Soul of the city

From experiencing tomorrow, today; to feeling the heartbeat of old China, Hangzhou is a rarity where the unfaltering national push towards future finally calls a timeout. Rich in history and culture spanning over 2000 years, this ancient capital near Shanghai is still a bit low-key.
 
You find the soul of China here; in the mists and reflections on the lake, in the age old teahouses and distant pagodas and pavilions. It’s not the beauty of the city that sets it apart but the tranquility with which it carries itself. You feel something change, a nothingness washing over and setting you free.

Here, I decided to be a little aimless.
And my instincts took me wherever they wanted. Roaming around the lush and uber-large campus of Zhejiang University, shown around by a Croatian student learning Mandarin there, felt a great way to start. There, a group of Chinese students, welcomed me for a cup of tea. I was about to pass, when my Croatian friend elbowed me and told, “Chinese don’t pass. You take.” One sip from the small teacup offered and then several other rounds. The taste was unlike any other, I ever had.
This sweet gesture guided my aimless self to the more traditional teahouses located in the old town, where you find some of the city’s finest tea. Here, I learnt that spring harvest is better than fall’s - and the earlier the buds, the better. Tea, I understood, is revered here as much as in India, but the ritualistic experience of offering and drinking it, builds the difference.
On my way back to hotel, in a taxi, circling the West Lake at sunset, I felt the distinct pull. We halted, my feet carrying me down the stone causeway, shrouded in willow and peach trees. Cradled by cloud capped mountains on three sides and Hangzhou from the fourth, it ensnared me. Its vistas of humpback bridges and distant pagodas; the teahouses and restaurants on the bank, added to the splendor.
As the sun set & I was ready to leave, the lake went Vegas with the unexpected night show. I never could comprehend the plot of the show, a legend all Chinese know like I know Ramayana. But that’s the least of it. It's the platform just below the water surface serving as the stage, that keeps you guessing. It felt, as if the water fairies have come alive. For one whole hour, you don't blink.
And finally when you do, the lake has gone back to stillness, leaving you bewitched. I was in a dream like state, away from reality, caught in a fairytale, set in time, long back.