My 杭州 (hangzhou) photo set
kesirui
April 14, 2009, 12:28 PM posted in General DiscussionI just thought I'd post this in case anyone was intersted. Its a link to the flickr photo set of my recent trip to Hangzhou
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27292029@N02/sets/72157616738679172/
changye
April 19, 2009, 11:51 AMThose "dramatic pose" photos are called "明星照" (star photo) in Chinese. Even children love to take 明星照 here in China.
tvan
April 15, 2009, 03:44 AMkeserui, I only visited hangzhou once, long ago in the winter. Thus my recollection is of a cold, snowy place. However, your picture of tea fields brought back memories.
In retrospect, tea must be an evergreen because the plantations were green, even in winter.
matt_c
April 15, 2009, 04:50 AMNice Pics! I added you on flickr (chabuduo78)
bababardwan
April 15, 2009, 05:06 AMwow,lovely pictures kesirui
kesirui
April 15, 2009, 05:41 AM@sebire, It was really a great time to go, sunny every day! However, not so good for my camera. Less sunny days are actually better for photo taking.
@svik, Going to the Art Institute was one of the things I really wanted to do, but I ended up not haveing enough time T_T... Oh well next time I will!
sebire
April 15, 2009, 09:52 AMHehe, my photos look dull and grey, and with a dodgy white balance which makes it look like Hangzhou is shrouded in some unhealthy kind of yellow mist.
kesirui
April 15, 2009, 11:58 AM@Tvan, I sort of wanted to go to Hangzhou in the winter as well but I decided to wait, I didnt think the tea would still be alive and green, thats amazing!
hahajing
April 15, 2009, 12:14 PM很美丽！！
kesirui
April 15, 2009, 04:35 PM@matt_c, Thanks I added you too!
@bababardwan, Thanks, it was really fun!
svik
April 15, 2009, 01:32 AMThe colors in spring are incredible, shades of green and all the flowers. We were out in Hangzhou on April 8 also, There has been some sunshine the past two weeks. We are staying for 3 months.
Nice photos. Have you visited the Art Institute at the SE corner of the West Lake? I have forgotten the Chinese name.
ewong
April 16, 2009, 02:40 AMhi kesirui,
Your photos are lovely. Thanks for sharing them. Were those cherry blossoms by the lake? I love your shots of the bamboo hallway :) I was also in 杭州 last March. 杭州 is a tranquil, relaxing place (even in the presence of many tourists) to stroll and bike around. We were in a hurry going up the 六合塔, 我們以爲 there are still five 塔s to climb- we found out later that the name "Six Harmonies -六合" comes from the six Buddhist ordinances, oh well...
Our taxi driver- turned tour guide took us to a beautiful place called 九溪- Nine Creeks. The place was a great location to take photos- we saw a photoshoot of a new bride in her wedding gown being chased by her groom :) We also stopped by for tea in 梅家塢 - Longjing Tea Village and drew water from the dragon well :)
Were you able to visit these places too?
bodawei
April 16, 2009, 03:25 AM@kesirui
thanks for your photos - HZ is indeed beautiful.
@sebire
Actually I always saw the sky as red, particularly at night. (I don't think it was my blood-shot eyes.) The red sky is my strongest memory of Hangzhou.
HZ has featured the 'mist' since the Song Dynasty when much was made of it in poetry and painting and no doubt a long time before that. Much of it is wrongly attributed to air pollution although the vehicular traffic now is of course making its contribution.
@tvan
Your recollections of Winter are accurate - it is the coldest place I have experienced, and I have lived through a Canadian Winter. It is a damp invasive cold .. I got chillblains that didn't go away until Spring! The typical heating is totally inadequate (south of the Yangtze). At our university there are strict rules about when the heaters are turned on and off - so we sat around class in our overcoats, beanies and gloves.
kesirui
April 19, 2009, 05:34 AM@bodawei
You're welcome! :D
@ewong
I'm not sure what kind of blossoms where in that shot by the lake, but they were not cheery blossoms.
I may have gone to the same place but known it by a different name or it may hav just been a similar place. There were lots of couples getting their wedding photos done when I was there as well!
bodawei
April 19, 2009, 10:12 AM@ewong, kesirui
Ah, the wedding photos. It surprised us to learn that the happy couple are probably not getting married on the big 'photo' day as is the custom in the West. In HZ couples might do this photo thing before getting married, after getting married, or with no particular wedding plans. It's just fun to get dressed up. A married HZ friend of ours did this a year or two after getting married, when they could afford it.
kesirui
April 19, 2009, 10:18 AM@bodawei
I am getting my wedding photos done next week! I recently married a Shanghainese man.
I've heard of some couples even get their wedding photos years in advance!
bodawei
April 19, 2009, 10:28 AM@kesirui
Wow - congratulations! Well there are lots of charming locations in HZ if you are in that area. I hear that it is a full day experience - hope you have the stamina. Good luck!
BTW I think there is a similar industry here in Sydney - particularly popular with Japanese couples. When I see them in dramatic poses near the Opera House or at Balmoral Beach I always wonder if there is a real wedding around or if it is just a fun day out!
zhenlijiang
April 19, 2009, 10:45 AMbodawei, are you sure they're japanese--? we're really not dramatic posers esp in public (and sober). we do know about those wedding shoots and elaborate albums that everybody likes to do in korea and china, so it's possible it's also catching on among young people here. but i doubt we've developed the flair for it so suddenly.
bodawei
April 19, 2009, 11:22 AM@zhenlijiang
You are right, I have no way to be sure; I have never asked 'Are you from Japan?' The 'Japanese wedding trade' is written about in the newspapers - I have read that Japanese couples like to come here for their honeymoon. And then I have observed many times couples engaged in photo shoots, speaking what I assume is Japanese. (No I don't speak Japanese but I had lots of Japanese class mates learning Chinese and got to recognise the 'lilt' without understanding a word!)
So - is it possible that they TRANSFORM themselves when getting their wedding photos?? :-) (I am kidding.) you provide another possibility - perhaps they have already had 几杯白酒 by the time they meet the photographer!!
albertofrombrazil
April 15, 2009, 08:33 PMHELLO..
NICE TO MEET YOU..
WO SHI LAO SHI BA XIREN..
HELP ME
HAN YU
sebire
April 14, 2009, 01:10 PMNice. I like Hangzhou. Was there last year for a couple of days, but looks like you got some nice sunshine!