Six Harmonies Pagoda, HangZhou
Yesterday Toni, our friend Charlotte and I did some local tourist things, and made our way south to the “Six Harmonies” Pagoda also known as the Liuhe Pagoda. Pagodas (towers) are somewhat common throughout Asia, particularly in China and Japan. HangZhou has a couple, although this particular one caught our attention when we last visited Binjiang (across the Qiantang river).
The day started out overcast although it was said the maximum temperature could reach 35 degrees Celsius, so we proceeded with caution! We caught a taxi directly to the pagoda park where we bought tickets and made our way towards the 60 meter tower.
The surrounding area is very pretty with lush rolling green hills and a commanding view of the river bend, just shy of the first bridge. The grounds are well maintained and quite popular (so it seems) with Chinese and foreign tourists. Perhaps not as likely to draw the numbers that XiHu (west lake) commands, this site was still and excellent choice to visit.
Going Up No wheelchair option Amazing interiors
Despite the challenge of climbing what could only be described as fairly huge sets of stairs, we managed to ascend the massive structure without any incidents. We took our time to examine each level from the ground up, with each level an improved view of the surrounding area, and an appreciation for the craftsmanship of the fine wood work and colouring each level has been afforded over time.
Each level had a central area in the heart of the structure which contained impressive artwork and detailed ceilings, such as one of the ceilings pictured above. In addition to a theme and colour, each level also contained finely crafted wood carvings, as depicted in the photo below.
Intricate wood carvings A view east-south towards Binjiang (across the river)
The view from the top floor was quite impressive as you can see from the photo above. By the time we had reached the last level the weather rewarded us with a beautiful sunny skyline, although with it came the 35 degree heat! Once we had returned to the exit, we then visited the museum attached to the pagoda park, and afterwards bought ice creams and walked around the pleasant gardens in the surrounding area.
Another external shot from the museum A circular gateway to the park near the pagoda
Once we had visited some of the other attractions in the pagoda park – some statues, a very nice park (pictured above) and after having taken some more exterior photos of the pagoda itself (with that brilliant blue sky as a backdrop), we made our way north to the HangZhou Zoo (link).
The main drawcard of the HZ Zoo is, and probably obvious given the zoo is in China, the (Giant) Panda bears (熊貓, xióng māo). We caught a bus up to the zoo and paid the quite reasonable ¥15 RMB admission fee. The first attraction we encountered after entering the zoo was a nice collection of Chinese goldfish (金鱼, Jīnyú).
Lacking the plentiful arrray of tropical fish we enjoy in Australia, the fish here are simply bizarre, which makes them all the more interesting. Tank after tank of simply astonishing looking fish created subject matter for quite a few decently detailed photos. You can see one of them in the shots below.
After the fish, we found an animal exhibition in progress, so we ventured in. It turned out to be a show set within a very large cage. Two smallish bears were demonstrating a variety of tricks from riding a bicycle to performing stunts. At the end an Elephant was brought in and the gates were opened. People came into the cage and had their photos taken with the large pachyderm, as you can see below. He didn’t mind nursing the smaller children on his trunk.
Crazy looking fish Large Entertainment Value
After the show we made our way up to the Panda enclosure where, more or less as anticipated, we found one Panda resting. What we did not expect to find were a pair of Red Pandas (which we’d only rarely seen previously) who were quite the opposite of their black and white namesake – racing around their enclosure.
He seems to have the blues Not a red herring
Once we’d taken a few photos (made somewhat difficult by the smudges of fingerprints on the glass) we made our way out and over to the Lion enclosure. A pair of cubs were playing about while a watchful and listless parent watched on. Moving around, we found the monkey enclosure which had a few animated housemates. We found a number of exotic animals from racoons, foxes, hedgehogs and alpacas to the faithful Australian kangaroo (below).
Cute Monkeys Another Aussie A Canadian Ex-pat
Our last major stop of the day was at the cheetah and tiger enclosure where we got (theoretically) up close and personal with a number of big cats. They had a very decent representation – two black panthers, a number of cheetahs, a cute cub and a number of tigers.
Always on the lookout An energetic and playful cub Up close and personal (thankful for glass, just in case)
The cub played with me (in a sense). I would move around quickly and he’d come and try to pounce on me (each time thwarted by the glass). He seemed to just want to play, and it allowed me an opportunity to snap some great close-up photos. The last tigress really just seemed to want a pat. She tried to rub her mane against the glass like a household moggie wanting attention. We managed to snap a couple of photos “with” her, as you can see above.
Bird and water fowl park Vegetarian option
The bird area was quite picturesque and even some of the signage provided some light humour – a section just for Vegetarians! We went on to see even more imported animals, including a brown bear, zebras and even some birds of prey (who watched us with slight disinterest the entire time).
American Football Umpires Watchful “Raptors”
Peli-CAN Missing: one bowl of porridge
Finally, we decided to call it a day and after snapping a few photos of some black swans and a pelican (pictured above) we made our exit from the zoo and caught a bus back north for an early dinner. Another day in the books, I hope you enjoyed the pictures!
Check back later for a sample of Toni’s pictures.