[China Trip] Day 5 Highlights in Suzhou
(Written back around summer 2002)
The fifth day of the tour promised to be as action packed as the first four days. In the morning we all woke up very early, packed up our belongings, had an early breakfast and got on the bus to head up to Suzhou which is also known as ‘Heaven on Earth’.
Our first stop was a small temple called ‘Hangshan Temple.’ This temple is famous for two things - a famous poem called ‘Night Anchors at Maple Bridge’ and the sound of the bell. Many local people will go to this temple on New Year’s Eve to listen to the sound of the bells. According to legend there are 108 troubles and therefore the bell is rung 108 times.
After visiting this temple we went to a restaurant called Hangzhou Shan Wai Shan - (it was awesome) for lunch.
After lunch we went to Tiger Hill. It is known for the 1000 year old Leaning Pagoda which stands 47 metres tall and was build in 961 BC. One person in our tour group (William) rented a rickshaw and was carried up the steps to the Pagoda. We took a boat cruise on the famous West Lake
After visiting Tiger Hill we all headed to the ‘Indoor Silk Embroidery Institute.’ We got a tour of the facilities plus an explanation of the different types of creations. The majority of the pieces are done on a piece of silk sheet with a single picture. However, with some pieces there are two completely different designs on either side of the silk sheet. The stitching is done simulataneously. It takes alot of talent to be able to do something like this and out of 30 workers, only 6 people can do this. A couple people on the tour group made a purchase while the remainder of the group waited while drinking tea.
After the Silk Embroidery Institute we went to the largest garden in Suzhou, the ‘Humble Administrator’. Recently they tried to apply as a World Cultural Heritage Site with the United Nations.
After this we went to the #1 Silk Factory in Suzhou. Here they make silk comforters. By this time my brain wasn’t working properly as we had already finished the #1 Silk Embroidery Institute. However, the demonstrations were quite interesting and I did walk away with a silk comforter for about 280 Yuan (4500 Yen). According to the spokesperson, each blanket has about 80,000 silk cocoons spread out over 100 sheets of silk. I’ll be sure to tell you soon what it’s like to sleep on them.
After the factory we went for a ‘traditional chinese dinner’ with live ‘chinese music’ at the China Suzhou Wuyuegong Palace Theater Restaurant. According to their brochure, this place offers a complete cultural display of ‘Wu’ Culture (Original Kun Opera), Eating Culture (Delicious fresh water fish and shrimp as well as the ‘Eight Aquatic Immortals’, with both Classical as well as popular entertainment. You can hear traditional music of the Lower Yangtze; you can watch the folk costume show (and a magic show while we were there), and you can taste wu style gourmet in a most relaxing and entertaining atmosphere.
After the meal I joined my uncle and cousins and we set out to try and find the night market. We didn’t have any luck as the market closed at 9:00 PM. We ended up going to an internet cafe which cost about 3 Yuan an hour (about 45 Yen)! We went to sleep by about midnight as we had to wake up early the next day for Nanjing.
By the way, we stayed at the Suzhou Hotel. Highly unrecommended.
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