Moon Over Hangzhou and Magnets for Sale

I returned from a two-day biz trip to Hangzhou this afternoon the same way I went - by train. It's two hours each way and quite a pleasant trip, with the exception of the overcrowded train stations. I went "soft seat", which means I didn't go "hard seat" - the preferred mode of travel for the peasants (a catch-all word for farmers and poor people in China). It had been over 10 years since I took a train in China and it has really changed. The trains aren't much nicer but the service is. Capitalism, er, "socialism with Chinese characteristics", reigns on the trains. All the train workers have turned into salesmen and women - walking up and down the aisles selling everything from drinks to hotel rooms to magnets which are guaranteed to improve your blood circulation.

Hangzhou is built next to the famous West Lake. Surrounded by mountains, pagodas and gardens, West Lake looks like China is supposed to look. It was beautiful. I had a hotel room overlooking the lake and the view at night - with a full moon over the still lake - can't be beat.