My Life in Hangzhou (2001 - 2011)

Returning from Beijing in July 1999, I stayed in Shanghai for more than a year, studying all IT technologies and handling website design and other IT services for the beverage, online cashing and other industries until January 2001.

And in January 2001 I went to Hangzhou, because only in Hangzhou my mother could stay with me without the worry being left alone when I took trips. I moved to Hangzhou because there I have my sister and my two nieces. When I go out they can take care of her. In other cities there was no second one who can take care of my mother if I shall go on a trip. At that time I was not keeping in touch with my relatives in Shanghai because of an incident that damaged our relations. One time my mother was left closed in my apartment for a whole 10 days as I was travelling to Beijing for talking about a business with a local entrepreneur.

I came to Hangzhou because I also wanted to be a protégée of my younger sister who was married to a guy working in the provincial capital, and I thought this marriage might not be stable (they divorced 11 years later).

But that only debuted my most miserable life which lasts till now ..., read on ...

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My Diary while in Hangzhou

Hangzhou

Hangzhou was once popularly quoted by the "Paradise on the Heaven and Suzhou and Hangzhou in the World" phrase . It was considered on of the best living places in China. But not now. With more and more skyscrapers, cars and people, it looks more like a commercial city, a district of Shanghai. It is loosing its attractiveness day by day. The only thing left is the West Lake.

However, I have to stay here for a while as I have no alternative. As long as I am still living in Hangzhou, I have to deal with local people, supermarkets, shopping malls, banks, neighbors and more. Here I try to tell you about some of my daily life and some general information about the city, and of course the key events occurring here. For example the West Lake Fair to be held in mid October every year. It's not intended to be a tourist or business guide, nor is it a complete introduction. It's the city of my observation, with my viewpoint of course. And you don't need to agree with me.

I personally don't like the city at all. It's too hot in Summer and too cold in Winter. Most of the city is dirty, dusty, noisy, chaotic, crowded, polluted. Hangzhou is the dirtiest and dustiest city I have ever been. When I ride 10 minutes, my mouth is already full of dust (I'm living in the western part of the city, if you live around the Lake you will not have so much dust). And my lung gets infected each time going out. The bicycle and my clothing get lots of dust and mud when riding out, especially on rainy days. Many roads are uneven and bumpy. Busses, people, bikes, triwheels (man or engine driven), are interweaving, they go everywhere and anyway they want. The Wenyi Road is in complete chaos and covered in dust all the days. The whole society is in chaos.

Like 99.9999% of the Chinese people, they don't know how to behave in the public - how to walk in the street, how to drive in the roads, how to ride bicycles, how not to spit in the public, how to talk (they talk loudly as if in quarrel) ... everything in fact. This is still an uncivilized, uncultivated society in general.

Every day, strange things are happening here in Shanghai to myself to to others as witnessed by me. There are also reporting about the weir behaviors of Chinese people here and there. These are all because of the weird and evil political and social system created and strengthened by De Xiaoping as he wanted to make China "particular" and now China is really particular and is astray from its normal track and does not follow the international trends. Here I want to depict some of the tragedies happening in China's soil from time to time.

China is heading towards ruin

Girls in Hangzhou

Women of Hangzhou are very practical, much worse than those in Shanghai or Beijing. By "practical" it is meant that they care for money at top consideration when dating with boys or men. Nowadays they first concerns is the house status of his sex partner, then income, job, family, and look. Few favor scientists, researchers, Ph.D. or scholars like me. No considerations will be given to the morality, personality and other virtues highly praised in western cultures.

Girls here are not as beautiful as many think. They look undernourished, not attractive as a mature woman. It seems they will fall down at the slightest wind blow.

Many come from rural areas, without much education in school and at home. Their clothing looks shabbier as those in Shanghai and Beijing.

I was only introduced one woman who works in a governmental department. I have paid movie tickets, drinks and taxis to her home. But she never said thanks to me when she got out of the taxis. She also never cared for my whereabouts in the taxis, and she kept talking in the aboriginal tongue during the journey. It was raining heavily and wind blew hastily. She only cares for herself and she is typical of Hangzhou Ren, particularly Hangzhou women. Shall I continue my dating and marry such terrible race ? Certainly not !

But I did meet a nice girl from Guizhou. She even invited me twice for dinner and I repeatedly tried to invite her for dinner or lunch, but she refused. Possibly because she knew I was not quite well off at that time, possibly she didn't like me at all. But she was different creature - she cares for others. With her, I found some female characteristics - with the other one, I only see a whore, a prostitute who exchanges her body for money or properties.

If you still want to try some girls, here are places you can go for finding your girlfriend: They are not restricted to Hangzhou. Most of them serve the whole world.

Out of Hangzhou

Returning from Beijing in July 1999, I stayed in Shanghai for more than a year, studying all IT technologies and handling website design and other IT services for the beverage, online cashing and other industries until January 2001.

And in January 2001 I went to Hangzhou, because only in Hangzhou my mother could stay with me without the worry of being isolated when I took trips. One time my mother was left closed in my apartment for a whole 10 days as I was travelling to Beijing for talking about a business with a Beijing entrepreneur. I moved to Hangzhou because there I have my sister and my two nieces. When I go out they can take care of her.

I came to Hangzhou because I also wanted to be a protégée of my little sister who was married to a guy working in the provincial capital, and I thought this marriage might not be stable (which became a reality 11 years later).

Actually I did have possibilities while in Hangzhou: there were several job opportunities with six digit salaries in Shanghai and other cities

But I consider these three so important that I neither accept these offers nor indulge myself in large business opportunities in other cities or countries. I don’t want to work in a polluted city, nor under heavy pressure as common in foreign companies. I want to work under a relaxing atmosphere while keeping efficiency high and want also to enjoy my short life. At the time of Hangzhou, I was so attracted by mountaineering that anything else can be given up – of course except my mother and family – in order to be able to climb mountains – albeit very small and low – to refresh myself there. Still today I am longing for doing that and in the near future I will go to a place where I can enjoy the mountains everyday.

Unfortunately everything was going on wrongly and my money was running out and on the other side living costs were hiking like no where else (the housing prices were doubling every five years and at end 2010 its prices were more than ten times that of 2001 when I first came to this city).

The air above the city was becoming so polluted that made me sick.

And my private life has gone into a narrow lane as well. I cannot find a girl who can become my wife later. The women there are so materialistic and weird. If you have money and if you give them all your money, they will follow you and when you are getting poor and aging, they will leave you without mercy. They are cruel. (In fact this situation is predominant in entire China now)

And finally but most importantly I want to spend more time together with my mother. While in Hangzhou, I could only return to home two to three times a year, and that is far from enough. Every second is so precious with my mother so that I could not afford to stay in a place too distant to my mother.

All these factors pushed me to leave Hangzhou – Hangzhou is only useful to me as a place to go mountaineering. While there I almost went to mountains everyday which gave me some happiness. Otherwise the city is of no value to me, particularly mother won’t come to Hangzhou because I have no place to accommodate her and also because my sister was going to divorce her husband.

In fact I already wanted to leave Hangzhou in 2005 and hence contacted many companies as well as the municipal government of my hometown city of Huzhou, after the failure of all businesses and the research possibilities at Zhejiang University. These contacts were also fruitless, though

I didn’t really like Hangzhou at all, before and now, apart from its mountains, and I don’t like its people and customs – in another word, customs.

Thus on May 21, 2011, I left Hangzhou, three days after the failure notification of my PhD interview with Zhejiang University there. I hated Hangzhou, and there was now no reasons to stay in this city any more. And I have to where else to go as to return to my hometown.

I will tell you more about my struggle, my life, my business and my studies in Hangzhou. That will be a long long storey while I was there for ten years and 4 months.

Hangzhou Encore

I retunred to Hangzhou in late June 2020, and now I think I might stay here for another long period of time, unless there is a chance to move to elsewhere.

Since my last time in Hangzhou in 2011, I have very seldomly come here, just 3 or 4 times. And now Hangzhou has become more and more unlivable, with so many people, so crowded, so many high buildings and construction all over the city, dusty, noisy and expensive.