16: life in hangzhou

sorry for the long hiatus here, but things have been busy. besides working as an architect again, i've made a couple of trips back to the states: in january, and again this past may.

many folks have asked to see something of hangzhou here: great idea- and sort of what this was supposed to be all about! enjoying my walkabouts this spring (after that bleak winter we had), it dawned on me that i haven't really photographed any of my surroundings here; the last week or so, i've been shooting my everyday stuff.


















this is where i am, thanks to google maps (click on the map to view it larger). hangzhou is built around west lake, a man-made scenic spot (circa 1089) famous throughout china. marco polo visited here in the 13th century, and proclaimed it the most splendid city he had ever seen. my neighborhood is the footprint of the original city. most of the historic building fabric now dates from the late 19th and early 20th centuries; it's gradually being eroded by modern high-rises (my own included, sadly), but the city has applied the brakes and made an effort to stabilize pockets of what's left.









































i'm in the tower on the right; west lake is behind us in this view.
























the reflection of the north tower is pointing at my apartment in the south tower here. the big plaza between the buildings forms one end of renhe lu; the other end is the shore of the lake, about 750 meters west.


































looking toward the lake here, the building on the left has stalls for art and antiques dealers on the lower floors, and apartments above. there are a couple of schools down this way, too, and the commercial district at the lakeshore. at sunset, this block becomes part of the night market; more on that later...


















there are several routes i can take to work from here; if it's raining, i can catch a bus one block up (where renhe lu crosses huansha lu) that drops me in front of our office. my preferred commute is walking, and there are several ways to negotiate that.

the route closer to the lake is the more "urban" one, and takes me past my neighborhood muslim restaurant (lamb any way you can imagine, AND they serve beer), the gated YMCA compound, and some cool mercantile buildings from the 1920's.









































the most direct route takes me down this leafy neighborhood commercial street, zhongshan lu; it's early morning now and most shops have yet to open. note the guy getting ready to deliver that custom-made awning on his tricycle cart- a relatively modest load, compared to many others that you see.





















today we'll go the most interesting way, ducking into this alley that cuts thru to the next block...

























and emerging into the market lane, where there's more activity as people find some breakfast in the street stalls.






















the neighborhood "wet market" building is to the left in the picture below- we'll visit that later. the smaller stands facing it here sell housewares, fruit, nuts and seeds, fresh noodles, tea... and cooked food. there's a dry cleaner's stall, a telephone-beer-and-cigarette stall- our strip shopping center.
























breakfast here can be stir-fried noodles, baked-in-a barrel seed bread, deep-fried dough sticks...


















the market lane crosses jiefang lu here- back to the "outside" world of a major street for a moment, then ducks through the archway across the street to continue south.




















jiefang lu runs east-west down to the lake, then tunnels under it to relieve traffic congestion along the shore. i have to admit that i've never set foot on the elevated pedestrian bridge on the next block; the norm is just to wade into traffic (though it's pretty tame this time of morning)...


















the next block reverts to the old textures again; 1960's soviet-era apartment blocks have been inserted, but surprisingly, the village feeling remains.


















this is one of the more active intersections; later vegetable sellers will wheel their carts here. the communal water spigot is to the left; neighbors will squat to fill kettles, wash greens and clean fish here. to the right is another telephone-et-al stall, another breakfast stall, then the muslim butcher...

















the butcher has completed most of his work by now; if you're really early, you encounter his product still on the hoof: bleating sheep, ankle-bound but surprisingly calm, bid you good morning...


















next door, the guy in the red hat is waiting as i usually do, at my favorite ji dan bing (grilled egg bread) stall...





































(this photo courtesy mark haber, who visited in early march.) we're almost to the office now, so i usually just carry my bing there: back through the spigot intersection and past the noodle shop...














through lanes and alleys where new china and old china still coexist...







































and finally emerge into this panaorama at qingtai lu, where new china is clearly winning.

















































































we've reached the office, in the high-rise beyond the elevated highway.


next: 17: work in hangzhou