Shanghai to Hangzhou

This is the fourth and last post on China - previous post here.

Shanghai today  

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Shanghai in the 1980s

Owing to the delayed flight from Qingdao to Shanghai our time in the city was cut short. We were taken all around the city in a car to see as much as possible, but other things that had been arranged for us had to be cancelled.

The highlight was being taken down the Huangpu River in the Harbour Masters own ship. We were the only guests on his two storey vessel apart from other Shanghai officials and our minder Madam Wu. He wanted to show H the river and point out their shipping and environmental problems whilst seeking his advice. We were served all kinds of refreshments, and then on the return journey he laid on a banquet.

Travelling down the river with the Harbour Master - the young girl was the Interpreter

Comparing my Huangpu River images with a contemporary photograph shows the huge changes.

Neither of us can remember how we got to Hangzhou but I think it must have been by train as it is only a 3 hour trip from Shanghai. 

Hangzhou is everything you imagine China to be. Lakes full of lotus flowers, with temples sitting on little islands which are crossed by bridges. When Marco Polo passed through in the 13th century he described it as one of the finest and most splendid cities in the world. West Lake, full of fresh water is the most famous lake and is surrounded by hills and gardens, dotted with pavilions and temples - one romantically called Three Pools mirroring the Moon.

We were taken out in a boat with our minder, Madam Wu, and one of the Marine Scientists. The man rowing the boat was so absorbed in watching H and myself that he nearly rowed us up on to one of the little stone ornaments sitting in the middle of the lake. This almost resulted in us all being thrown from the boat into the deep water with unknown consequences. Fortunately I noticed what was going on and managed to shout out a warning, and thus prevent a diplomatic incident. Whatever would the UN have thought if their man in Hangzhou and his wife had ended up floundering in the middle of a lake?

In Hangzhou we had some memorable banquets. One evening the dish we were presented with was so magnificent that the whole restaurant came to a standstill to watch what was happening. Chickens had been wrapped in Lotus leaves from the lake and then smothered in mud and baked. Once cooked the mud was ceremoniously broken open to reveal the succulent chicken.  We were also served river crab, until then I had thought that they only lived in the sea.

During the month long trip we had lots of interesting experiences - a Chinese acrobatic display, the ballet, visit to Beijing Zoo, and a particularly memorable dish of sea slugs and jelly fish. We could never have envisaged the huge changes that have since taken place in China during what is a relatively short period of time.

Blue Magic

Nature creates blue magic around this time of year in British forests and cliff tops stretching from Scotland in the north to Cornwall in the far south -  it's bluebell time.

British bluebells, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, are a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside act. You cannot pick them or dig them up. If you have bluebells in your garden then most likely they have been bought at a garden centre and will be Spanish bluebells, Hyacinthoides hispanica. Unfortunately the Spanish bluebell is more vigorous and can crossbreed with the native bluebell creating a fertile hybrid. This is threatening them as it dilutes their unique charateristics. 

British Bluebells

The British bluebell has varying shades of blue (sometimes white, rarely pink) tube-like bells with the petal tips curled right back.  They hang mostly to one side of a nodding stem. The stem nods more as the flower matures, flowers smell sweetly - the pollen on the anthers is cream coloured. The anther is the disc at the tip of the stamen where the pollen collects.

Spanish bluebells are pale blue, sometimes pink or white. The stems have flowers all around them and are upright. They have almost no scent and the bells are a true bell shape with the petals flaring out - it has blue pollen on its anthers.  Seeing them together it is much easier to spot the differences.

A late Elizabethan country house

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It is about 20 years since we visited this glorious house, and both of us remember it well - its impact is lasting.

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Montacute House was built in 1598 by Sir Edward Phelips, whose family had lived in the Montacute area since at least 1460. They were yeomen farmers before their rise in status.

Built in what came to be considered the English Renaissance style, the east front is distinguished by its Dutch gables decorated with romping stone monkeys and other animals. The windows of the second floor - the Long Gallery are divided by niches containing statues, a feature copied from the Palazzo degli Uffizi in Florence - at Montacute the figures feature the Nine Worthies. The Nine Worthies are legendary figures who personified chivalry in the Middle Ages.

The elaborate walled garden is complimented by twin garden pavilions in the far corners.

A long "cloud" clipped yew hedge

Newly restored Orangery

Coming through the main entrance door to the left you then pass through this double arched stone screen leading into the Great Hall. Made in the renaissance style, the proportion of the screen's ionic columns suggests an uncertainty of classical elements so newly introduced to England during the 16th century.

The Great Hall showing portraits of the Phelips family

At the end of the Great Hall is a rare plaster panel depicting an example of rough justice dating from 1600. On the left a henpecked husband has a drink whilst looking after the baby. His wife catches him and hits him with a shoe. A neighbour reports the incident to the village and the husband is punished by having an uncomfortable ride on a pole, whilst the locals mock him. This is known locally as the "Skimmington Ride". You can read about another Skimmington Ride in the "Mayor of Casterbridge" by Thomas Hardy.

A richly coloured stained glass window in an anti chamber off the hall showing the Phelips coat of arms.

At either end of the house are two wonderful golden stone stairways leading up through the house, both of which culminate at the top of the house in the Long Gallery. It is said that during wet weather the Phelips children would lead their ponies up these stairs to ride in the long gallery.

The Hunter - dated 1788 is one of a series of tapestries based on an earlier set woven for Louis XlV at the Gobelins factory in Paris.

Lord Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston Hall, Derby, rented Montacute in 1915 and had this secret bath installed in a wardrobe in his bedroom.

Italian Majolica dish made c 1600 depicting Bacchus in a landscape with animals and flowers - Dear Gina - took this one is for you.

Lets rest awhile and enjoy afternoon tea.

In 1823 the estate was inherited by William Phelips but eventually he became insane; an addicted gambler, and apparently incarcerated for his own good. Sadly for the family this was after he had gambled away the family fortune. In 1875 his son took control of the estate but this huge house was a drain on limited resources. Selling the family silver and art works delayed the inevitable by several years, but by 1911 the family were forced to let the house and moved out. The Phelips never returned.

Sadly there are no photographs allowed in the Long Gallery which is the longest in England. However, the Long Gallery alone is worth a visit. It is full of wonderful royal portraits from the national collection held by the National Portrait Gallery, London and on show here in partnership with the National Trust. There are more than 50 Tudor and Jacobean portraits including Henry Vlll and Elizabeth l and a fascinating series of paintings of monarchs from the late medieval period showing Richard ll, Richard lll, Henry l, Henry ll, Stephen, Edward l etc. and various courtiers.

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Queen Elizabeth l - National Portrait Gallery

Turning off the highway, then through the iron entrance gates, in your horse and carriage......

......the house awaits you for your country weekend spent with the Phelips.......

.....enjoy your stay!

Honesty

Lunaria - honesty is a plant that unexpectedly arrived in the garden, and which now nestles snuggly and happily in the bottom of the hedgerow where it positively glows. 

A cheeky little Honesty fairy by Margaret Tarrant - illustrator - shaking the seeds out of their pods. 

You can eat the seeds, which are mustard like, the root apparently can be eaten raw or boiled, and it is possible to sprinkle the flowers on salads.

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Lunaria - "moon shaped" comes from these showy translucent disc-shaped seedpods with a silvery sheen. If they are left unpicked they remain on the plant throughout the winter.

Honesty is native to the Balkans and south west Asia, it is now naturalised throughout the temperate world. In south east Asia it is called the money plant and in the USA it is commonly known as silver dollars, Chinese money or Chinese coins. In Denmark it is known as judaspenge and in the Netherlands as judaspenning - coins of Judas, as an allusion to the story of Judas Iscariot and the thirty pieces of silver he was paid for betraying Christ.