Gone Fishing

As part of the Chinese program, we often have special outings planned to do in the Hangzhou area. On Independence Day, we enjoyed a buffet dinner on the 7th floor of a five star hotel overlooking West Lake (the key tourist attraction of Hangzhou). Incidentally, there aren't many other restaurants with similar views due to the height restrictions of the buildings along the lake. It was a wonderful evening spent fine dining with fellow classmates. They even offered green tea ice cream for dessert. It's great!

Today was a different experience altogether. Three of my classmates, my two Chinese teachers, and I went out on a short fishing excursion. Out by the more scenic area of Hangzhou near West Lake and the Chinese Silk Museum, there is a small pond stocked with carp which average about a foot in length. The owners of this pond allow visitors to do a little fishing for a small fee and then enjoy a traditional Chinese meal afterwards. The chefs cook up the fish immediately and serve it as part of the meal.

Even though I didn't fish myself, I enjoyed sitting by the pond under the party tent sun shelter chatting with my teachers and classmates and drinking Chinese tea. It was strange drinking hot tea with the temperature reaching into the mid to high 30s C, but that's just how the Chinese do it. We laughed at the others trying their hand at fishing and getting no luck.

After getting a few bites and finally catching several fish, we walked along the dirt trail to an air conditioned dining room and sat down at a large round table. Within just a few short minutes, the lazy susan on the table was filled with dish after dish of Chinese food. We had eggplant, crawdads, cucumbers, soup, fish, chicken, and more. I couldn't begin to try and explain all of the different kinds of food, but it was sure good.

Before leaving, we did a quick tour around the silk museum. It was free to get in so we walked around the displays for about 20 minutes. With a flick of the wrist, we caught a cab and got back to our hotel in time for an afternoon nap.