I visited Qian Dao Hu in April of 2004. So, I am quite sure that the place has changed significantly since then. This is also one of those strange trips when I lost a whole bunch of the photographs.
We took a bus from Shanghai, and after about 3 hours on the road, we reached Qian Dao Hu. Quite in contrast to much of China, the last leg of the trip was jarring, and I felt as if my various internal organs were being juggled around inside my body. The hotel was fantastic. Great rooms, and lovely food. Not to mention the view.
I had a suite - a real suite - for 50 US Dollars a night. Those were the days, my friend, as the bard sang - we thought they'd never end.....
Qian Dao Hu is in ZheJiang Province, about 160 kilometres west of HangZhou. It is a nice enough place, especially if you consider that this is an artificial lake. It was formed by the construction of a dam, and in 1959 it was part of the New Anjiang Hydroelectric Power Station.
Apparently, it also supplies the water for the famous Nongfu Mineral Water brand. So, there you have it - a perfect combination of infrastructure, tourism and consumer goods!
I am not sure if this was the original intention, but it sure panned out that way.
We took a boat trip around the lake, and tried to count all 1,078 islands. Ha!Ha! There was no chance of that. We also did alight at one of the islands; went down a water slide; climbed to the to and made the obligatory 'ooh' and 'aahh' noises about the various flowers that we saw there, and generally felt that all is well with the world.
Nature does that to you!
Soon enough, the time to return had come. Lunch on the boat was really awful. The precaution, which I should have taken, of packing sandwiches, is one that I should have taken. However, there is nothing as futile as regret. Luckily, however, my stomach held out all the way back to Shanghai!
Sometimes, nature does that for you!!
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