To be perfectly honest the title of the park isn't something that attracts my wishes when travelling.

Good thing my mother taught me never to dismiss before trying.

To be perfectly honest the title of the park isn't something that attracts my wishes when travelling.[Photo Source: CRIENGLISH.com]

The Xixi Wetland Park has an extensive history and is located on the southern tip of the longest and oldest canal in the world, the Hangzhou-Beijing Canal. Dragon boats take you around in the network of rivers and show you a new side of Hangzhou, also known as the paradise city of China.

To see the striking beauty of this place there is definitely reason to be updated on the legends of Hangzhou which then gives this you a whole new spectrum to fill your imagination with.

What I've seen to a great extent in Hangzhou is contrasts, and Xixi is not an exception. Our boat goes down a river which is a branch of what is called the Tai Lake. These waters are supposed to bring happiness, knowledge and money to people crossing them and I can already feel new knowledge coming against me as a fresh breeze swirls in from behind.

This place is peaceful and I can't believe my eyes when a road and massive complexes appear around the corner. As I turn my head the other side of the river shows a whole other panorama. White wooden houses with dark decorations in traditional Chinese style are spread out in harmony with the most beautiful of trees. The pink flowers covering the treetops make this scenery look just like those typical Chinese paintings my grandmother used to have on her wall. Put a warrior and his lover in the center and the scene is complete.

Reed, trees and bushes are what clean the water in this area, just like the massive mangrove further south. I imagine one of the trees as being part of The Lion King, with birds nest waiting for vultures to return, something I soon convince myself is not going to happen anytime soon. This place truly gets my fantasy going.

"This place has many different kinds of fish," my colleague whispers in my ear at the second a see something touching the water surface.

Although civilization may be around the corner, the Xixi Wetland Park makes you forget about this and helps you focus on the sounds of the nature, the way us humans are supposed to live.

This gives you strength and inspiration as well as it did many artists and literates during ancient times.

I feel like a female version of Hercules when getting off the dragon boat, ready to face new adventures in Hangzhou, the city of paradise.

To be perfectly honest the title of the park isn't something that attracts my wishes when travelling.

Good thing my mother taught me never to dismiss before trying.

The Xixi Wetland Park has an extensive history and is located on the southern tip of the longest and oldest canal in the world, the Hangzhou-Beijing Canal. Dragon boats take you around in the network of rivers and show you a new side of Hangzhou, also known as the paradise city of China.

To see the striking beauty of this place there is definitely reason to be updated on the legends of Hangzhou which then gives this you a whole new spectrum to fill your imagination with.

What I've seen to a great extent in Hangzhou is contrasts, and Xixi is not an exception. Our boat goes down a river which is a branch of what is called the Tai Lake. These waters are supposed to bring happiness, knowledge and money to people crossing them and I can already feel new knowledge coming against me as a fresh breeze swirls in from behind.

This place is peaceful and I can't believe my eyes when a road and massive complexes appear around the corner. As I turn my head the other side of the river shows a whole other panorama. White wooden houses with dark decorations in traditional Chinese style are spread out in harmony with the most beautiful of trees. The pink flowers covering the treetops make this scenery look just like those typical Chinese paintings my grandmother used to have on her wall. Put a warrior and his lover in the center and the scene is complete.

Reed, trees and bushes are what clean the water in this area, just like the massive mangrove further south. I imagine one of the trees as being part of The Lion King, with birds nest waiting for vultures to return, something I soon convince myself is not going to happen anytime soon. This place truly gets my fantasy going.

"This place has many different kinds of fish," my colleague whispers in my ear at the second a see something touching the water surface.

Although civilization may be around the corner, the Xixi Wetland Park makes you forget about this and helps you focus on the sounds of the nature, the way us humans are supposed to live.

This gives you strength and inspiration as well as it did many artists and literates during ancient times.

I feel like a female version of Hercules when getting off the dragon boat, ready to face new adventures in Hangzhou, the city of paradise.

(CRI April 2, 2009)