Wednesday, October 24, 2007

China Gourmet Trip (10) - 9/25 揚州中秋晚宴

We spent only one day in Yangzhou but we accomplished a lot during our short stay.....enjoyed a most memorable 3-Head Feast lunch, visited Slender West Lake, Da Ming Temple and Geyuan Garden.....By dusk, we arrived at the place where we would spend the night - Yangzhou State Guesthouse(揚州迎賓館) and joined a special dinner hosted by Mr. Zuo, the Deputy Director of Yangzhou Foreign Affairs Office, to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival(八月十五中秋節).

The Yangzhou State Guesthouse is a 4-star level hotel run by the City of Yangzhou to accommodate out-of-town visitors and guests. The Guesthouse covers an area over 100 acres with buildings occupying 20,000 square meters. It is located close to Slender West Lake and is distinctive and picturesque with the combination of modern hotel comfort and classical Chinese architecture. 【揚州迎賓館】緊鄰優美的蜀崗—瘦西湖風景區,與瘦西湖公園的徐園、四橋煙雨樓隔水相望,是由揚州市外僑辦事處負責興建和經營管理的高檔次涉外旅遊飯店。迎賓館佔地約100多畝,建築面積近兩萬平方公尺。主體建築為兩幢準五星級標準的總統別墅樓和一幢準四星級標準的綜合樓,擁有客房120間(套),大小餐廳10餘個,並配有商務、會議、娛樂、健身等功能齊全的各種現代化服務設施。
When our bus drove into the gate of the guesthouse, it was already dark. The sight that greeted us was so beautiful, with all colored lighting trimmed around outlines of the buildings and trees, it felt like Christmas in September! I couldn't help but took out my camera and tried to catch a glimpse of what we saw.....
We checked into our rooms quickly and barely had time to freshen up and get ready for the Mid-Autumn Festival Dinner. Then it was time to walk over to the next building where the banquet room was situated and experience a Mid-Autumn Festival Dinner with our hosts: officials from City of Yangzhou.The atmosphere was elegant, the conversation was easy, and everyone had a relaxing time savoring each course on the individually served plate.The Dinner ended around 9:30 PM and we gave our thanks and bid farewell to our hosts. On our way out, it was suggested that we continue the night with a visit to the local well-known Foot-Massage Therapy of Yangzhou. Everyone in our group expressed interest, except Shirley and I. We felt quite tired from the whole day's activities, so we walked back to our room and called it a night!

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