Blog 8: Ju Jai Jiou – One of China’s Water Towns

Marco Polo called Suzhou the Venice of the east primarily because it (and many others) were built around a series of canals just like Venice.  Unfortunately, many of those areas have been lost to “progress”.  China has a rather repugnant reputation when it comes to preserving history. 

It started during the Cultural Revolution in the 70’s but followed during the Industrial revolution.  I can’t really blame them for much… If getting 1billion people out of poverty means that you lose a bit of history, then so be it.  You certainly don’t hear the 1billion complaining and I am in no place to challenge the strategy.  There is no question that china’s pace of change has been remarkable and that they will emerge again as a global power…  It is just a matter of time.

Still though, many places have been preserved; like, Ju Jai Jiou.  Ju Jai Jiou is a water town and has maintained the classical style, despite the extra costs, due its proximity to Shanghai's tourism money. 

It was a special weekend for the entire family.  Jacob got to go on a soccer trip with his team, by HIMSELF (w/ a good friend's willingness to look after him).  And, our good friend Phil Ling from Houston came into town. It was great.  Jacob experienced freedom with his team and we enjoyed pretending like we were back in Houston with friends. 

Ju Jai Jiou is a really cool place.  They have organized it perfectly by lacing the streets with traditional souvenirs and food stands.  They have a nice water boat ride that weaves you through the city center.  And, there are lots of old buildings and garden to tour.  It was a perfect day for the family. 

Having Phil around was helpful.  He could vouge for the street vendor food and also helped a bit with the language barrier.  Granted his Chinese is very limited, but it was still helpful… if for no other reason than everyone immediately looked to him when they needed to communicate as they thought he was our tour guide. 

The kids amaze me every day.  They are learning at an incredible pace and growing up so quickly.  They are really starting to get the language and adapt to the culture.  They have a pretty good understanding of the world map (especially Jacob - quiz him - I dare you), which I never really did until I became an adult.  And, all of them, even Emily, are using chopsticks like champs.  Makes me proud.  

Picture 1 - Old meets new, East meets West:  As we were walking toward the main part of town, we ran across an older lady that was enamored with Caroline.  She reached forward with a hug and then asked for a picture...  Caroline and the older lady exchanged ages in Chinese.  This was a really, really cool moment.

Picture 2 - Sights and smells:  There is no denying the difference in food in China.  It is just hard to see some of the food, but honestly, if you give it a try it generally turns out great... Sometimes, it doesn't... like in the case of stinky tofu, but mostly it does.  We have a great set of drivers that support us in China.  The top-left is Mr. Hu; he is a really good dude.

Picture 3 - Canals and bridges:  This place was loaded with great streets, cool bridges, and fun pictures spots.

Picture 4 - Gardens and boat rides:  We paid a bit more to walk through one of the gardens... it as fun; best part was the bamboo forest.  We also did a boat ride.  It isn't quite a romantic as Venice, but it was still great.

Picture 5 - She's beautiful:  Emily just has a spark inside of her that draws people in... One of my colleagues said that if she were having a bad day and then saw a picture of Emily, it would make her smile, no matter what. 

Picture 6 - My girls:  The top picture is one of my absolute favorites.  Emily looks so mature and peaceful and Caroline is happy.

Picture 7 - The food:  I don't know what the white stuff is on the right, but it tasted like a rice cake.  The wooden hammer does something to change the consistency.  The sugar candy is art.  A lady makes each one individually and they are just beautiful.  They don't taste very good at all, but they are pretty.  The old lady is making some sort of pork / rice mixture wrapped in banana leaves.  Amanda loves this, I thought it was just ok.

Picture 8 - Sugar craftsmanship:  Really impressive stuff here.

Picture 9 - Chopsticks:  She's not hungry...  because she's getting pretty good a using them.

Picture 10 / 11 - Fun boat ride:  Great day, great stop.  This will be a place we take visitors to.  The boat ride was a nice finale.  

Picture 12 - Soccer fun:  Great team building opportunity for the kids.  Jacob had a great time and they played really well...  Just sorry that we missed seeing it in person.