Blogs from Suzhou, Jiangsu, China, Asia - page 3

I'm glad it's bright and sunny today. I won't get too cold. I started my day by climbing the stairs up the north temple pagoda. I had a great view of the city from there. At the back was a garden with a lot of cats and two Buddhist monks. The atmosphere was really quite and peaceful. The most famous garden in Suzhou is called 'The Humble Administrator's garden' and the Lonely Planet comment on it is 'you will have to battle with the crowd'. Well if you go on Christmas Eve, this comment doesn't apply. I can't say I had the garden for myself but no crowd. This garden is an UNESCO world heritage site. It's really huge and very enjoyable. Once again there is lots of ponds, zigzag bridges, pavilions, hidden corner, moon doors ... read more

Theway for a tourist to see Suzhou is by rickshaw so this morning we were all taken in convoy around the canals. We went early, to avoid the heat of the day, but even so we felt bad for the poor rickshaw drivers, lugging us lazy tourists around - in fact it felt a bit embarrassing when they came to a slope and some had to stop to walk the rickshaw up, as we were too heavy to cycle. It was interesting to see the alleyways and backstreets behind the canals, and we also stopped at a local market, where the most talked-about sight was the fish which are kept alive in small tanks of water until they are purchased, when they are bloodily killed by having their heads chopped off, and it is possible to ... read more

Rainy days in Suzhou... I had been looking forward to our Suzhou trip for a number of weeks and checked the weather frequently. Therefore, I was quite surprised to find that the forecast had changed dramatically in the hours before our departure; moving from a mere 20% chance of showers to a torrential 100% Still, we’d booked our train ticket in advance and decided to go make the best of it. The ride to Suzhou was my first experience on one of China’s newer trains. During past trips we had bumped around on the older variety, which, though efficient, consisted of a mad dash for hard plastic seats and the occasional cockroach sitting. This new train was a marvel: sleek, fast, and clean. The broad aisles and bullet-shaped nose made it look like an airplane without ... read more

Please don't think that I only see and write about bad things - I don't. I've lived in this city for about 2 years in all over a period of 5 years and know it very well. I don't write about regular things like the shops or Jade, or dresses or Chinese umbrellas or any other things to buy or eat or do because I don't see those things as important and actually, I hardly see those things at all because I'm used to them. I write about the things that make me stop and feel. Here are some real things of beauty. In a small room at the ‘Innovation Center for disabled persons of Suzhou’, facing Ping Jiang Lu, the child has come for her one hour calligraphy lesson. She is seven years old and ... read more

I walk down the lane skirting what little shade there is. It’s 10am and already 30 degrees. There’s no getting away from this heat or the people or the noise. I walk over Big Heart Bridge, down the next lane and round the corner, start walking up the old stone bridge by Cai Gen Lin’s house and come face to face with him after 2 and a half years. There was no way of letting him know I was coming, I can’t write hanzi, the post is unreliable especially when I stick a photo of him on the front of the envelope and make a stab at the address and hope it will arrive - I just thought I would turn up. We both stand in silence looking at one another. He’s thinner, taller, older and ... read more