Salsa in Hangzhou

"There is Heaven in the sky; on Earth there are Hangzhou and Suzhou", or so the saying, in China, goes. Both of these cities are places you should not miss if you visit China. They are places you should also visit with someone from China; so you can understand their beauty, history and culture. I visited Suzhou last March and a few weeks ago I finally visited, Hangzhou; in style.

I have been taking salsa lessons here in Nanjing; which is a story for another post. The teacher, Samba, who is a very charismatic teacher and a great dancer; decided to organize a trip to Hangzhou, to sight see and of course dance. Even though I am not too good a salsa; I couldn't pass up a trip to Hangzhou, with a new group of Chinese and International friends.

I couldn't have made a better decision. Hangzhou is a great city to visit; it is beautiful, cultural and accommodating to visitors. The highlight of this trip was seeing Xi Hu or as people kept saying Xi Hu lake, which would translate to West Lake lake.

The lake was beautiful, since the trees were just beginning to flower and the weather was cool but sunny. The lake also had a bridge called Broken Bridge on it, which has a story about a snake who changes into a woman. During a rain, she meets a man who offers her an umbrella. Soon after they fall in love and live happily ever after. So I thought I would give it a try and took an umbrella with me, but alas no women took the offer.

The other place of note was Lingyin Temple. I have no idea how many Buddas I saw carved in the stone cliffs and caves, but it was wonderful to see.

Of course I went to Hangzhou for the salsa dancing. Unfortunately, this didn't go so hot for me; the floor was too crowded for a beginner like me and I kept bumping into people and loosing concentration. So I watched more than I danced. The main regret I had was as usual, when I travel places, I had too little time to spend in Hangzhou.

Even better was the chance to get to know my salsa classmates. As you can see I was in great company and of course Samba was a great hostess. She has the ability to make everyone she meets feel special and brings out the best in people. Also special thanks to Peter for taking care of the logistics and for making sure I try to dance, when we have dance parties.