Win Two Nights' Stay in Hangzhou
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- Where
- City Weekend Shanghai Office Details
- City Weekend says
Win two nights' stay for two at the Oakwood Residence Hangzhou. They'll set you up with a fully serviced and equipped two-bedroom Superior Suite. Wake up in the mornings to complimentary buffet breakfasts at the in-house Oakleaf restaurant. Valid till end of March 2010.
To Win
Answer the question below before Jan. 8 at 3pm - the most creative answer wins. We'll draw the competition and let you know by Jan. 11 who the winner is.
Tell Us
Hangzhou's West Lake is famous thanks to a legend (like everything else in China). Tell us a new one.
Congratulations shpgg for your winning entry! Thanks to everyone for entering.
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The Lady of the West Lake, an princess also known as Bibi, appears in many of the China local tales According to legend, she lived in a castle beneath the west lake surrounding the mystical island of fairy. She gave Khan the magical sword and win the Hangzhou war. Khan, one of the knights of the King. When Khan was rejected by Eve—the woman he loved—the Lady of the Lake took care of him and present him the magic sword. She and Khan fell in love and were married.
A long time ago before the Han and even before the Khans the land around Hangzhou was dry and dusty. Little grew there and the people who were there suffered drought and famine and knew no surcease of suffering. There was however in this time a girl of great beauty, whose inner harmony shone through for all to see, and she was a great boon to all who knew her, helping not only her family but the elderly and disadvantaged around her. The powers of heaven looked down and seeing how the people of Hangzhou revered and treasured her, grew envious and jealous of her renown. Thus they allowed a demon out to teach not only her, but all the people to love and honour only those above them in heaven. This demon came in the guise of a handome young man, intent on seducing the young maiden and causing trouble all about, but upon seeing her, he too was overcome by her beauty and found he could do no wrong. This enraged the powers of heaven and in anger they struck with lightning killing the girl dead. The villagers were grief stricken and began to weep and wail, this alerted the demon turned man and he ran to her body, and for the first time tears flowed down his face. The tears would not stop and as they fell they began to fill the hollow he was standing in with her body, and still they would not stop and the waters rose and rose until they made the lake that we see today. In memory of the girl and her weeping lover the villagers planted along the lake shore trees whose very branches and leaves weep along with the demon/man who to this day stands at the bottom of the lake forever crying for his beloved.
There once was a god, and was known as the god of all excretes after this great event happened. When he got married to the goddess of drinking, at the wedding,the goddess introduced him to bai jiu .The god of excretes liked it soooooooo much that he drank too much and needed to go pee sooooo bad(even gods have to go pee) that he searched all over China till he came to Hangzhou and saw the great crater.He immediately went pee in the great crater and of course all gods' pee is clean so the crater filled with pee and became known as Hanzhou Lake. How'd ja like my story?(I'm ten yrs old)
Little Mole and the Bandits of Hangzhou
Long time ago there was a young soldier called Little Mole by his regiment as he was from a village in northwest China whose farmers were troglodytes and lived in caves.
The regiment of Little Mole was sent to Hangzhou area to find some bandits that were killing, stealing and kidnapping the helpless population for four years.
On a full moon winter night, as the regiment of soldiers was camping near the Qiantang River, a touring group of ‘’ladies’’ came by and proposed some distraction. The cold rain was going through the men bones and they were exhausted from month of unsuccessful search so without too much hesitation they let the harmless ladies enter in the camp.
Little Mole had a beloved fiancée at home and even after so many years went by, he always kept his promise of staying faithful as he travelled all over the country.
The “ladies” belonged to the band of bandits, and as soon as the soldiers were drunk, the bandits came and captured everybody except Little Mole who hid inside an empty tree trunk.
Little Mole followed them close to the river shore. To his surprise he saw the chief bandit, a giant man with a black beard and a fierce grimace, pull a lever inside a rock. With a slow grinding noise the rock moved and an entrance appeared, the bandits and their prisoners rushed into the dark hole. Little Mole managed to slide into the tunnel.
For a few days, Little Mole stayed underground to explore the kilometers of tunnels that the prisoners were digging. Eventually he heard a conversation between two bandits and learned that most of the bandits were going on an expedition for a month.
Little Mole found a way to tell his comrade in arm that he would soon rescue them, then he found a way to the surface by following some of the bandits going out for supplies.
Without delay, a secret meeting was held with all the leaders of the surrounding villages and Little Mole explained his plan.
Soon after the main bandit troop left for its expedition, the villagers entered in the den to kill the few bandits left and rescued all the prisoners.
Every night and day for a month, men and women, children and the elders built a river canal with a dam between the Qiantang River and the secret rock entrance. They hid everything with wooden planks camouflaged by vegetation.
When the bandits came back, they opened the rock as usual and when the last one was inside, the villagers released the dam to let the river flood all the tunnels. For a few minutes with a terrifying earth-shattering sound all the tunnels collapsed and a crater was formed. As the dust and dirt settled, a lake emerged. This is how the West Lake started…
As for Little Mole, he was applauded as a hero and received a fair reward, and finally could return to his village to marry his fiancée.
The Legend of West Lake......."Bright Moon"
A long time ago there was a beautiful princess, named Ming Yue, which means "bright moon." She lived in a large castle on a hill overlooking the peaceful lake at Hangzhou. As her name suggests, Ming Yue was a bright light to the ordinary people who lived in the city, and she was loved by everyone. Each day she would walk down from her castle to talk to the people who were doing their daily chores near the lakeside.
One day, as she was crossing one of the lake's bridges, Ming Yue leaned over the edge to admire some fish swimming by, and she fell into the water. The princess couldn't swim and she was very afraid that she would soon drown. However, several people who were working nearby jumped into the lake to save her. The princess was extremely grateful and for the rest of her life she made sure that the families of the people who had pulled her to safety never had to worry about food, housing, clothing, or anything else they needed. The people of Hangzhou were amazed at her generosity and they continued to be devoted to her.
Years later, when Ming Yue was an old woman and ready to die and enter Paradise, her only wish was that the people of Hangzhou would never forget how much she loved them. So she pleaded with the gods, and they granted her permission to watch over the bridges of West Lake and to give the blessing of health and happiness to any people she felt deserved it. Since that time, and even to the present day, crowds of people come each year to stroll around West Lake and cross over it's bridges, hoping to receive Ming Yue's gift of good fortune.
Rival Beauties of West Lake
There once lived two magnificent goddesses who each claimed to be the most beautiful being in the heavens.
Their once friendly rivalry became a bitter pageant over the years as they pitted the heavenly creatures against each other in their campaigns to win the title of Most Heavenly Beauty.
One was named Phoenix Sun and the other Autumn Moon. They spent hours in front of their golden mirrors admiring their own beauty and plotting their next move.
With the heavens divided, Autumn Moon devised to take the battle to China, the land of many famous beauties. To initiate the new challenge, she stole Phoenix Sun's mirror and threw it to earth with a strong western wind.
As the mirror reached Hangzhou, the mirror was smashed and transformed into a shimmering lake of astounding beauty. Unknown to both of them, the secret of the goddess' beauty was in their golden mirrors.
Phoenix Sun having lost her beauty, plunged to earth in despair and defeat. And Autumn Moon realizing that she had forever lost her noble friend and worthy opponent, also gave up her immortality and threw herself to Hangzhou's new lake.
Thus Hangzhou's West Lake came into being and poets later named landmarks after the two rival goddesses: Twin Peaks Piercing the Clouds and Autumn Moon over the Calm Lake.
Legend has it that West Lake was a place where all the goddesses went to "expel their excesses" (piss and poop). Their heavenly urination turned into the crystal waters of West Lake, and their royal poop balls turned into...well, let's just say they are still at the bottom of the Lake!
Back when the lands were uncertain and the earth was dry, a creature sprung from the dust. A strange looking beast it was with more legs than most and hair on its claws. It walked sideways and could move each eye independently. Not knowing its purpose it walked across the world looking for its brethren.
First it came upon a spider. .Seeing it's eight legs, it figured this was certainly family. The spider invited it up to it's tree, but as the creature could not spin a web the spider said, "you are surely not one of us."
The creature moped off and months later stumbled upon a scorpion in the desert. Seeing its eight legs and claws it figured this was certainly family. The scorpion invited it to its home. But the creature could not fit, and the scorpion sadly said,"you are surely not one of us"
The creature wandered for years until it reached the ocean, and there it befriended a lobster with eight legs, claws and a shell. This time, the creature was certain this was family. The lobster was overcome with joy at the sight of a new friend and danced and swam backwards with his amazing tail. The crab went to join him, but sure enough found he did not have such a tail or such skills. The lobster was devastated and said as he swam off, "you are surely not one of us."
The creature was dismayed. It swam to shore and wandered around a land called the Middle Kingdom. Finally he plopped down and began to cry. "Will I ever find a family?" he wondered. He cried so much his tears formed streams, and his streams merged into rivers and the rivers flowed together into a big lake, in the distance off to the west.
And suddenly thousands of creatures just like him began emerging from the lake, following the rivers into the streams until they met the source. Upon looking at the creature, the mob announced in unison, "Surely you are one of us!"
The creature had found his family and he traveled with them to the lake that his tears had helped fill. And the lake would be big and plentiful, and the tears were no longer of loneliness but of joy. For the creature was a Hairy Crab and he had found his home in the most beautiful part of the Kingdom. And the lake would forever be known as West Lake, a place of peace of mind and belonging.
Xi Te Wai Ken was a famous writer in the late 1400's around Shanghai. His honest crtiques of restaurants and bars of the time (all 2 of them) were well regarded. In fact his name lives in and the wonderful mgazine "City Weekend" gets its name from him.
Year: 2110. Legend has it that during Shanghai Expo in 2010 a century ago, the China pavilion got fed up with being stuck in no man's land Pudong, esp. when it hears hedonistic laughter, clinking of glasses and loud music coming from the various parties on the Bund across the river. It then banded together the other pavilions and began a long march (you must understand that pavilions are rather bulky creatures and move slowly) across the river. From then on, to commemorate this event, every 1 Oct, traffic is forbidden on Nanpu bridge and Fuxing tunnel and people have a field day walking/running/skating across them
You can feel beauty of beauty . Xixi National Wetland Park
the first and so far only National Wetland Park in China,is located in the western outskirts Chinas BEAUTIFUL paradice city of Hangzhou and lies at the southern tip of the longest and oldest canal in the world, the HangZhou -Beijing Canal.Xixi Covers an area of 3.46 square kilometers and features abundant ecological resources, beautiful natural scenes and a rich cultural heritage of many millennia. It ranks one of the "Three Xi" in Hangzhou along with the famous West Lake and Xiling Seal Society. It includes many thousands of ponds , networks of streams and rivers, extensive reedbeds and ecological areas and provides rich examples of aspects of urban wetland, as well as agricultural and cultural wetland environments. Many unique cultural aspects add to Xixi??s fascination including the persimmon and plum festivals, the dragon boats, the silk industry, boat born martial arts and the prestige of being the birthplace of the famous ShaoXin opera. In this way Xixi National Wetland Park clearly represents a unique and unrivalled recreation and education experience.
You can feel beauty of nature . Xixi National Wetland Park
Xixi National Wetland Park, the first and so far only National Wetland Park in China, is located in the western outskirts Chinas beautiful paradice city of Hangzhou and lies at the southern tip of the longest and oldest canal in the world, the Hangzhou-Beijing Canal. Xixi covers an area of 3.46 square kilometers and features abundant ecological resources, beautiful natural scenes and a rich cultural heritage of many millennia. It ranks one of the "Three Xi" in Hangzhou along with the famous West Lake and Xiling Seal Society. It includes many thousands of ponds , networks of streams and rivers, extensive reedbeds and ecological areas and provides rich examples of aspects of urban wetland, as well as agricultural and cultural wetland environments. Many unique cultural aspects add to Xixi??s fascination including the persimmon and plum festivals, the dragon boats, the silk industry, boat born martial arts and the prestige of being the birthplace of the famous ShaoXin opera. In this way Xixi National Wetland Park clearly represents a unique and unrivalled recreation and education experience.The Legend of Hangzhou’s West Lake - Paradise on Earth
Many many years ago, there was a kind old woman that lived on the shores of the West Lake in Hangzhou. She was known all over China for her kindness in aiding travelers that were passing through Hangzhou. Over the years, hundreds of travelers had stopped by the old woman’s home. She would feed them, mend their clothes and give them some dried fish before they continued on their travels. The old woman had never travelled herself, as she always wanted to be at home just in case a traveler came to visit. In fact, she had never ventured beyond Hangzhou’s city limits her entire life. But she so loved hearing stories from all her visitors of the vast and amazing world beyond her beloved hometown.
Everyday, the old woman would row her small wooden boat out into the middle of the lake to catch fish. Everyone knew of the old woman’s kindness – even the fish in the lake. After many years, some of the fish would simply jump into her boat each day and sacrifice themselves for the sake of her travelers and because of her extreme kindness to them.
One autumn day, the old woman got into her boat, rowed to the middle of the lake and never returned. The villagers of Hangzhou heard the news of this and were very saddened by her apparent death. She was such a kind woman that the villagers wanted to give her a proper burial so that her soul would be in heaven. But they were unable to do so because her body was never found. The towns’ people went to seek the wisdom of an elderly monk who had lived in Hangzhou since birth. They asked the monk how the old woman's soul would be allowed into heaven, if she did not receive a proper burial here on earth. The monk told them that the old woman gave herself to the lake and was transformed into a fish. To appease the villagers and ensure that the soul of the old woman would rest in paradise, the monk decreed that from that day forward, Hangzhou would forever be known as paradise on earth. In this way, the old woman didn’t need to travel all the way to heaven and leave her beloved hometown as she was already in paradise.
And to this day, if you see a fish in West Lake, you should smile and wave - because it might just be the kind old woman.
There once was a man from Hangzhou, He named his Slang Little Joe, Little Joe had a taste for the Ho's, Then his wife Lo found out, Cut Little Joe off at the snout, And Lo and behold no more Hung Joe.
There was once a dragon who had roamed the Hangzhou dry lands for centuries. He was tired of the heat. He prayed to the Gods one day and said, “I am so hot, can you please give me some clouds?” The Gods discussed this and decided to grant his wish. They gave him some clouds to keep him cool. This did provide some shade for the dragon – but he was not happy. He needed more clouds – it was still too hot. He asked the Gods for more clouds. The Gods decided that they would send him more clouds. Now the sky was dark with clouds and the dragon had shade. But he was still hot. So he asked the Gods for some rain. The Gods wanted to keep the dragon happy, so they gave him some rain. The dragon was just not happy with the small amount of rain and said I want MORE rain. So the Gods provided more rain. The dragon was a bit cooler, but still wanted more, so he asked the Gods for a small pond where he could dip his feet to cool off. Once again, the Gods gave into his requests. The dragon was not happy with his small pond and wanted a large body of water that he could swim in every day. The Gods gave him this wish by making a huge lake, but told him that he had received enough gifts from the Gods. The dragon did not listen to the Gods and continually asked them for a bigger body of water and when the Gods refused he got angry and began to curse the Gods. The Gods talked with each other and decided that the dragon needed to be punished. So the Gods decided that he would be transformed into a fish and would spend the rest of his days swimming and being cool- and not hot. And this is how West Lake came to be…
There once was a man from Hangzhou, He named his Slang Little Joe, Little Joe had a taste for the Ho's, Then his wife found out and Hung Joe.
Lo! Time is a relative concept and and such the story I am telling you about might have happened a long time ago or might happen a few days, years, centuries ...
Knowing that, try to forget everything except for the lake itself; picture the water and the silvery reflections of the light on its surface, the quiet and peaceful atmosphere around it and then... dive deep into the water, through the first layer of water where the sun still able to provide some life and hope to the deepest part of the lake where only dark shadows wait in ambush for the unfortunate visitor, where things of the underground lay unseen and wait for the rebirth of their master, longing for his call to take over the world.. once again!
Indeed; the depths of the lake are actually concealing the mystical shape of a seal and the water itself is nothing but a part of this elaborate magical prison... a prison to keep the earth protected from the great evil of the dragon eel!
For be warned that in the soil of the lake lay the greatest of all demons in a dreamless magical sleep. The dragon eel used to rampage through the world of men, unleashing frightening bolts of thunder and destroying everything on its trail.
A circle of 3344 fully trained monks coming from all over the world was necessary to seal this abomination...but for how long?
Beware carefree traveller... and don't disturb the waters of the lake!
knock at entrance of the lake. uising a a heart shaped stone. when dropped into the lake access will be granted to follow the moon until it settles above the courts of heaven. the ultimate wisdom of the gods will be opened unto you.
many travelled to the lake from far and wide. few returned enlightened. many scorned their dubious trust in the lake and nicked them a little west from sane. and so was born the name west lake.