhou.

The center of Qiantang is Hangzhou, a place rich in talents, beauties and stories, which is now a perfect combination of tradition and modernity, nature and humanity.The city is clean and orderly, and the people are indifferent and leisurely... When you are riding a bicycle and wandering in this city one day, it is inevitable that your heart will move and you will feel like you are in Zurich.As the saying goes, "There is heaven above, and there is Suzhou and Hangzhou below."

The beauty of Hangzhou lies not only in the gentleness and softness of the West Lake, but also in the green hills and clear water with a long and ancient charm in this thousand-year-old city.The Fuchun River is the upper reaches of the Qiantang River. The river is clear and green, and the green hills on both sides are green and beautiful. There have been stories such as "Yan Ling asked the ancients", "Twin Pagodas Lingyun", "Zixu Wild Crossing" and other stories, and later generations lived in the original place. Some ancestral halls and temples were built to commemorate, thus forming the scenic spots and historical sites among the mountains and rivers today.

Xin'an River is a section of the mainstream of Qiantang River. It has been known as "unique mountains and waters, unique in the world" since ancient times.Most of the Tang Dynasty poets known to people have been to this place, and left behind the famous line "in the mirror of people walking, and in the screen of birds".Perhaps it is the water in Xin'an River, no matter how deep or shallow, is clear to the bottom, and regardless of age, it is also as bright as a mirror, which attracts people to come here.

If the beautiful scenery of Liangjiang is quiet and simple, then Qiandao Lake is naughty and vivid.Qiandao Lake, as its name suggests, is a lake with thousands of small islands.When you come here, you can see that the small islands in the lake are like tortoiseshell pearls embedded in the mirror-like lake.Among them, the shapes are different and graceful, and they complement each other with the misty water surface, which has the artistic conception of "the sky, clouds and shadows linger together".However, in fact, Qiandao Lake is a veritable artificial lake, which was formed by damming the Xin'anjiang Hydropower Station to store water in the river.Nevertheless, the Leifeng Pagoda by the West Lake has become a familiar name because of "Legend of the New White Snake".

Emerald lotus in Hangzhou West Lake

It would be a pity to come to Hangzhou without visiting the West Lake.

The clear water, green islands, strange rocks, and strange caves in Qiandao Lake have become the four wonders of Qiandao Lake, especially the clear water here. , but also so luxurious.

Of course, the people who can feel the most prosperity in Qiantang are the people who have lived here for generations.In the teahouses lined up beside the West Lake, a Pingtan song, a pot of Longjing, and a bag of melon seeds are a day's entertainment.Their way of drinking tea will probably be ridiculed by people who drink tea like a cow, or use tea to talk about business. Such a leisurely posture and such a meaningless look should be what modern busy people should have?Such a leisurely day, didn't he drink away all the business?But Hangzhou people have their own unique views. Isn’t drinking tea just a state of inaction?

Walking by the West Lake and watching Hangzhou people sipping melon seeds and drinking tea in elegant teahouses or simple teahouses, you have to admit that this is a prosperous place with the aristocratic legacy of the Southern Song Dynasty in its bones.

Jiaxing
Jiaxing does not have an unbearable reputation, but it has the same folk houses, small bridges and feelings as other small towns in the south of the Yangtze River.

Before going to Jiaxing, I believe many people will think that Jiaxing is just a South Lake, its beauty is not as good as West Lake, and its reputation is not as good as Wuzhen and Zhouzhuang.But when you really walk into Jiaxing, you will find that Jiaxing is actually a beautiful water town, with quaint houses standing along the river, with white walls and light tiles, elegant but not artificial.Maybe she is not as exquisite as the city of Hangzhou, nor as dense as the houses in Li and Zhouzhuang, but she has a temperament that can bring people an unexpected surprise.

Many Chinese first heard about Jiaxing in the history books. At that time, Jiaxing, Nanhu Lake and boats were like symbols, frozen in the memory of all Chinese teenagers.In fact, Nanhu Lake is not a lake, but is formed by two lakes, East and West, which look like mandarin ducks crossing their necks.Because mandarin ducks often lived here in ancient times, it is also called Yuanyang Lake, and it is one of the three famous lakes in Zhejiang.The water in Nanhu Lake is no different from other waters, but the misty and misty scenery has fascinated many literati.In spring, the soft willows by the lake sway gently like smoke, accompanied by misty rain, and many people are fascinated by it.

Take a small boat to the island in the middle of the lake, and the famous Yanyu Tower stands in front of you.The main building of Yanyu Tower is about 20 meters high and covers an area of ​​640 square meters. Among them, carved beams and painted buildings, Zhu Zhuming windows, and "Yanyu Tower" written by Dong Biwu hang in front of the building, which has an extraordinary momentum.The name of Yanyu Tower is taken from Du Mu's poem "480 temples in the Southern Dynasty, how many towers are in the mist and rain", which has its own clear rhyme.

Climbing up the stairs, the pavilions, pavilions, and rockery corridors in front of you seem to bring people back to the scene in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", when Qiu Chuji and the seven monsters of the south of the Yangtze River met in Yanyulou.The lakeside willows are like smoke, and the lotus flowers are swaying in front of the building, but there is a fragrance in the humid air.

Looking at the South Lake from the Yanyu Building is quite interesting.When the unique drizzle in the south of the Yangtze River scattered loosely on the South Lake, misty rain fell on the lake, and a feeling of melancholy, joy, waiting, and bewilderment would naturally arise in the heart, which made people unable to tell the truth.And the endless blue fragrance of lotus leaves in the lake, accompanied by the rustling breeze on the lake, makes people have an indescribable emotion. Climb the tower and look far away, the essence of the vastness and mist.

Standing next to the short wall surrounded by curved railings, leaning on the railings, the building and the reflection cuddle up to each other, people are flickering, and the building is also hazy. Only the water in the South Lake is still as clear as ever, as silent and long as ever.

(End of this chapter)