China 2013 Day 18

---

Up at 6:30. Breakfast at the hotel, a nice spread that is as disorganized in layout as the hotel. A huge plate of dragon fruit is a big hit. We check out of the hotel and are on the bus at 9:00.

As we drive through Suzhou, Jack battles an attack of laryngitis to tell us some more about his home town, of which he is clearly very proud. He tells us that Suzhou is not known for its warriors or rulers, but rather for its artists, poets and musicians. One of the interesting anecdotes he recounts is that it apparently is a local tradition to plant a camphor tree in the yard to mark the birth of a girl. When the girl marries, the father cuts down the tree and makes a box out of the wood, camphor providing natural protection against insects. This tradition allows the local matchmaker, the "moon lady," to check a girl's marital eligibility from the camphor tree in the backyard: i.e., whether she is married or not and how old she is.

Jack also has to endure some good-natured ribbing from us about what happened last night on his return home after more than two weeks away. He says he just wanted to sleep, but no one believes him. He has an 18-year-old daughter at home. (By law, girls can't marry until 23; boys until 25.) Jack talks about the heavy burden placed on Chinese children and their parents to succeed. A typical evening for a school-age child is spent doing homework until 11 pm, and the weekends are the time for special supplementary classes.

Our first stop in Suzhou is a famous garden known as the "Master of the Nets." According to Jack, the story goes that in the 1700s a high government official decided to retire to Suzhou because of its fame for gardens and undertook to create the most perfect garden on earth. But at the same time he wanted to put his illustrious past behind and become one of the ordinary people—a simple fisherman, the master of the nets.

We follow Jack through a series of simple, elegant buildings intended for intellectual pastimes: meditation, reading, drawing, etc. In the very centre of the complex lies the small but perfect garden, with stone pathways meandering among the rockery, plants and reflecting pool. It would a place of perfect serenity–if not for the hundreds of people trying to push their way around it and take pictures.

Back on the bus and on to the silk factory. Same formula: an informative introduction to the history and techniques of silk-making, followed by a tour of the production facilities, finishing up with a huge store offering different types of silk wares in separate rooms: bedding, window dressings, scarves and accessories, and finally clothing. A number of silk duvets are purchased, as well as scarves and clothing. On the way out, we are shepherded into a room for a brief fashion show, presumably to interest us in exclusive designs that were not available off the store racks. The models fit the stereotype: pretty but skinny with that half-bored, half-angry fashion model glare.

Lunch is at a restaurant attached to the silk factory. It's not the best, but ok. The duck is good. The Chinese really do a good job with duck. U

On the road to Shanghai. (Is that a Bob Hope/Bing Crosby movie?) Drive of a little over two hours. The weather has turned quite nice. It is the first clear sun we have seen in a week at least.

There doesn't seem to be any countryside between Suzhou and Shanghai. The building density and average height gradually increase, until we are surrounded on both sides by incredible skyscrapers characterized by their imaginative architecture. People are pointing them out to each other: "Look at that one!" It reminds me of Kuala Lumpor, Malaysia. Traffic is also getting heavier, but it's not as bad as Beijing.

A quick stop to check in at the hotel, a lovely Ramada, and we are back on the bus for our first stop in Shanghai, a rug factory. Again, the typical pattern: an introduction about the product, ademonstration of techniques, and then an opportunity to buy. But no one is much in the mood.

Our supper is a Mongolian BBQ right at rug factory. It uses the same formula as the one in Bells Corners: fill your bowl with a bunch of meat and vegetables, pour in some sauces, and hand it over to a cook, who will fry it up for you on a large flat griddle. There are soup, salads and desserts to accompany your meal. I quite enjoy my concoction although some do not.

Back on the bus for our next destination, a Chinese acrobatic show in a theatre located in one of the old areas of Shanghai. We are early, so many of us window-shop at the small stores lining the nearby street. The show starts at 7:30 and is terrific. The Chinese have a long tradition of acrobatic performance that has influenced contemporary acts like Cirque du soleil. We thoroughly enjoy a series of short performances that include tumbling, body towers, balancing, contortionists, prestidigitation, devil's sticks and more. The finale is mind-blowing. One at a time, eight motor cyclists enter a giant spherical cage and roar around it at great speed, sometimes in single file, sometimes criss-crossing each others' paths horizontally and vertically. The motor cycles are sporting different coloured lights so it is a visual feast as well. It seems incredible that they do not hit each other. A microcosm of Chinese traffic, perhaps.

A rush to get to our next event, a night cruise on Shanghai's Huangpu River. Here we get to see with our own eyes the iconic skyline views of Shanghai that everyone has seen in photos: the colonial-era buildings of the Bund on the west bank and the Jetsons-era buildings of the Pudong district on the east, all of them lit up with dazzling lighting effects. The cruise boat we are on and its sister ships on the river are also bedecked in lights. Dark barges filled with coal and other cargos glide by on their way to the sea. We snap photo after photo.

The river boat makes a 360° turn and heads back upstream to the wharf. We can clearly hear the Big Ben replica in the Bund's Custom House chime out 10 pm–and almost all the lights on the buildings go out! I guess it's lights out at 10.

We disembark and take the bus back to our hotel. It's now after 11 pm. This has been an extrtemely long day and everyone is exhausted. Before bed, though, we take some time to plan out our free day in Shanghai tomorrow.

---