China Day 8 - To Suzhou

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Today we left Xian for Suzhou. Before going to the hotel we were taken on a tour of Zhouzhuang, a small town that is referred to as the “Venice of the East”. Zhouzhuang has a history of 1300 years. A lot of the old world charm, rice fields, architecture as well as the customs are well preserved. After touring Zhouzhuang we drove to the Suzhou and checked into the hotel. Suzhou was quite a departure from Beijing and Xian. Where the first two although modern, there was still a look and feel of oldness I expected to see in china, most of Suzhou looks like a totally new industrial city. Everything seems new here, housing office complex, and entertainment zones. It looked like a lot of the new buildings in Miami of something you would expect to see when you step off the "Star Ship Enterprise". The hotel (The Shilla Suzhou), we stay at had their grand opening three days before we arrived. The smell of lacquer was very strong in the rooms. It was so strong we had to move to a new room. The hotel was very beautiful, but like a lot of the new construction in China, we notice a lack of attention to detail (toilet not attached to floor). The staff was very attentive.

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Photos

Inside Zhouzhuang
Delivering Eggs