The West Lake

PK

上有天堂，下有苏杭。 There’s heaven above and Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth.

You’d think it’d be easy to row the boat but I tried and failed miserably. It is much harder to steer than it is to actually move the boat. That man is strong and barely flinched as you can see, casually smoking with the other hand.

Hangzhou was the first place I visited when I arrived in China. The West Lake was amazing during the day and even more magnificent at night with the free musical fountain performance. It surprised me that they actually installed all those machines in the West Lake. What’s more epic is Impression West Lake by Zhang Yimou, the guy who also directed the opening and closing ceremonies for the China Olympics in ‘08. The sheer scale of the production is breathtaking with what must have been hundreds of dedicated performers, dancing on the illuminated waters in winter. I had to buy a cheap blanket from the supermarket before the show to keep myself warm, imagine getting wet!