CRR09 Day 11 Saturday, Tai Hu Lake

Today Isadora and I spent the day with our family and Amy and Megan's family. Woody also joined us for a day of sightseeing and food. We started our day going out for breakfast which began with a climb up stone stairs. The restaurant was very modern with a wall mounted monitor that sent our order directly to the chef. It was helpful to see pictures of what we were about to ingest. I was familiar of course, with chicken feet but did not know about pigeon. The small bird was quite tasty with a crispy skin and very tender meat.

We visited Tai Hu Lake which joins three provinces. It is the third largest fresh-water lake in China and looks more like an ocean. Tai Hu is famous for its fragrant tea plantations. We stopped on the roadside to find young leaves but the bushes had already been harvested. All along the road vendors sell fruit grown on the islands and tea leaves are roasted in giant woks.

We went to the farthest of three islands in this area and wandered the ancient streets in Mingyue Bay. According to the wooden sign posted outside the alleyway the first street we traversed was built in the 35th year of the Qing Dynasty (1770). It is often called the “checkerboard” street because of the more than 4000 pieces of granite used to pave the road. A drainage system was built under the street so that one could “wear your beautiful embroidered shoes in the rain.”

The first house we entered was the Huang (Wong) Ancient Hall over 200 years old. The compound was very ornate with teak carved furniture and railings. The bas relief stone carvings on the eves were well preserved depicting everyday life scenes. The four museums houses we entered were interspersed among inhabited family homes. A woman tried to sell us roosters as we passed her in the alley.

After Mingyue Bay we had a lunch of snails, fish, a variety of vegetable dishes, noodles, rice, soup, and a dish of pork fat and fermented grass we put into bao zi/bread. I have yet to be disappointed with any meal I’ve eaten here in China. The food is everything I had hoped it would be.

The rest of the afternoon was spent sightseeing on the islands. Tai Hu Lake is very picturesque and we saw dozens of newlyweds posing for photos. We got a kick out of the Chinglish translations along the water walkways; one our favorites was “Be aware that life if precious. Danger. Deep water. No swimming.” After reading the sign Amy tried to push me in the lake! Another favorite was, “Mindsecurity, Cherish Livers.”
Heading back into town we stopped to see the world’s largest Ferris wheel that had flashing lights that changed colors and advertising in the center ring that also kept changing. The girls were disappointed that they could not ride the wheel as it was not yet open to the public having just had a trial run earlier in the day. Next we drove to the city civic center modeled after the Bird’s Next in Beijing that was built for the 2008 Olympics. The newly built “Little Bird’s Nest” was very spacious containing an IMAX theatre, movie screens, live performance halls, restaurants and huge open spaces. Out by the water we launched a red lantern into the night sky carrying our worldly wishes to the heavens.

We set a red lantern into the sky after making wishes along the waterfront then headed to an international dining street to find dinner. While searching for a meal that Meghan would eat Woody and I spied the Trailblazers and Rockets playoff game through a restaurant window. We all decided that this would be our last non Chinese meal.

Very happy and exhausted we drove home and went straight to bed so that we would be well rested for a day of shopping the next morning.