Women’s Day came with a half-day off, and I figured the tulips at Prince Bay should be in full bloom by now. So I made my way to West Lake to see them, only to discover on the way—thanks to Xiaohongshu—that only part of the tulip beds had actually opened. A small disappointment, but not enough to ruin the outing.
Because it was a weekday, West Lake wasn’t too crowded. Most of the people along the way were older men and women, and especially a lot of aunties dressed in bright, lively colors. They seemed full of energy—laughing out loud one moment, playing little group games the next. At a glance, it almost looked like some strange cult had resurfaced. That’s probably just my brain being overly dramatic, though, since I’d recently had the song from The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon stuck in my head: “Once, I walked forward in confusion...” Honestly, it’s a pretty uplifting song, and a catchy one too. I’ve kind of grown to like it.
After seeing the tulips, I remembered that last time I had gone to the zoo but never made it to the botanical garden. Since I was already out, I decided to make up for that and rode my bike over to the Hangzhou Botanical Garden.
To be honest, I had imagined the botanical garden would be packed with beautiful flowers, plants, and trees—especially in spring, when everything should feel alive with birdsong and the scent of blossoms. I pictured myself wandering around with my phone, taking photos everywhere.
But the moment I stepped inside, it was obvious that imagination and reality were not quite the same thing. Everywhere I looked, there were towering trees. For someone who grew up in the mountains, that kind of scenery doesn’t hold much novelty. It just doesn’t do much for me.
That said, it was still nice in its own way. There were plenty of stylish young women taking photos there, and because the garden was so quiet and sparsely populated, it seemed like a great place to get good pictures. At one point, I overheard a woman say she wanted to come and feel the energy of nature. Fair enough—sounds nice.
This time I explored by bike, and that definitely made the whole trip more enjoyable than walking like last time. The experience was much better.
Still tiring, though.
On Women’s Day, may she stand firm and bright, may she rise with spirit.
