After I went to an ancient Buddhist temple, I think it was called Shinci Temple (pics and specs to follow) - I went back to Zhejiang University yesterday. It's my second visit there. This time I was able to sit in on a lecture and speak to foreign students who are in various programs and years of study. They were from places like Canada, Switzerland, Germany, France, and Israel. The lecture was among other things, entertaining.
The class was about rebuilding failing immune systems. One recipe for success consisted of black Shitake mushrooms and fresh tofu skins. You must put the tofu skins in boiling water until they get soft and creamy(old tofu skins won't break down), mix this with the recommended dose of "black" shitake mushrooms (ones that are a solid black, the ones with cracking on the sides won't do).
A recipe to get rid of various forms of Hepatitis included the tops of sweet melon (Honey-dew, Cantaloupe - the sweeter the better) where the vine meets the actual melon itself. Take that green part and grind it up into a fine poudre. Snort .05 grms of it two to three times a day. At first a clear mucus runs from the nostrils, over the next week or so the mucus becomes darker and darker. This process continues until the patient is cured. This second recipe was said to be a "secret" from this area of China, Hangzhou, so for the sake of man-kind pass it on.
Please don't quote me on these recipes, It's what I gleaned from the class. So do your own research please. Or find Dr. Wu-Wu Ping (He taught the class), he travels extensively - all over the world, but it sounds like he spends a good portion of his time treating patients in the U.S.. I hope I got this right, but the understanding I walked away with is, that for bacterial infections, western medicine is the best, however for certain viral infections Chinese Medicine is as good if not better than Western Medicine.
It was fun sitting in on Dr. Wu's class. At the end of it I asked, "Where are the best TCM schools in China?" He said that The Academy in Beijing and Shanghai College of TCM are the top. Then I got down to business, speaking with some of the foreign students.
We all agreed that the cost of living in Hangzhou is unlike what it is in the west, very affordable here (it affords one to break out of the rat-race if only for a time). We also agreed that the reasons for being in Hangzhou were in large part it's ties to traditional Chinese culture: tea, silk, medicine, architecture, martial arts, games, mindset, flora. It's nice to be in China and see remnants of the past, which are unadulterated, or at least have been restored, showing respect for their roots.
However part of the Chinese way seems to be a reluctance to teach foreigners. At least this is the blanket accusation I heard from the majority of the foreign students. This I should say is something I have heard in the U.S. too, both from Chinese people and Westerners. However this isn't without reason.
I think the teachers - masters, are looking for proper vessels to pass lifetimes of knowledge to. Their is a responsibility for this to be done, to and for the culture. The culture is Chinese, so why not pass it on to those who understand it as if it were a reflex - other Chinese people.
The other idea is that the reason it isn't passed on is because the teacher you're dealing with really isn't a master, but would like you to believe he is, would like your money, and doesn't really have much to teach you anyway. Therefore this second type of teacher is part conman part practitioner.
My limited experience with true Masters is that they have reached that, "all is full of love" plane of existence. Because they have so much to give, they give it freely, to almost anyone - who will listen and use it well. They do this in part, because of the volume of information they have - which is to say, even if they wanted to, they could not pass all of it to you or anyone else. All they can do is pass on the stuff which best suits your talents and abilities. From which will grow your own universe of knowledge.
Maybe I should just start a tea export company. I will call it, Itinerant Tea Company (ITC). Anyone have an opinion? Again, pictures will be posted later. Peace and Love to all y'all.

Qinghefang "Old Street"

Hangzhou, still only in Hangzhou! I don't want to leave. The picture to your left, this is where I entered Qinghefang "Old Street". The photo was taken about sixty degrees to the right of the more commercial entrance - the one that is more traveled by. I took the route to the right because it was quieter, smaller in size, more peaceful. It was full of storefronts selling jade, and various types of stone. The craftsmen do their work close to the storefront window. If you have ever had a desire to see jade figurines being manufactured by hand this is the place. Uh'em!
Qinhefang was a nice way to spend the afternoon, taking pictures, buying a few gifts, socializing/haggling with tea dealers in their shops, learning. This place is about one half mile from the hostel I'm staying at; which is on the southeast side of the West Lake on Nanshan Lu ('Lu' meaning, path, way, or road).
Today I got a better understanding of the seven grades of Longjin tea. However I am unsure if I have sampled "Superior" grade, the top of the top shelf stuff. The answer that I am getting from the tea dealers is that I am drinking it (at this moment, I am sampling some of the product). It's tasty and young. The idea is to get the stuff that is harvested in March of whatever year you're in. That way it is closest to the budding of the tea leaves as possible, and all the goodness that that brings. This is fairly easy to discern, the size of the leaves should be small, and the color a light green with fuzzy almost yellow highlights - I could digress but that would probably bore you so lets look at pictures of -



SNAKES IN JARS!
This was the find of the day folks. Beautiful, refined, strange, mysterious to the unenlightened western mind. This tea I'm drinking is great, it seems to make my minor, chronic, body-aches subside - I wonder what a cup of the snake juice does? Anyway, the reptiles were found in but one of a dozen or so Chinese medicine shops found at Qinhefang. Less shocking is what appears to be, Infusing Ginseng in Jars was found at the same shop as the snakes.

What do you think this piece of organic matter looks like?
I think it looks like a hairy headless woman with an elongated left breast. She seems to be in a rush. What's going on? I am hungry. I haven't been Skyped - it's only about eight thirty EST (am).
I am going to seek dinner. Maybe by the time I get back my friends will be fishing online.

This is the rules of conduct photo I took back in Shanghai. My apologies if the font is too small. Hopefully you won't need a magnifying glass to read them - worth it though.

Hangzhou

It is a sublime privilege of sorts to be here. The people seem to be more down to earth, more human, and genuinely accessible. Unlike the the sociopathic behavior experienced in Shanghai, Hangzhou in areas near the West Lake and into the mountains is much the way Marco Polo described it - a paradise. The Osmanthus trees smell sweet. At night, walking alongside the West Lake in spring and summer, the lights by the water's edge and those of villages in the hills which are draped by the green leaves of the weeping willows are filtered to the green wavelength, so the night-time's darkness is interrupted by this opalescent green light which gives shape to a vast lake. From hundreds of yards off one can see varying degrees of green flickering in the night. The sounds of people, families, and groups of friends enjoying themselves, spitting, in this setting is somehow re-assuring. Yet another physical manifestation of love.

Chinoise

Alright, to defend against Asian hawkers of "you wanna by watch, bag, maybe denim, whatchyouwant whatyouwant?" Sing them away. I find that Frank Sinatra really works best. It's also easiest on the singer, which is to say singing is a natural stress-reliever anyway (assuming that being barraged by street vendors is a nuisance). First, I tried using what little Spanish or French that I know, and it worked, but singing to my new friends in public surrounded by thousands of Chinese yields a certain amount of absurdity, refreshing to an isolated traveler. This is my first posting and I lack technique. Give me a chance I'll do better, promises promises.

My low-tech point-and-shoot has ceased to function. So all pics at the moment are courtesy of my Iphone camera. It is time for a hi-tech camera. Until then these will do. Hopefully the full effect of of the "Ruler for Visitors" sign posted at the entrance to The People's Park isn't lost on anyone. I especially like the part about shitting and tormenting small animals.