April 21, 2011  

Tulips in China? Qingming Festival at Tai Zi Wan Park

A windmill and tulips--in China

For the Qingming Festival, Tomb Sweeping Day, Barry, our house guest Satina, and I went with three of my students into Hangzhou to Tai Zi Wan Park at the south end of West Lake.  This incredible park is famous for its spring flowers, and we joined a throng of others to admire the blossoms on our first actual spring day.

Tulips of all colors and cherry blossoms

Qingming Festival is a traditional Chinese event held on the 104th day after winter solstice  (or the 15th day from the spring equinox).  Qingming is a time for people to go outside and enjoy the greenery of springtime.  Families often use this holiday to  tend the graves of loved ones.

Our group: Barry, Vio, Catherine, Aaron, Carol, and Huckey

The two guys who joined us in Hangzhou are Catherine’s cousin, Aaron, and his roommate, Vio.  They are studying Chinese traditional medicine in a program that lasts seven years.   They may be a good connection to have in about ten years (after they have some experience).  It was fun to have the students with us.

Tulips everywhere

My student Huckey and me

Each flower looked perfect

Flowers at waters edge

Corn-on-the-cob snack with Carol and Huckey--no salt or butter, but tasty

The students treated us to the snack-- Satina, me, Carol, and Huckey

Incredible!

Daffodils too

Reflection

Close-up

Tulips on a pond

Colors

People in the park were fun to see too.

This group of young women wanted pictures with us, so we got one of them too.

Couples

Afternoon in the park

Barry and me

What a face 🙂

Mom and daughter

Curious girl

Boy

Butt shot

Mom and baby

Pets too

Wedding photos--bride and groom

The bride

A bride, groom, and teddy bears

Inside an Episcopal church where you can get married and/or buy snacks

Tulips and cows

Poppies, daisies, and more

Buds and water

Cherry blossoms

Close-up

From a bridge

Spring in China is beautiful

And yes, there were crowds

When we went to West Lake later in the afternoon, the crowds were even thicker than at Tsi Zi Wan Park.

Look all the way up the road

Pansies at West Lake

Buds

Boatman on West Lake

Chinese pavilion

We spent a wonderful spring day enjoying flowers and watching people.  Spring is fantastic.  Aloha, Renee

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About reneeriley

Our blog was begun as a way to share our experiences in China. From August 2010 to July 2011, my husband, Barry Kristel, and I were at our University of Hawaii Maui College sister school, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University in Lin'an, China, a city considered rural because it has only 500,000 people! We had a wonderful time. Then in February 2012, we returned to teach this time at our other sister school, Shanghai Normal University, in a city of over 21 million people. We've made many discoveries. Did you know that now Chinese girls, at least the ones who go to university, for the most part feel they are luckier than the Chinese boys? Did you know that Shanghai saved over 20,000 European Jews during WWII? Do you know how Chinese university students would deal with problems that come up in Dear Abby letters? What's it like to be on the Great Wall of China? Do you know how many Chinese girls had their feet bound and why? And we have recipes from many of the places we've visited. Among others, you can find instructions on how to fry cicadas from one of my ZAFU students and how to make chocolate-Kahlua waffles from my brother Mike in Gainesville. You can also look back to our earliest entry to see what we experienced in Oaxaca, Mexico, in 2006 during the mainly peaceful six months of protest until the Mexican government sent in the troops. Between our stays in China, Barry and I have been on the Mainland U.S. visiting family, friends and Servas hosts as we traveled home to Maui. We share those experiences too. Welcome to our blog! Aloha and Zài Jiàn, Renée and Barry

4 responses to “Tulips in China? Qingming Festival at Tai Zi Wan Park”

  1. Marty Alsofrom says :

    How beautiful. Weather just broke here in NY. Thank god. Its been a long winter. Where in China are you? Keep sending pictures.

    Reply
    • reneeriley says :

      Hi Marty: We’ve gone from about 65 degree temperatures last week to about 90 degrees today, but I am not complaining. I too welcome the warm weather. Our school is in Lin’an, a town about an hour west of Hangzhou and three hours west of Shanghai in Zhejiang Province. Enjoy your spring.

      Reply
  2. Oscar | www.viajoteca.com says :

    Beautiful..

    Reply

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