Hello Hangzhou!

OUR TV in the reading room flashed news on the 11th G20 Hangzhou Summit.

The 2016 event from Sept 4 and 5, attended by world leaders, was the first to be hosted in China after the Seoul 2010 G20 in South Korea. It also marked Barack Obama’s final tour of Asia as US president.

The TV news brought back memories of our own trip to Hangzhou a few months earlier.

A historical and archive team from Sibu were there in April and they saw the systematic preparation for the G20 Summit.

Some of the people we met at museums and other tourist spots were very upbeat about the summit and the Chinese government spared no yuan in welcoming the dignitaries. After the Beijing Olympics, China has become a renowned host for world events.

Flying into Hangzhou

When we arrived at Hangzhou about 11 pm on a direct flight from KLIA, the Hangzhou airport was being renovated. The new surrounding areas were also under construction.

Security was tight. The queues were orderly and everything was moving fast. While many arriving passengers were still feeling a bit air sick from the long flight, the friendly smiles from the ladies in uniform provided the right antidote for their drowsiness.

Impressed with the arrangement, my fellow team member nudged me: “They must be practising for G20.”

The announcer over the PA system sounded very pleasant — her English excellent and well paced. What a welcoming voice!

It was raining when we boarded our chartered bus. The driver, whose service we had already booked from Sarawak, was polite and helpful.

Hangzhou by night was awesome, rain or no rain — at least to our half-opened eyes. By the time we reached our budget hotel, it was way past 2am.

We were looking forward to sightseeing in Hangzhou — the most splendid and noblest of cities in the world, according to Marco Polo who visited in the 13th Century.

This quotation is embedded at the base of a huge statue of the Venetian merchant traveller-explorer in Hangzhou where there is even a hotel called Merchant Marco Hotel.

Sunday in Hangzhou

Worshipping in a church in Hangzhou was an interesting experience. Our team were hosted by two articulate pastors who were very fluent and knowledgeable about the history of Hangzhou and Christianity in the Zhejiang region.

The Church we worshipped in was very big. As it was a Holy Communion Sunday, there were more than 500 worshippers present.

It was very touching to see the disabled and the elderly at ease and comfortable in church for Mass. The wine and bread were brought to the worshippers for their convenience.

Roman catholicism in Hangzhou

Tianzhu Tang  or the Catholic Church of Hangzhou is beautiful place for worship. Its history dates back to 1611 and its proper name is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Li Zhizao was a Ming Dynasty official-scholar and a Catholic from Hangzhou working in Beijing, who had been converted and baptised by Matteo Ricci.

In 1611, on receiving news of his father’s death, he hurried back to Hangzhou and brought with him two Jesuit priests from Nanjing — Lazaro Cattaneo and Nicolas Trigault.

They took care of Li Zhizao’s father’s funeral and on May 8 at the Li family’s residence that year, held the first Mass ever in Hangzhou.

One of the new converts in Hangzhou was a wealthy Imperial Inspector named Yang Tingyun. He and his entire family were originally Buddhist but on his conversion, he went so far as to turn his home’s Buddhist altar into a chapel.

Together, Li Zhizao, Yang Tingyun and Xu Guangqi (of Shanghai) are known as the Three Pillars of Chinese Catholicism.

Later in 1616, during a period of persecution against Christians in Nanjing, many refugees fled to Hangzhou where they were, at first, housed in the homes of Li Zhizao and Yang Tingyun.

It was soon realised a better solution would be required, and in 1627, Yang Tingyun bought a piece of land near Wulin Gate on Guan Road and had Hangzhou’s first church built there, slightly west of where today’s church lies.

Ancient Song Dynasty Village

Our team next went to study the structure and culture of the Ancient Song Dynasty nearby.

The crowd were huge and not deterred by the heavy rain. It was a good walkabout. We were impressed by the goods and all the displays, the architecture and other cultural features. We felt as if we were in a historical TV drama.

All the shops sold goods with a cultural background — from herbs to toys and interesting foods to silks of Hangzhou. We just did not have the time to explore every shop — every nook and cranny.

One of the most interesting shops sold snuff bottles, and men dressed in Qing imperial costumes were touting away, pulling in customers.

The sweet shops also attracted lots of customers.

Construction and renovation

We were told all the on-going construction was to help the government meet the highest standards possible for the G20 Summit.

Signs were plastered on lamp posts and buses welcoming the G20 and exhorting residents to be on their best behavior.

Volunteers, including seniors and students, were enlisted to serve the G20.

A Hangzhou resident told us: “We are looking forward with pride to the G20. Many students would have a chance to practise their foreign languages and we senior citizens would have something to do.

“I’m particularly glad we have newly-paved roads, newly-renovated hotels and some factories will be closed to clear the air for G20. We are getting a new conference centre too. Hangzhou is already a very beautiful city. Now it is going to be even better.”

Zhejiang Museum

Zhejiang Museum, by the West Lake, was an amazing place to those of us interested in ceramics in particular and the history of cultural artifacts in general.

Our team member Hii Kai Yuen was amazed by the state of the art display cabinets, lightings, and rarity of the artifacts.

No security guards were actually seen hovering around. A few in impeccable uniforms were seen at discreet distances.

Visitors were very polite, speaking in soft tones. The labels in Chinese were excellent. The artifacts displayed from more than 14 centuries of culture were all very well kept.

While the rain was pouring down heavily outside, more visitors moved into the Museum. Admission was free. The Museum was definitely ready for the G20 Conference.

When we exited the Museum as it was closing time, our spirits were not at all dampened.

The Zhejiang Ceramic Museum is definitely a state of the art museum with very valuable ceramic exhibits portraying the rich ceramic arts of China in the region from different centuries.

West Lake and its museum

The West Lake has its own museum too. The tour guide was very chatty, telling us a lot of legends, including how the long causeway across the West Lake was constructed.

Hangzhou itself was a classic example of a city with good engineering and architectural background.

For more than half an hour, we stood by the West Lake, watching the mists and clouds — and braving the rain. Thousands of people lined the edges of the Lake while many buses continued to pull up at the kerbs.

Xi Hu or West Lake is very scenic and has been praised by ancient poets and artists. The Museum guide had already explained to us the Lake is surrounded by many famous historic and scenic attractions, including several long causeways, islands, pagodas, memorials and parks.

A tourist brochure proudly states “West Lake is a symbol of Hangzhou. It is selected as one of the 12 Superb sunset spots around the world by CNN.”

Unfortunately for us, it was a cold, misty evening. But photographers were still clicking away. The willows made the scenery so serene and poetic.

Criss-crossed by canals

Hangzhou is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang Province in East China. It grew to prominence as the southern terminus of the Grand Canal and has been one of the most renowned and prosperous cities in China for much of the last millennium, due in part to its beautiful natural scenery.

It is amazing how, as a city, it has been served by the Grand Canal of China running from Hangzhou to Beijing through the Yangtze River Delta for centuries.

Today, Canal Transport is still a thriving industry and a lifeline of the people. Everywhere we went, we were not far from canals. Some of the canal boats were actually homes of the families who have served in the canal transportation for generations.

China National Tea Museum

The visit to the National tea museum was indeed an eye-opener. Hangzhou is famous for tea and silk. The Dragon Well Tea or Longjing tea is a high quality variety of Chinese green tea, produced mostly by hand.

The Tea Museum is surrounded by a huge tea garden. Tea pickers continued to work in the rain and went back exactly at 5pm.

We met a teacher called Wang who came with her students to the Tea Museum. Eager to make friends with overseas Chinese, Wang  was cheerful and willing to answer questions from us as we waited for the rain to stop.

She told us the gardens in Hangzhou were spruced up and thousands of flowers planted months ahead of the Summit.

She was happy to note the government was making sure Hangzhou would be spotlessly clean and environmentally green by September. No holds barred.

Our trip to Hangzhou was enriching, further enhanced by good food and fellowship. And to be in misty Hangzhou, we felt we were really blessed.

It was good to be able to study the historical and cultural aspects of the Grand Canal, the churches, the people and other features.

The beautiful city, Hangzhou, is a perfect combination of history and modernity, nature and culture.