Beauty is found in HangZhou

i'm in Hangzhou a beautiful city just south of Shanghai. Hongzhou holds a special place in my heart for a number of reasons. I first became interested in the Chinese language and culture because I met Hong and Daquan at the Teashop in Evanston. Hong is actually from Hongzhou and told me stories of the beautiful scenery and women that supposedly road bicycles down the car-less lanes wearing traditional long flowing dresses. Hangzhou is along a man-made lake that was built by one of the dynastic emperors. small islands and man-made platforms are connected by beautiful rainbow shaped bridges. Mountains look down over the lake and the numerous small banana shaped boats that slowly make there way through the completely motionless water. small temples and pagodas are spotted throughout the mountainside. It's an amazing place that i can never seem to completely get my mind or heart around. That being said it has changed drastically in the last 3 years. My first visit to Hangzhou was three years ago. After a summer in Taiwan I spent 2 weeks traveling around China. Because of the stories I had heard about Hangzhou, I made it a priority to visit. After staying with a professor from Nanjing that I had met at Northwestern I traveled to Hangzhou on a 3 hour train ride. I remember being crammed into a overcrowded train, greatly afraid that my belongings would all be stolen, but feeling content that I was traveling on my own through a vast country towards the place where my interest in China originated. I don't quite remember how I made it from the Hangzhou train station to a hotel but i think somehow the professor in Nanjing had a friend who owned a business in Hangzhou and he/she arranged an employee to help me out. So two employees, one a quirky man, the other a quiet, conservative, young and beautiful looking women (the kind Hong had told me about), helped find me a very affordable hotel and then introduced me to some of there other employees. After that I somehow convinced the woman employee to get lunch with me - I insisted that she give the recommendation and I could pay, however I think she ended up paying....
The next day her and I spent the whole day walking around the West Lake. We went to one of the largest Buddhist temples in the world, ate street food and Hangzhou delicacies, took a ride on a gondola type boat, browsed the silk and pearl markets.... crossed over rustic bridges, old Chinese architectural relics, and crossed into small tea-shops. we had lunch in the mountains above the city with a small farmer who served us home grown vegetables and home-raised chicken. We drank LongJin tea (the tea that is grown in the area) while looking down on the lake and the city below. Basically had one of the most romantic days of my life with a complete stranger who I couldn't fully communicate with fully. We spoke over my broken Chinese and her Hangzhou accented Chinese. She explained the history and significance of the temples we visited and i tried to give her stories into my life. The next morning I left for Shanghai and never saw her again....
Now I'm back in Hangzhou under very different circumstances. I'm staying with another Fulbrighter - named jacob. and am a little more independant. Hangzhou has also changed, no longer rustic, all has transformed into a clean and well planned Chinese city that has notes of Europe, Chinese imperialism and overall is absolutely beautiful. The gardens are well kept and small shops poke out between the trees and shrubs. While it has lost some of its untouched feeling it has become even more beautiful but more expensive. Cars have taken over the bicycles - one of the few annoying pieces of development - but the islands are more accessible and the traditional Chinese structures have been re-built or restored. There are now dozens of houses that serve 'farm-house food', but do not live up to their precursors - which were literally farmers houses that then began serving food to those that passed by. While some of the uniqueness of this experience is now gone, it is a natural trade-off for beautification of the area. So despite the changes I would still say it is my favorite place in China and I encourage you to come visit - I will take you on a tour!