Lishui，Zhejiang, April 1-7，2016 浙江丽水之行, 2016年4月1-7日

The trip had been planning for a long time by me and one of my best classmates in college who is also a photography enthusiast. Lishui is known for its unspoiled beauty due to difficult access by transportation. Surrounded by mountains, forests, and rivers, the area is named as “Li Shui” (or Pretty Water) after its beauty. For the same reason, the villages used to be isolated and undeveloped. Now, for better or worse, high speed rail system has extended to that area, so you can image how long these natural beauties will last. We wanted to capture and preserve a portion of it before it is gone. We chose April, because at this time the nature is about to waking up in Lishui, and the sceneries should be unique. in retrospect, though, maybe late April or early May would be better than early April.

I flew to China, spent a few days in my hometown, and then met my classmates and friends in HangZhou. Unexpectedly we had another 4 other people joining in this trip. Among them were two young ladies from Slovakia working in HangZhou.

We took high speed train to Lishui in less than 5 hours. The first stop was Lishui city, the capital of the district after its name. One of my classmates who was the head of the local major institution had arranged everything for us, including dinning, hotel, touring plan, and a car with driver for the next a few days. Very lucky to have such a great friend and classmate

In next days, the local driver took us to many attractions, including scenic mountains, villages, and local markets. A good friend of my classmate, Mr. Wu, who was the president of the local photography society, gave us many excellent suggestions about photogenic locations, and even chaperoned us to a few places where we would never get to. The best part of this trip was that after enjoying the natural beauty, we were always treated with local gourmet food and wine from local friends. This trip was only seven days, felt too short for this trip. I shall be back again late.

这次旅行, 我和我大学里最好的同学之一同时也是摄影爱好者计划好久了。由于交通困难, 丽水以其未受破坏的美丽而闻名。该地区被山脉、森林和河流所环绕, 山清水秀, 地名“丽水”概出于此。也正因为如此, 那里的村庄比较闭塞和贫苦。现在，无论好坏，高铁已经延伸到那个地区，所以你可以想象这些自然美景会持续多久。我们想在它的美丽消失之前捕捉并保住它的一部分。我们选择了四月，因为这时候丽水万物初醒, 应是别有风情。不过现在回想起来，也许 4 月底或 5 月初会比 4 月初更合适些。

我飞到中国，在家乡呆了几天，然后在杭州见到了我的同学和朋友。没想到的是，我们还有另外 4 人加入了这次旅行。其中有两位在杭州工作的来自斯洛伐克的年轻女士。

我们乘坐高铁, 不到5个小时到达丽水。 第一站是丽水市，它是以它的名字命名的地区的首府。我的一个同学是当地一家机构的负责人，他为我们安排了一切，包括接下来几天的餐饮，酒店，旅游计划，以及带司机的汽车。很幸运有这么好的友谊和同学之情。

接下来的几天，当地司机带我们去了很多景点，包括风景秀丽的山脉、村庄和当地市场。我同学有一个好朋友是当地摄影学会的会长吴先生。他给了我们很多关于摄影地点的好建议，甚至陪我们去了几个我们永远无法找到的地方。这次旅行最好的部分，是在享受自然美景之后，我们总是会受到当地朋友的特色美食和酒水的款待。这次旅行七天, 觉得太短, 准备下次再来。

We drove two hours to a historic village from Lishui city. When we arrived, it was sunset. Very gorgeous village with clean and clear water in rivers. One of my former schoolmates who worked there treated us at a nice restaurant.

我们从丽水市驱车两个小时来到一个历史悠久的村庄。 我们到达的时候，已是日落时分。 非常漂亮的村庄，河水干净清澈。 我以前的一位同学当地工作，他做东在一家不错的餐馆招待我们。

Next day, Mr. Wu suggested us to visit a nearby village in the middle of a mountain. We got there around 8:00Am. Although weather was not perfect, the village was still photogenic.

第二天，吴先生建议我们去参观附近位于半山腰的一个村子。 我们大约早上 8:00到那里。 天气虽然不完美，但这个村庄仍然很上镜。

We visited a large tea trading market on the second day of arriving in Songyang County. These teas were produced by local farms, and would be labeled with different brands such as LongJing, Wu Long, etc, depending upon the techniques used for production of branded tea. These branded teas are purchased by traders from all over the country, shipped and sold as labeled. I must say that the way to trade these teas is not entirely legal, but the quality of the teas is not inferior to the original brand.

到达松阳县的第二天，我们参观了松阳县内的一家大型茶叶交易市场。 这些茶是由当地农场生产的，根据所用不同“品牌”制茶的技术，制成的茶会贴上不同的品牌，如龙井、乌龙等。 这些品牌茶由来自全国各地的贸易商购买，并按标签运输和销售。 不得不说，这样的茶叶的交易方式并不完全合法，但茶叶的品质却不逊于原品牌。

This is another small town in SongYang county. It is a very ordinary town with ordinary people who do ordinary work, such as making cookware, crafting small Chinese balance, making palm fiber mattress, cooking, blacksmithing, repairing small items, etc. We saw grandpapa and grandma playing with their only heir while working, and young kid doing homework in front of her father’s shop.

这是松阳县的另一个小镇。 小镇非常普通，普通人做着普通的工作，比如做炊具、中国式小天平、做棕床、做饭、锻造、修理小物件等等。我们看到爷爷奶奶带着他们唯一的继承人， 劳作之际含饴弄孙, 还有年幼的孩子在在她父亲的店铺前做作业。

Another small village yet to be developed. The village seems to have a quite long history. Most of the houses are old, many of which are in typical Southern style with ancient charm and elegant. The dilapidated walls depict their fading memories and indelible history.

另一个还未开发的小村庄。 这个村子的历史似乎很长。 房子大多很老旧，但其中建筑多为江南风格，古韵尤存。破败的墙上留下的是斑驳的记忆和抹不去的历史。

Visited a tea farm.

游览茶园。

Pear and peach trees are blossoming at right time. The last picture is a soybean flower.

梨花和桃花盛开正当时。 最后一张是大豆的花。