Full Day

This week has been awkward for the WVU students in the sense that we have had no structured activities. Granted we have managed to find things to do, it is a new feeling for us to plan out activities in a new setting; we are used to tour guides and itineraries. Yesterday Chris and I made it a point to structure a day like real tourists should: we went to the Tea Museum, Silk Museum, and the Hangzhou Zoo.
Actually we went looking for the tea museum, which i situated in the middle of acres of tea fields. Finding the actual museum proved harder than expected, but we enjoyed the scenery and strolling through various tea shops. The area was surprisingly close to campus- just 10 minutes in a taxi. Yet the city was nowhere in site and it felt like the country side.


The Hangzhou silk museum was quite fascinating. Call me sheltered, or else just oblivious- I never quite realized silk was produce solely from cocoons. It just seems amazing that people used insects to that extent during neolithic times. The museum went through the importance of silk trade and the cultural significance of silk production through China's history. Chris and I had a good few hours following the the silk story through the museum, and were impressed by the English used throughout the exhibits.
The zoo was by far the 'wildest' experience of the day. There was an impressive array of animals and an extremely laid back atmosphere. It felt more like walking through a park and having animals to look at, than being at an amusement park- the way I recall American zoos. Albeit the conditions were considerably worse. Upkeep of cages and buildings did not seem to be a priority, nor was comfort of the animals. Many of the large animal exhibits were only concrete and rock, and water never looked to clean. However the animals seemed more energetic than I expected.
There was more human interaction permitted than in America; people would throw peanuts for monkeys to catch and tap on glasses without hesitation. Some animals seemed to like the attention, while many of course wanted to be left alone.

Then, on our way out we heard circus music and went into an odd circular structure. Madness ensued as we saw a tiger riding a horse, an elephant pick up a man and his baby, and bears riding scooters and boxing. We felt we got our $3 worth at the zoo.