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China - SuzhouJun 11, 2008
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Suzhou - Dorm room.
Suzhou - The canal, our hostel and Carin to the left of...
Suzhou - Dredging the canal (lovely smell).
Despite the rain, we had a great time in Suzhou. Like true Brits we donned our wet macs and headed out into the wet... The local proverb "In heaven there is paradise, on earth there is Hangzou and Suzhou" may be taking things a bit far, but we spent an enjoyable couple of days exploring gardens, museums and pungent canals... and escaping the rain in various cafes.
Our first stop, however, wasn't in the guidebook, and unlike the golden arches there WAS a halo above it - to our bellies at least. A big hotel with a grand foyer, serving a full on Western style breakfast. The coffee was strong enough to challenge even the most robust stomach, but the food was great and the buffet style meant that we left with very full bellies.
Fed and watered, we explored some of Suzhou's museums. The Silk Museum was a definite hit - it details the history of Suzhou's 4,000 year old silk industry and includes a room with live silk worms munching away on mulberry leaves and spinning cocoons - see photos and video clip.
To escape the rain we headed for the Kunqu Opera Museum and the Pingtan Museum. Traditional opera is a big thing in China, and we were lucky enough to catch some of the performers at rehearsal. To us, it certainly wasn't easy on the ear, but it was fun to watch and perhaps it's an acquired taste!
Suzhou market's itself as the 'Garden City' and the 'Venice of the East'. It's certainly surrounded by a lot of water - some of which is a bit strong! In its heyday, there were over 100 gardens, modern development has reduced this to about about ten. In breaks in the rain, we wandered around the Humble Administrator's Garden - a beautiful complex of rock formations, pagodas and ponds where we fed a sea of fish. The Lion's Grove Garden is known for its large number of curiously shaped rocks, meant to resemble lions, protectors of the buddhist faith. We did of course spot the obligatory dragon as we meandered the arched bridges, willow-tree lined paths and rocky caves.
To offset our Western blowout, and to experience all sides of Suzhou, we also wandered into a local noodle bar. We managed to order vegetable noodle soup for 75p each - delicious despite a couple of unidentified floating and sunken objects - say no more!! A great experience; 5 minutes after we at down, the hoarded descended, and we shared our table with hungry locals.
