The Splendor and Magnificence of Mt Huang Shan, China

Many spoke of its beauty, yet many may still doubt.  One of the peaks on Huang Shan was named "'believing after seeing'  -  from stories told that spoke of a man who made the trip to see for himself !   Our camera failed to capture the beauty  which only the human eye can capture.  I guess if the reader wants to convince himself on the reputation of Mt Huang Shan, the reader must then  make the trip  to see for himself  and be mesmerized like I was ! One can check out the many professionally taken shots  at  the various peaks  and time on Huang Shan  from the internet and wonder if  they were just artistic photography   ----  so beautiful are these peaks, pine trees, rocks, etc.... depicted ...!

 

Taken from the cable car going up ...

In black and white ....

The Old Man watching  ...(right hand corner)

These people provides service for those who find it tough to walk around

This rock stands at the edge ... 

Pine trees made a fine shade...

Carved steps for hikers ...

Great work by the people who made the walkway/steps ...

    

Pine trees that greet visitors ...

When it Rains .....

We complained when the temperatures go soaring, but when it rains we complained it is too cold, brrr ......There is just no pleasing us, isn't it?   Well, Mother Nature just  got to go on doing what she thinks is appropriate.....lol! 

I don't remember it has rained so much before, not in March anyway ! Luckily yesterday it was hot and sunny for a change. at least my laundry get to dry out !  This morning, the rain started again with vengeance !

Since returning from our holiday, I had been busy. Piles and piles of cut vegetation has accumulated from my 'hard' work !   No way my compost bins can stand all the cut leaves, branches, grass, weeds...so I used trash bags to collect them, and  placed them  with the domestic rubbish. There are still two huge piles from pruning the mango trees peacock shrub, bougainvillea, mulberry ....etc... these are bulky, so need to allow them to dry out a bit, before I can dispose them. 

Well it is part of a gardener's lot to trim, prune, weed .... etc...and I rather enjoy the exercise and  the results of the garden not resembling a mini jungle !  Weeds are my greatest concern - they seemed to be growing everywhere, and at the rate I am going I doubt I can clear them all.....so I am seriously thinking of getting some weedkiller ! I am hesitant for fear of killing my precious plants, so I guess I will try the conservative method for a bit longer before I take the drastic step of using the weedkiller !

Hu Xueyan Mansion, Hangzhou

Imagine going back  approximately 140 years in time  -- What must life be like then,  living in such a splendid and huge mansion  - either as a  inhabitant, a  servant or even as  a guest ?  Well, I just let my imagination go free as we explored this former residence of Hu Xueyan built in 1872 !

Many gardens within the mansion, but this is the biggest and most elaborate !

Exquisite architectural design !

Family room -were the inhabitants happy?

Study room - imagine life without a computer, just books, calligraphy and painting  !
Great works must have been produced in theses rooms ! 

Family Hall - they sit according to status and position, I guess

Prayer Room

Court yard .. Upstairs  were bedrooms (off limits)

One of the many exquisite carvings on display 

Within this mansion there are so many rooms,  and  various gardens  designed  for the four seasons ... it took us almost  two  hours to complete checking out  the place (and getting lost in the maze of corridors) ! Interesting ! The carvings, the architecture, the landscaping of the gardens .... all were great works of art and fine taste ! 

(One can surf the net for more information about Hu Xueyan and his residence, and of course  photos as well.... ) 

Update : For reader's interest - a write up in The Star today ... http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2011/4/20/lifetravel/8505170&sec=lifetravel 

Famous West Lake, Hangzhou in China

No, I am not about to turn this into a travel blog.... just like to share a few photos from my holidays recently.   The famous West Lake is very scenic and  just too beautiful  to describe in words. For us,  it  definitely lived up to its reputation.  Unfortunately my camera cannot do justice to its beauty.....Fortunately one can always surf the internet for professional photos  to  savour  as well as read on the write ups for more information. 

This wonder lake is so big one cannot  explore all in a day, so we went there again the next day - bright and early !   We hired the tourist bike  to help us  go round the West Lake  and surrounding areas.  A stroll through the parks is just heavenly ....  and despite big groups of tourists, one can still feel the magical serenity of the Lake.  We took our own sweet time to explore, no need to rush through as we did not  sign  up with the tour groups.  With so  much to see and explore around the West Lake area, armed with a map in hand, one will not miss the sites to enjoy.  

Magical Musical Fountain ....so enticing  !

The tourist bike that helped us explore around the West Lake !

So romantic ...

Ferry rides, anyone?

Can spend hours doing nothing but savoring  the natural  beauty ....

Pond of  Fishes ... there are so many,  the water turned red.....! 

A park near the Lake....nice sculptures and landscaping !

Taste of Passion Fruits....

We ate the passion fruits (see post Feb 24 2011) today ..... they  certainly took their time to drop !   Whenever they dropped, I kept them in the refrigerator as eating one by one is no fun. For those who have not tried them before, well you are not missing anything much.  The pulp is sweet, not too sweet and  no hint of sourness.  Taking the pulp is rather refreshing, leaves a nice after taste in the mouth. Verdict :  we like it .... !

Yellow pulp...

Nice  ...

All gone in a blink !

Next -  waiting for the pomegranate to ripen ..... !