http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Guilin/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Guilin en-us Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:15:18 +0000 Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:15:18 +0000 Shanghai World Financial CenterThe SWFC opened in August 2008. It is the largest building in the world from ground to rooftop. The building houses offices a hotel and observation floors. The building has three observation floors the 94th floor Sky Arena the 97th floor Skywalk and the 100th floor Skywalk. Visitors enter the area and go directly to the basement to get their tickets and enter th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-366504.html Tongli's Nanyuan TeahouseThe Nanyuan Teahouse is an ancient teahouse built during the Qing Dynasty. It is located in a corner of Tongli and overlooks the shopping street. I always pick a window seat overlooking the shopping street so I can people watch. The teahouse is a two storey building. The first floor has the counters a few chairs and an old Tiger Kiln. A Tiger Kiln is used to boil water to http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Jiangsu/Tongli/blog-366490.html Tongli's Chongben HallThe Chongben Hall in Tongli was not too terribly interesting I felt. It is a Qing Dynasty mansion. A couple rooms have a few pieces of furniture but far from enough to give an idea of what an ancient mansion was like inside. The architecture is beautiful and has beautiful woodwork but it isnbspnot enough on its own to make it really interesting. Ticket PriceFreeTime Need http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Jiangsu/Tongli/blog-366481.html Tongli's Pearl Pagoda GardenTongli's Pearl Pagoda Garden is the largest of Tongli's gardens. It is an amazing place. I have been there twice and each time I find a new area I missed. This time I found the living area. I don't know how I missed it because it is large. The living area is gorgeousIt is a courtyard style home and each room is its own building and has a courtyard in between it and the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Jiangsu/Tongli/blog-366265.html Tongli's Garden of Seclusion and MeditationThis is one of the many traditional Chinese gardens in Tongli. Although not built on the same scale as the ones in Suzhou they are no less magnificent. They are free once you buy a ticket to the village. It is hard to imagine such beautiful gardens were once private property and part of someone's house. I like this garden very much. Visitors enter the ga http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Jiangsu/Tongli/blog-366260.html TongliTongli is an amazing place. It is one of the Water Towns located near Suzhou. It has an many canals as it does streets and it is these canals that define the village. The village is thousands of years old and almost all of its buildings date from the Ming and Qing Dynasties and are in amazing condition. The area around Suzhou was famous for it's Hui Merchants. They were local people who trav http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Jiangsu/Tongli/blog-366250.html Suzhou's Lion Grove GardenI found this garden by accident. I had some free time and my guide asked if I wanted to take a rest. I said NO I was in Suzhou and didn't want to waste my time resting I think she wanted a rest. She said that there was a garden nearby that few visitors go to called the Lion Grove Garden. I said Let's go. The garden was the most fun of all of the gardens I visited. It http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Jiangsu/Suzhou/blog-361394.html Suzhou MuseumThe Suzhou Museum is a unique museum. The exhibitions and artifacts are not the only draw. The architectural design of the museum draws many visitors from around the world. Designed by world famous architect Leoh Ming Pei one of the foremost architects in the world the museumrsquos architecture is as much of a draw as the artifacts they hold. Born in Suzhou the architect wanted t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Jiangsu/Suzhou/blog-361393.html Suzhou's Humble Administrator's GardenThe Humble Administrator's Garden was one of the three gardens I visited in Suzhou during my trip. I really wish I had the time to visit one garden on one day. They are so beautiful and so large. Their designs are so well thought out that even though there may be a large number of visitors you always feel fairly alone. I would love to have been able to just s http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Jiangsu/Suzhou/blog-361386.html Suzhou's Grand CanalSuzhou's Grand Canal was a lovely excursion. I boarded my boat near one of Suzhou's two remaining ancient city walls. The area was nicely designed and had a nice atmosphere. The boat was fairly small and only held about fifteen people. The boat cruised down the canal at a leisurely pace and passed many ancient houses built along the banks. It was really nice. I loved looking at http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Jiangsu/Suzhou/blog-361383.html Suzhou's Lingering GardenSuzhou's gardens are world famous and I have no doubt whatsoever why. They are simply stunning. I have visited a lot of them and would give anything to own one of my own. What really amazes me is that they were at one time private gardens only visited by their owners and his family. They are an amazing blend of nature and architecture. The Lingering Garden was the first Su http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Anhui/Huangshan/blog-360990.html Suzhou's No.1 Silk FactoryWhen I heard I was going to the No.1 Silk Factory I was not too thrilled. I've been to a lot of different factories and they usually are just places where they try to sell overpriced souvenirs to tourists. I was quite surprised and happy to be wrong. It was a real factory making very high quality silk items which were reasonably priced. I bought a lot there and if I had http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Anhui/Huangshan/blog-360989.html Suzhou's Pan GateSuzhou's Pan Gate is a large scenic area named after the Pan Gate which is one Suzhou's two remaining city gates. The scenic area is beautiful and quite large. The area is filled with gardens pavilions lakes and pathways all beautifully manicured. It is a really beautiful place. The two main features of the area is the Pan Gate and the Auspicious Light Pagoda Ruiguang. Both a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Anhui/Huangshan/blog-360988.html Hangzhou's Residence of Hu XueyanThis was an absolutely amazing site It was not located on my itinerary and cannot be found in guidebooks. I don't know why. My guide knew about it because she lived around the corner from it and used to do her homework there. It is an ancient mansion with several large gardens still filled with furnishings and antiques. Because it is not well known it is very qui http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Anhui/Huangshan/blog-360986.html Hangzhou's China National Tea MuseumThe China National Tea Musem was an amazing place for me. I think anybody would like the museum but for a tea lover like me it was heaven. It is the only national tea museum in China. The area around the museum is very beautiful. The museum is surrounded by groves of tea trees and the area is beautifully manicured. There is a stream with small bridges running http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Anhui/Huangshan/blog-360980.html Hangzhou's Dragon WellHangzhou's Dragon Well was not on my itinerary but I had to visit it. It is located in Dragon Well Village so is not far from the 18 imperial tea trees and the China National Tea Museum. Essential the Dragon Well is a well. It is a natural spring well and according to legend it was home to benevolent dragon that brought plenty of rain to the local people. They were so grate http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Anhui/Huangshan/blog-360969.html Hangzhou's 18 Imperial Dragon Well Tea TreesThis was one of the sites I was really looking forward to on my trip. If you do not know I am a tea lover I have been studying Chinese tea for over twenty years and often travel to different parts of China to study their processing methods local tea culture and of course to drink that most amazing of drinks in their place of origin. Hangzhou is famou http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Anhui/Huangshan/blog-360959.html Hangzhou's Six Harmonies PagodaThe Six Harmonies Pagoda located in the city of Hangzhou was on my itinerary while in Hangzhou. The pagoda is located inside of a larger park area. It is a seven storey pagoda built next to the Yuelin Mountain along the Qiantang River. The Six Harmonies Pagoda offers great views of the river and surrounding area. Like everything in Hangzhou the pagoda has an interes http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Anhui/Huangshan/blog-360957.html Hangzhou's West LakeI gotta tell you I wasn't expecting much when I was told I would be cruising around Hangzhou's West Lake. I've seen lakes before in fact I grew up on a lake so expectations were very low. I'm proud to say I was wrong. West Lake was a lot of fun. It is a destination that every single Chinese person wants to see in their lifetime and the reason is not for the water or boats o http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Anhui/Huangshan/blog-360953.html Hangzhou's Flower Harbor ParkBetween my visit to the Lingyin Temple and the cruise around West Lake I had a couple hours to spare. My guide Sheila suggested I visit the Flower Harbor Park located across the Su Causeway from the docks where visitors board the boats for the West Lake cruises. I had never heard of it but I thought what the heck I'd give it a shot. I'm very glad I did. It was very http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Anhui/Huangshan/blog-360946.html