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chapter thirteen @ 2003 February
hangzhou: an introduction
Hangzhou: 2200BC to 2003AD
Hangzhou: Paradise on Earth
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上有天堂
下有苏杭
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"Shang You Tian Tang
Xia You Su Hang"
ANCIENT
CHINESE
PROVERB
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"In Heaven There is Paradise
On Earth, Suzhou and Hangzhou"
MARCO POLO
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me and marco in hangzhou
If you read Chapter 7 of Chuck @ China about Suzhou, you learned that ancient proverb. I lived in Suzhou for a year and a summer and you can read about that in Chapters 7 through 12.
The other half of Marco Polo's paradise was Hangzhou. And I have been doubly lucky to have the chance to live in Hangzhou as well (see sidebar).
While Suzhou was was one of Marco Polo's favorite cities in Cathay (China), he left no superlative unturned in his descriptions of Hangzhou (see Lonely Planet). He called it the "finest and most splendid city in the world". (see below)
Indeed, the Travels of Marco Polo devotes 16 pages to describing Hangzhou.
And, although "exaggeration (hyperbole) and superlatives" seem to have been Polo's stock in trade (Polo was nicknamed Il Milione)" (Paul Smethurst, University of Hong Kong), clearly Polo, or whoever was responsible for the descriptions of Hangzhou, were
highly impressed with what they saw.
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* NOTE: Hangzhou is also sometimes known as Hangchow (under the Wade-Giles
method of transcribing Chinese). Marco Polo called it Kinsai.
"Kinsai* (i.e., Hangchow*)
is without doubt the finest and most splendid city in the world . . . . the
city is about 100 miles in circumference . . . and through every part it is
possible to travel either by land or by canals . . . .
"There are said to be 12,000 bridges; those over the main channels are built
with such lofty arches so well designed that big ships can pass under them
without a mast, and yet over them pass carts and horses . . . there are
fully 3,000 public baths . . . ."
- Travels of Marco Polo, (Wordsworth Ediitions
Ltd., 1997)
Here's a longer description paraphrasing the Travels portion dealing with
Hangzhou:
But Marko Polo was not interested only in the battles. With his
Mediterranean curiosity he admired even more the achievements of Chinese
civilization, and he had unique opportunity to get acquainted with it at the
peak of its glory. He was impressed especially by the "Heavenly city" of
Kinsai*, on the river of Yangtze, which
he calls Coromoran. That city was saved from destruction by the Great Khan
so that Marko experienced it in all its magnificence. The town extended in
area more than a hundred kilometres and had 1,600,000 families, 12,000 stone
bridges, which were so high that a big fleet could pass under them. There
were twelve guilds, and each of them had 12,000 craftsmen's buildings, in
each of which 20 to 40 craftsmen worked. They also supplied other big
Chinese towns with their products. The number of tradesmen and the town's
wealth is unknown. They lived in the greatest luxury and their wifes did no
any physical work but enjoyed their luxurious robes and various
entertainments. "These women are indeed very noble and angelic creatures!"
There is a lake inside the town of almost fifty kilometres in area.
Beautiful palaces are erected around it, as well as many churches. There are
two islands in the middle of the lake, and a large building is built on each
of them, equipped as the emperor's palace. Any citizen can use it for a
wedding or some other ceremony. Sometimes a hundred different feasts take
place in these buildings. There are also luxurious apartments in them, where
guests can sleep after the banquet. There are many pleasure boats for
relaxation on the lake, on which the citizens of Kinsai*
embark after a work. When the Great Khan occupied that town he ordered a the
guard of ten people to be on each bridge in case of trouble. Each watchman
had a hollow instrument of wood and metal on which they struck every hour,
day and night. Special precautions were taken in case of fire because there
were many wooden houses in the town. The guards watched lest someone lighted
a fire at an inappropriate time and without care. If this happened the
offender was severely punished. There is a big tower in the middle of the
town on which a wooden plaque hangs. When fire appears somewhere, the
watchman strikes the plaque with the hammer so that the sound can be heard
everywhere. All streets are paved by stone or brick. But the earth is left
unpaved at the sides of the paving in order that the Khan's horses may
gallop. The main street is paved with two parallel ways of which each is ten
paces wide. A space of fine pebble is left in the middle and under it arched
conduits take water into the canals. Thus the road is always dry. The city
of Kinsai* has 3,000 baths to which
water is brought from a source. There are hot baths which people can enjoy
several times a month. "These are the most beautiful baths in the world;
large enough for 100 persons to bathe in together. The ocean is only 40
kilometres from the town at a place called Gan-fu, where there is a town and
an excellent harbour. Many merchant ships from India and other countries
come there. And the great river Coromoran (Yangtze) flows from the city of
Kinsai* to that sea port, so that ships
can sail to the city itself." Marko was so impressed by the outside
appearance of the town that he hardly noticed that Kinsai*
was one of the greatest centres of culture, education and art the world has
ever known. There were more books in the libraries of Kinsai*
in Marko's time than in the whole of the rest of Asia.
- Marko Polo and Korcula -At the Court of
Kublai-Khan -by Dr. Zivan Filippi -
http://www.korcula.net/mpolo/mpolo5.htm |
Today, Hangzhou is a flourishing city and capital of Zhejiang Province. In the next four sections, I'll take you through it's history as well as a tour of Hangzhou. Read on:
Continue the Hangzhou Tour:
HANGZHOU THRU THE AGES
Background and history of Hangzhou from other sources old and new, East and West.
WEST LAKE TOUR
A photo tour of Hangzhou's West Lake.
HANGZHOU TOUR
An illustrated tour of some of the most beautiful, famous, and interesting spots in and around Hangzhou.
HANGZHOU THRU MY EYES
Hangzhou today, IMHO.
Chuck
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