杭州 (Hángzhōu)

W3C’s Advisory Committee & Advisory Board (the AC&AB) met in Hangzhou, in Zhejiang Province (浙江 (Zhèjiāng)), a bit southwest of Shanghai. Hangzhou is beautiful—you can easily see why Marco Polo called it La Cité du Ciel (The Heavenly City).

A woman in a black dress poses for a picture in front of a lake. The far shore of the lake is green and hilly. Several boats are plying the lake’s waters behind her.

The meetings were held at the Hua Jia Shan Guest House (花家山庄 (Huā Jiā Shān Zhuāng)) near West Lake (西湖 (Xīhú)), a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I delighted in exploring the resort’s grounds and the nearby lake shore, despite several rainy days.

A modern Chinese building is partly obscured behind several trees. Several buildings are on the far side of a small pond. The pond looks green, because it’s reflecting the surrounding trees.
花家山庄

I got in too late to attend the developer meetup Sunday night. I probably should have gone straight to bed, but talked Hidde and I into a nightcap with some of the other Japanese AC reps.

On Monday morning officially welcomed all of the attendees to China. Seth wasn’t able to be there in person, but appeared on Zoom to welcome us as well. The highlight of the morning was a presentation about cross-cultural communication from . There were several panels Monday afternoon, and the evening was spent celebrating the 20th anniversary of W3C’s presence in Mainland China.

A path leads up to a traditional Chinese gazebo, which houses a statue.
A nice spot for contemplation.

On Tuesday each of the W3C’s elected bodies (the Board of Directors, the AB, and the TAG) presented updates on what we’ve been working on and took questions from the AC. During the afternoon presented some of the work on the W3C Process we’ve been doing on the AB and in the Process CG. That night we went on a tour of the Wensan Future Technology Experience Center—a place so futuristic, it doesn’t seem to have a website. 😕 But at least there was a robot that made me ice cream!

The AC spent Wednesday morning in breakouts; our meeting wrapped before lunch. Since the AB meeting didn’t start until Thursday morning, I officially had the afternoon free. I spent it touristing around West Lake with Brent, Emma, and Hidde.

I don’t know how many wide shots of the lake I took—too many, surely—but I think I can forgive myself, considering the view. Here are just a few of them:

Two boats ply the waters of a lake under a cloudy sky. The larger boat is of a traditional Chinese design. The far shore of the lake is mountainous. The mountains are covered in trees. Boats ply the waters of a lake under a cloudy sky. Some of the boats are of a traditional Chinese design. The far shore of the lake is mountainous. The mountains are covered in trees. A lake under a cloudy sky. There are several buildings on the far shore.

The lake is constantly being criss-crossed by these elaborate-looking traditional ferries:

A dark red Chinese boat with a golden roof is docked on the shore. A lake is visible beyond a dark red Chinese boat with a golden roof. The leaves of a tree are between the camera and one end of a dark red Chinese boat with a golden roof. A dark red Chinese boat with a golden roof, in side profile.

That night 朱紅儒 (Zhū Hóngrú) (Judy) and her Alibaba Group colleagues took some of us out for dinner at a lovely restaurant that serves traditional Zhejiang cuisine.

The AB met Thursday and Friday. Brent, Dan, 丁蔚 (Dīng Wèi), Emma, Hidde, 五十嵐さん (Igarashi-san), 李安琪 (Lǐ Ānqí), 太田 (Ōta)浩史 (Hiroshi), and I were all able to be there in person for it. Amy, Elena, Max, and 徐嵩 (Xú Sōng) couldn’t make it, but each called in when they were able. The Board of Directors were meeting at the same time, one room over from us, so we all went out for a joint dinner Thursday night. Several bottles of Kweichow Moutai (贵州 (Guìzhōu)茅台 (Máotái)) were consumed. Let’s just say that mistakes were made.

If we drink enough Moutai, we can solve anything.

— Henry Kissinger, 1974

A few of us wandered around the area on the south side of the lake after our meeting wrapped on Friday:

Many trees with green leaves surround a small lake, which reflects the trees around it.
I loved the way the trees were reflected in the water.
A long white bride with a roof crosses s small lake.
Long bridge is long.
A moon bridge arches over a lake.
Moon Bridge (月桥 (yuè qiáo))
A traditional Chinese stone guardian is perched above some water and a white structure with a dark roof.
Guardian of the moon bridge.
A perfectly still lake reflects the far shore and the sky above it. The far shore is wooded, and one hill rises beyond it. On the shore are two buildings, both of traditional Chinese design.
Still water.

Brent and I got up super early on Saturday morning to get back to Shanghai in time for our flights. The sound of birdsong in the early morning is hard to beat, isn’t it?

There are no direct flights to Hangzhou from SF, but there are plenty to Shanghai Pudong. I flew on China Eastern for the first time. From the airport I took the Airport Link Line across town to Shanghai Hongqiao and caught a high-speed train to Hangzhou. You don’t need a physical ticket for the high speed train—your Chinese national ID card (or foreign passport) serves as your ticket. Convenient, if creepifying.