Blog 9: Suzhou – The Venice of the East
When Marco Polo was doing his thing, he found Suzhou and
loved it. It was one of his favorite
locations and he called it the Venice of the east.
Suzhou has some charm.
It has been wealthy for thousands of years, stayed away from much of the
war time destruction, and was left mostly in tact during the Golden Revolution
and the China’s recent industrial revolution.
They found a way to preserve most of China’s old charm while modernizing
other areas.
Suzhou is also a location that I visit a lot. We have a Technical / Innovation center and
plant in Suzhou. I am responsible for
that office and, therefore, work from there 1-2 times a week (when I’m not
travelling). I never get to see the
charm of Suzhou because I stay in the industrial center on the east side of
town.
So, we had a free weekend and decided to take a day
trip.
It is pretty close to the house (25 miles), but as it often
occurs in China traffic happened and it took 2hrs to get there… Still, when
you’re not driving, it isn’t so bad. If,
on the other hand, I were responsible for driving in this crazy place… I would
not be so nice…
One of my work Colleagues who works in the Suzhou office
offered to take us around. She grew up
there and was happy to spend the day with us.
We debated cancelling the trip throughout the week due to the
pollution. But, lucky for us the
pollution was ok.
We stared at Tiger Hill.
It is an old Pagoda (1500 yrs old) and is situated at the top of a
hill. It was cool and probably has a
nice Chinese history associated with it.
For us though, we just enjoyed the park around the tower.
It is interesting though as it looks like, leans like, and
feels like the “leaning tower of Pisa”… The only difference is no one knows
anything about it. Odd right, if this
were Italy, this place would have had 40,000 people from all over the world
visiting it on any given Saturday… But, in china, it was pretty empty. This the next step for China. When they fix the pollution, improve the
global reputation on things like the environment, human rights, and communism,
and put a little more focus on tourism.
Foreigners will visit china in droves.
I really see China become a major destination in 10-15 years.
After Tiger hill, we went to the downtown area and had lunch
at a traditional Chinese restaurant. We
had my favorite “Squirrel fish”, noodles, fried rice, and a few other
staples. It was good, but the
environment wasn’t great. Like many
restaurants in China, they allowed smoking… and we all hate it. At one point Amanda had ashes dropped on her
plate…. She wasn’t happy. Nevertheless,
the food was good, company was better, and we found great treats
afterwards.
We finished the day at a traditional Suzhou Garden. This is really what they are famous for… And,
honestly, it didn’t disappoint. It was
beautifully done, big, and offered lots of places for the kids to run
around. Emily especially like the rock
structures as she climbed all over them and called them her home. She loved it.
We finished the day on the Suzhou lake district; this is
where modern Suzhou has sprouted. It was
tough to find a western restaurant, but we did and it was good. Even got to teach the kids how to play pool
for a bit.
It was a good day.
Picture 1 - Normal Living: This is the construction project next to our neighborhood. It doesn't interfere with life inside the bubble, but it does slow me down going to and from work. The amazing piece here is that they have finished >1 mile of highway in less than 6 months. This isn't just laying asphault on top of a dirt road. This is a 10 lane elevated highway... Wickedly amazing.
Picture 2 - Tiger Hill Entrance: Tourism really hasn't taken off in China like it has in Europe or America. The Chinese just haven't fully tapped into the potential yet... I suspect that will change over the next 30 years as China opens to the West. Here are a few snaps just before entering tiger hill complex... with one street performer.
Picture 3 - The walk: It was a beautiful day so the walk wasn't too tough... This is a real highlight for Suzhou. It is a nice park for strolling and relaxing.
Picture 4 - The leaning tower of... Suzhou?: This tower reminds me of Pisa (although I haven't see that yet). It is really cool looking and has a slight tilt. There isn't much to do here other than take a look...
Picture 5 - Idle time: Kids found a random pillar and turned it into a jungle gym.
Picture 6 - Great Gardens: Suzhou is know for the waterways and the gardens. The gardens are really play two roles: Peaceful strolls for adults and endless stuff to climb on for kids.
Picture 7 - This is my Caroline: When I think of her, this is what I see... A non-stop source of energy and laughter and love.
Picture 8 - This is Emily: The many theatrics of Emily. She is full of spirit and loves to have a good time.
Picture 9 - Real Bonzai Trees: This is the first i have ever seen Bonzai trees that impress me... Bonzai trees are supposed to look like full size trees, but in miniature form... Normally, the look cool, but not realistic.. These however, were incredible.
Picture 10 - Biggest Cotton Candy of all time: We normally always find an excuse to get a treat... Caroline lucked out when she ordered hers.
Picture 11 - Siqi: Special thanks to Siqi for taking the day to show us around It was a really fun day and perfect to learn about Suzhou from a local. :)
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