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Published: March 7th 2010
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What I imagined of the tiny backstreets of Suzhou!
Sweet little boats weaving between houses decorated with red lanterns :) As quoted by Marco Polo in a passage describing the two places as the most beautiful cities on Earth; "The Sky has heaven, and Earth has Suzhou and Hangzhou”.
Suzhou lies approximately 100 km west of Shanghai. It has been inhabited for over 5000 years and due to its many canals, hump-backed bridges, cobbled streets, Chinese traditional gardens and white-washed houses it is known as the Venice of the East to this day. Now, I’ve never been to Venice, but I imagine the Chinese version is a bit more ‘out there’; where in Venice can one witness goats being slaughtered on the sidewalk?
Suzhou was the capital of Jiangsu province during the Song dynasty for the birth of the silk trade, and with that in mind, the first stop was the Suzhou Silk Museum!
I walked for a good 45 minutes through the torrential downpours and stopped at a cafe for a brunch of pastries and bread. My hostel is not amazing; quiet as the dead of night, there were no westerners and only 3 Chinese. There is no bar, no real menu for food and it’s bloody freezing, so after my carb-filled breakfast I arrived at the museum,
A tiny pair of silk embroidered shoes from foot binding days
It never fails to shock me how a great nation, so advanced in ancient times coud think this was a good idea?! soaking wet, and glad to spend some time in the warm!
The galley, as quiet as the hostel, was filled with intricately patterned tapestries and clothing, some samples over 2000 years old. After watching a video on the production and history of silk manufacture I was about to kill myself when I walked through a beautiful courtyard and in front of me stretched out an enormous, 500 year old, fully functioning loom, complete with two traditionally dressed workers, weaving a scarf. It was truly fascinating to watch and I stood there for 20 minutes trying to figure out how it all worked! Unfortunately they wouldn’t let me take their picture so you will have to use your imagination on that one!
After the museum I walked for another hour for a visit to the ‘Humble administrators’ garden’; the prologue read that the administrator to the ancient governor of the city (who was apparently really stupid) felt every humble man should take time for his garden. Time well spent in my opinion and if I am ever fortunate enough to own acres, I will model them on this. It’s a very nice garden indeed, with several pavilions, were pretty green
trees, interesting rock and cave features/formations, Bonsai gardens, and lakes with water lilies, make-shift canals and mini bridges; it was very serene. Just the sound of birds, rain on the water and people walking through it with peaceful curiosity.
On the way to visit the twin pagodas I got side tracked by a beckoning oarswoman rowing a quaint wooden boat down a side canal. I refused her first few offers as I was saving my cash for a night cruise, but she dropped the price so low I couldn’t refuse so I hopped on the tiny thing and set off down the waterway in amongst the houses, all the while being serenaded with beautiful Chinese songs by my captain.
I got off the boat too late to visit the pagodas, so totally soaked through I decided to take an hours’ rest in a ‘reading bar’, a lovely lounge room. The ginger milk tea was recommended by a lovely Chinese girl, who knew what she was talking about and I grabbed an English book on psychology and curled up on the sofa.
After dark I took a taxi from the bar to the night market I read about
in lonely planet at the hostel. My Mandarin conversing skill has gone up a notch or two since my total-immersion time in Xinjiang, however I've learnt a few lessons about speaking Chinese lately. There are a few situations where you just plain don't speak Chinese, and taxis are one of them. After inquiring where the driver lived I had to spend the next half an hour stuck in traffic listening to him rant and rave in a very excited manner a lot of things which I couldn’t understand. No amount of ‘wo bu ming bai ni shau chan ma’ (I don’t understand what you are saying) would get him to stop talking at me. He pulled over at a lively end of town, pretty much refused to let me out of the car with his constant talking and pointed me in several directions at once to the market.
I don’t think I ever found this fabled market. I mostly walked through the streets of the district, admiring the sites. What better way is there to get to know a city other than being lost, wandering through the back alleys in the rain, watching women descaling fish on the pavement?
Eventually I came across a bar called 'The Drunken Clam' and being the biggest Family Guy fan ever, I couldn't refuse a visit, especially as their slogan was 'Come in for a treat, Wake up in the Street'. (those of you who don’t know Family Guy, and I feel for you, ‘the clam’ is the local hang out of the famous controversial cartoon characters) I wasn’t disappointed. I entered to find a fully working replica of the 'Drunken Clam' sign. In addition to all the mainstay drinks, they’ve got some beverages you won’t find anywhere else, like a “Quagmire.” So here’s to the Drunken Clam where they don’t ask for proof of age and neither do I. Giggity!
The next day I trekked to the twin pagodas. It is very rare to find two designed standing side by side but Suzhou has the finest example, and for the small price of 4 RMB I decided the romantic pair were worth a visit! An hours’ walk through the hammering rain again and I was there, not to be disappointed they stood very majestically in shades of orange and pink, beautifully maintained for centuries and probably my favourite ones so far!
Me on my boat
with the addition of a Chinese hat to complete the picture! I enjoyed my time in Suzhou; I have a great sense of achievement after not letting the rain and loneliness prevent me from seeing everything on my list 😊 But I am glad to have arrived in Hangzhou with the prospect of civilization again and getting out of the freezing cold and random hostel!
More from me soon!
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Mark
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omg! I want to go to the clam!