The lake of 1000 islands - a pictorial journey

This Mid Autumn festival we took the opportunity to travel with friends to Qiandao Hu (1000 Island Lake)  in the Zhejiang province.

Qiandao Lake lies approximately 400 klm south west of Shanghai. It is a man made lake formed in 1959 when the mountainous region was flooded for the  Xin'an River hydroelectric scheme.  The Flooding created 1078 islands that dot the massive water way.   The area is now China's largest National Park. 

The trip was organised by the Shanghai cycling club and we stayed in a private lakeside villa that was akin to a youth hostel.  It was clean and comfortable with excellent access to the lake and cycling paths. 

Day 1. 

An early start for us - up at 5am  for a 6 am departure.  The drive took 4 and 1/2 hours. 

Not long after our arrival we were setting off for our first ride. 

Gearing up ready to ride - Russ stays behind to relax and catch up on his reading. 

The day 1 ride is a 30 klm lakeside ride on a newly built bike path.

It's nice to be away off the road and just enjoy the ride

There are plenty of great spots to stop for a rest - given that the temperature was around 40 degrees! 

Serenity prevails 

One of the many lake crossings

A welcome dip in the lake after the ride

We were the first foreign group the villa had ever seen and hosted.  Their hospitality was overwhelming and food was the key focus.  Lunch on day one was a fabulous array of local fare.  A variety of vegetable dishes including carrots in ginger, spicy broccoli, garlic beans and cabbage were dished up  along with a couple of meat dishes.  Of course for the local Chinese meat is very  expensive and the cuts are usually heavily fat and bone laden and not generally to our taste!  But worth a try! 

Dinner was an 'American" BBQ  and the number one dish served was "Australian tube steaks" .  It turned out that none of the locals really knew how to cook up a barbecue so it wasn't long until Russ stepped in and had the "Webber' aflame and the "Australian tube steaks"  (read chinese take on american hot dogs) grilling.

The evening ended eating mooncakes under the light of the full harvest moon. 

Day 2  

Day 2 was the day of the "long ride"  100 klm through the national park.  I , along with a number of others, opted to skip the 60 klm hill climb and join the group at "banana bridge" where we cycled 20 klm through undulating hills into the local village for lunch.

The scenery was absolutely breathtaking.  The lake glimmered in the midday sun, and the villages were surrounded by lush green fields of mulberry trees (grown to feed the silk worms of Hongzhou) corn, tea and beans.  Out on the lakes old fisherman cast their nets from hand crafted wooden rafts and the women tilled the fields. The entire experience was just "so incredibly chinese" and what I think travelling is all about.  The roads were dotted with locals selling their village grown produce; green oranges, beans and homemade buns. 

Banana Bridge

The view from Banana Bridge

The view from Banana Bridge

Some of the SISU team ready to ride!

Road side animal pens

Road side barrow carrying local produce

The corn fields

Village fields

Waterway crossing

Lakeside village housing

Valley view. 

At the end of the ride we were once again treated to local fare - cooked by the villagers and served in a local cafe.  Once again the vegetable dishes were spectacular and along with the commonly served ginger carrots, salty cabbage and garlic beans we ate spicy aubergine and glass noodles with charred spinach!  It was really very yummy!  (although I don't think anyone went for the sliced fried pig fat or soft chilli tofu!)

Our presence in the village caused quite a stir - who were these foreign white people dressed in lycra and riding bikes the likes they had never seen?

I'm not sure the photos above do the ride justice, there really was something quite special travelling through these old villages, seeing the "old" China and having the locals call out to us through their toothless smiles.  Perhaps one of my favourite moments was when we hitched a draft ride with a couple of "took took" drivers who thought it was both curious and hilarious having a few foreign girls slip in and cycle furiously behind them! 

After lunch it was back to the villa for quick change and the long drive home.  

It was a fabulous couple of days away - where we got to see a wonderful piece of China and meet some fantastic people from all over the globe! 

Russell's charge!
This is pretty girl - Russ took care of her while we were out riding, they became great friends she was absolutely gorgeous!  

Next month we venture further afield to the province of Sichuan and board a vessell for a 4 day journey down the Yangzi river!