Hangzhou Travel Forum

Hello! And friendly greetings to you from North Carolina, USA.

Some friends and I are scheduled to travel to China soon. We will tour to four major cities, ending in Shanghai. From Shanghai, we will go to Hangzhou, where three of my friends are scheduled to present a paper at an international language conference at the university there.

My friends will be at the conference most of the time, but I will have some time to look around. I am in the process of trying to hire a guide, since I'm pretty sure I can't do much by myself!

I am a musician, and I am particularly interested in visiting places where Chinese musicians might be playing or practicing. I would also like to visit music stores, where I might be able to buy an erhu or other Chinese instrument. Since I am a school teacher, I probably do not have the money to buy the best instruments, but I would like to shop!

If school is in session, I would love to visit a Chinese elementary school, if that would be possible. I would like to meet a music teacher there, if they have separate music classes as we do here. What would be the way to go about doing that?

Thank you for any thought and time you give to this post, and to a reply! I sincerely appreciate it.

Carol Cantrell

Hi,
one thing you may try is when in Hangzhou is to go to the West Lake during a weekend, esp. the end towards the northern part of Nanshan Road. I often saw people sing and play in what seemed an improvised way during weekends, and I am sure you would enjoy that.

I am not sure where there are music schools, though I visited one a few times in Hangzhou, but unfortunately I have no way of confirming where it is now. I also went to a concert this school had arranged, that was nice :) You could try www.morehangzhou.com which may be listing concerts and similar. Make sure you pick up a copy while in Hangzhou, you can usually find it in spots frequented by foreigners, such as big international hotels, and international watering holes along Nanshan Road.

Let's keep our fingers crossed you get in touch with someone Chinese who could help you with finding schools, since because of the language barrier, it isn't easy to find these places unless you speak and read the local language :) You could try the Hangzhou expat forum (www.hangzhouexpat.com) too.

Enjoy your stay, Hangzhou is beautiful! :)

Shanghai has a music conservatory, would you perhaps consider staying here for a couple of days while your friends go to Hangzhou? You could always join them later.
I'm studying at Shanghai Conservatory of Music, but we usually don't buy instruments from the shops, we buy them from the makers or factories.
When would you be here? If I'm around, maybe I could bring you along to classes.

WOW ! ! ! Thanks to both answers! I will pursue the suggestions made in the first answer, and will communicate with my sister musician concerning the second! Right now in North Carolina, it's time to sleep - - But THANK YOU THANK YOU for your replies! from - Carol

First, you do not need a guide to get around and do lots of stuff if you can walk and read a map.

Most large cities, and I specifically recall this being the case in Hangzhou, have areas with a concentration of music shops. They will have erhu and other instruments for most any budget. You will have to shop and compare and then negotiate.

I have walked into a good number of elementary schools and never had any problem except it would have been very useful to have been with someone who spoke Chinese.

I urge you to send an E-mail or even call the organizers of the conference in China and tell them of your interest in music, and visiting an elementary school and/or a music school. This is certainly worth a try. Have a private person willing to show you around would be better than having a professional guide for the activities that most interested you. It might turn into something a little more dramatic then you are looking for, but it would be a good experience nether-the-less.

If you have the personality for it, go prepared to sing some karioke. If you can not do this carry a small instrument and go to a park and start to play. Music enthusiasts will come.

Good luck.

In Xi'an, you can watch the Tang Dynasty Show and musical performance, that's very nice progrem. here is its website. www.xiantangdynasty.com
hope it can enjoy you so much.

Heartfelt thanks to each one who answered my query about Hangzhou, and the mention of Xi'an, as well. Both were just grand. The Tang Dynasty show in Xi'an was stunning. Our time in China, while hot, muggy, and rainy, was simply wonderful in every way. We were exceptionally glad that we ended our trip in Hangzhou, since it is so very beautiful. Actually, my travelling companion informs me that the area where we were STAYING (West Lake) is beautiful, but that the area she was driven through on her way from the University to the hospital where she had to consult a doctor, was definitely rather ordinary city-scape. We stayed in the Xizi Hotel, where numerous big names have stayed over the years. I had hired a private tour guide, since although I can walk, I can't walk long distances. The tour guide was absolutely wonderful, as was the driver - - and took up far more time taking care of me than they were expected to do. Both nights, they stayed with me far into the night, to be sure that I got to where I was going to performances, and back again. If you have a chance to see the amazing outdoor drama Impression West Lake, do so! It was mesmerizing - -

Again, my thanks for the help and encouragement! We will be considering and re-considering all we learned for years to come. And we are awaiting the opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympics with great anticipation. We flew from Shanghai to Vienna after our time there, and spent three weeks in Austria, Germany, and Czech Republic. We've been home five days now, and my head is still spinning!

Happy touring! !

One more thing: I saw and heard MUCH music while there! The first day on the ground in Beijing, we went all over the place, ending up at the Temple of Heaven. There in the park were people singing and playing in multiple ad hoc groups - - someone would start playing an instrument, someone else would start singing, and people would just walk up and join in the singing. Men outnumbered women at least two to one. It was just amazing. I was able to watch one group form from nothing to a very fine choir - - with tears streaming down my face! In Hangzhou, my wonderful guide took me to a shopping street, where I was able to buy several folk instruments. I saw a regional folk opera (all singing, no acrobatics as in Beijing opera), as well as the Tang Dynasty show in Xi'an, and the Impression West Lake in Hangzhou. I got to see and hear every major traditional Chinese instrument I've ever read about, as well as people playing Western style cello, violin, transverse flute, bass violin, and electronic keyboard. We even visited a "children's palace" in Shanghai, where children take private and group lessons in various arts and languages. It wasn't a public school (I was near one of those at the Wild Goose Pagoda, but did not have the nerve to go barging in. . .), but I was able to make contact with colleague musicians. I do believe that I got to do everything in China that I wanted to do - - and managed to avoid doing the things I did NOT want to do!! A great, great experience. Do not be misled: We did see some negative and even unnerving things, but taken in balance, we were simply amazed in every way.