Getting to Houshan Was an Adventure.

I've posted about the Toffee Man at Houshan, but the story of how we got there deserves some space.  Another Aussie teacher and I were invited by a group of high school students to go on their outing one Sunday, not long after I arrived in China, and we duly met them at the West Gate and caught a bus into town.  I thought I knew the right bus out to Houshan as I had been before, but one of the students spoke to the bus driver (why, I don't know!) and for some reason that I  will never know the bus driver told him it was the wrong bus.  So we walked through the city streets to another bus stop, and again there were conversations with bus drivers and other on how to get to Houshan.  We eventually got on a bus - that clearly was the wrong bus so we got off after travelling some kilometers, and waited by the side of a busy road as they phoned another student who they thought could help.

Eventually taking long strides and panting for breath this student arrived and we followed him through a village, through the drying vegetables on the side of the road to another bus stop and there we waited.  No bus came, but Large (yes, that was the student with long legs!) raced off in another direction.  More phone calls were made.  Then a tiny van appeared and Large leapt out of the vehicle and herded us in.  There were two little wooden seats for the Aussie teachers, but the other students crouched and sat squatting in the back of the van.  It appears it was Large's uncle, a government official, and this was a government van.  

It was quite a hair raising ride as every time we went around the corner, the students all fell over into one laughing heap as we two teachers looked on in amazement wondering what our safety officers in Australia would make of this.

Eventually we reached the roadway entrance to the park, and we all climbed out the of the vehicle and walked into the park.

I had been in the park some two years earlier, but in that time it had taken on a new life.  There were more new gardens and it was now very commercial with the weirdest things.  There was a freak show with two headed children, and other strange mistakes of nature.  It was a very busy park, and we followed the students through the park like a small flock of sheep.

We wandered through the park exploring different places, and we saw the entertainers.  We climbed the mountain - I'd done it before, cement steps taking us higher and higher up the mountain towards the inevitable Buddhist temple.

The views back over the farms was worth the trip with the yellow flowers of the rapeseed visible for miles.

On and on we went until we reached the temple.  We spent some time atop the mountain taking photos before we made our way back down, this time coming a lot closer to the peach blossom.

We had lunch in a tiny room which was part of a very strange restaurant.  It was just so small, and so, well crappy I suppose.  No one in their right mind would enter such a place to eat, but we did.  Food was OK - just.  Filled us as we were all hungry from our running around all day and climbing the mountain.

The boys wanted to play on with some of the strange sideshows, but the girls had had enough so we caught the bus home.  Yes, it was THE bus that should have taken us on a very quick trip earlier in the day to Houshan.  Still, it wouldn't have been near as much fun as our journey there turned out to be.

The Toffee Man in Houshan

It was a Sunday and I'd been invited by a group of my students to go to Houshan. It is a popular tourist spot that I had been to some 2 years previously. It is famous for the peach blossom, as peach trees grown in abundance in the park. The last time I had been there it had been busy with tourists, but not much commercialism. What a change in two years! There were stalls and circus acts and on this occasion it was much more crowded than I could recall from the last time.

One of the features of this place is the landscape - not only the peach blossom, but lots of other trees, and some extra ordinary stone features left over I think from a stone quarry, and as one climbs high to the top of the mountain, the view back over the farms is wonderful, and at the top are tea plantations, as well as an amazing Buddhist temple.

On this occasion there were other things of interest too - a small group of touring artists performed in a pavilion. One of the things that I really enjoy in China is the opportunity to see traditional entertainment, and sadly there is little.

At the base of one of the areas, was a remarkable sight. A man making toffee in the most extra ordinary way. He had a little burner with a pot with toffee and using the back of a spoon, he crafted most amazing designs and then the set toffee was put on a stick and children went away delighted to eat the toffee. It seems a shame to eat it - the craftwork was so good.

Peach Blossom Festival

Inside the Temple

Looking down on the farmlands.

A resting place on the way up the mountain.

One of the pools and rock formations.

On our first trip to a tourist place for the teachers from Australia, we were taken to a place known for its Peach Blossoms. Houshan is not far from Shaoxing.

The bus let us off at the entrance of the tourist place, but the name was in Chinese, so there is some conjecture about its name.

On entering, we found many gardens, and walked through a village and over an ancient stone bridge before starting what was to be a long walk up the mountain. This place was quarried for its stone and as a result there were some amazing rock formations and lakes - it is hard to describe, so I hope the photos give some idea of what it was like.

Certainly as it was the beginning of spring there were lots of flowers blooming - from the many magnolia blooms, to the many blossoms on the peach and other trees in the park. It was a very popular park - and most, like us, climbed the steps onwards and upwards.

The day was somewhat overcast with light rain, and low cloud which did not help the photography - and on a clear day I could imagine many wonderful photographs of the countryside that kept getting further from us as we climbed.

One of the amusements for us were the number of children who came and wanted to speak English with the foreigners and have their photos taken with them. As one who likes to take photos and seldom likes to be the target for any camera, it was quite amusing!

The rock formations and lakes, were fascinating, and the steps upwards were interrupted from time to time with a small building with typical Chinese style roof. In some of these, people were playing cards or just sitting.

There were quite a number of visitors with tour guides and we found ourselves caught up in the midst of the groups from time to time.

I wondered about going so high - I had a cold, and it was cool, and I had several coughing bouts, but apparently there was no choice as our group was to descend on another part of the mountain, and anyway we just had to visit the temple on the top of the mountain, so bravely, cautiously I climbed the steps that in many places had steep drops on the side of the steps and nothing to hang on to.

Onwards and upwards - it seemed never ending.

Halfway up we found ourselves in the midst of a tea plantation - a new experience for me!

Right on the top of the mountain was a very old and large Buddhist temple - and followers were lighting incense and praying before the very large Buddha inside. We wandered around and marveled at the effort of the Chinese who had climbed so high onto the mountain with all their building materials, and the statues of the Buddha and the other amazing things that were on the mountain in and around the temple.

After a while we went down - this time through the midst of many peach trees that were just starting to burst into blossom.

The park was huge and we ventured into another area where there were horse rides, and archery, and other activities for children.

It was a long tiring and fascinating visit to the tourist place - and when we left the park we were taken to a restaurant closer to the city of Shaoxing for a feast of Chinese food at a restaurant on a canal, in quite a fascinating area.

The food was great and kept coming - as it does in Chinese banquets, and afterwards we wandered around the grounds.

A beautiful day - marred a little by the occasional rain showers.