All Things Combined: Shanghai to Suzhou

I really needed a break from an urban setting and decided to head out to the countryside for 'fresh air' and some peace and quiet. I needed a break from being overwhelmed. Right about now I am once again on overload with new countries, new cities, new currencies, new languages, and history lessons from tour guides. I love the cruise, BUT, I need a break!

A two hour bus ride west to visit the historic town of Suzhou looked like a good idea. The ride out of the city and into the countryside gave me a flavor of China today away from the skyscraper jungle. I was happy to leave the concrete behind and watched from my window as the high rises became tinier and tinier as we headed further and further away. YES!

Traffic out of the city was horrible as expected. I loved seeing the older apartment dwellings still standing in the shadow of the newer high rises. I wish they could keep the past along with the future. I saw a lot of bulldozing and flattened empty lots ready to be built upon. I saw people going to work on bullet trains as well as bicycles. But, you know what? Progress will not be left behind. People continue to be everywhere. There is no getting away. Maybe this is where meditation comes in?

leaving Shanghai behind

No dryers in China-

lots bulldozed ready for something new

going to work: by foot, car, bus, bike or bullet train

As we headed to Suzhou I did see "the countryside". I also so many new high rise developments going up in the middle of nowhere. Getting away to the countryside may just be wistful thinking in the future. All the new buildings are white, rectangular, thin and high.

I digress .... In looking up costs to buy a condo in China I found these 3 web sites... I wish I knew more. Or, maybe not. It has got to be really expensive to buy a condo in Shanghai for the average citizen.

I need to stop looking on the Internet to find facts for the blog or maybe take notes when tour guides talk? .... I am 3 blogs behind and I want to get out on my balcony and go to a lecture... Did I tell you Morton Dean is one of our guest lecturer's? ....

Humor me and read this.... I found it interesting. Maybe you will too?
http://hua.umf.maine.edu/China/p_Shanghai_Bund_history/01910243wPudong.html
Shanghai is sinking???? Has sunk 6 feet since 1920? Now do you want to buy one of those condos near the Oriental Pearl Tower? Here is a great aerial photo of the windy Huangpu River we traveled on for 4.5 hours as we made our way into Shanghai.

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/opinion/mounds-of-flowers-dont-heal-shanghais-pain-46734.html
So if there is a fire in a high rise in Shanghai...do you call the fire department?

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=565672
Here are some pictures of the high rises in China. Really beautiful. But LOOK at the numbers proposed or currently going up! I viewed may of these as I headed out of Shanghai on the way to Suzhou.

So let's all just head to Suzhou. I am told it is quiet and peaceful there. I am ready for man to be one with Heaven..... "The Venice of China".... "Paradise on Earth"...  Suzhou.   Suzhou is one of the famous tourist cities in China. It has a 2,500 year history. It was built in 514 BC. 42% of the area is covered by water, canals and ponds.   Suzhou is a UNESCO World Heritage sight. It is best known for its beautiful gardens, its silk production and its embroidery. It is a river town once used as a major communication route between the north and the south of China. It was used as a stopping point and center for shipping activities. In its glory the wealthy and shipping merchants lived here. Many artists poets and painters called it home. It has a great wall around it as well as a moat. Canals run through. Although much of its beauty has been lost or damaged, some of the area still exists today. Like The Great Wall, China has an interest in maintaining and preserving this area as a major tourist attraction. After I read about it's history, I had to see it.

Our first stop on my tour was a visit to the silk embroidery factory where I saw master artists work. It puts my needlework to shame. They create art with thin silk threads. We were not allowed to take any pictures. There was a silk of the Mona Lisa and one of Princess Di, flowers, landscapes and fish were all stitched onto silk. They looked like a photo or painting until you got up close... then you saw the silk thread. Amazing work. Master Artists never have a needle mark where the needle goes in or out of the silk fabric. Both sides of the canvas are picture perfect, no knots. The best of the best lies so flat you can't tell where the silk thread ends and the fabric begins. Amazing.   I don't know how, but it is ART, and when done well, it is beautiful. I wanted to buy one but did not know enough about the art, the quality, or real pricing to even think about a purchase......

http://www.absolutechinatours.com/china-travel/China-Embroidery.html

After the silk embroidery factory, we were taken on a small boat on one of the canals. This was a photographers dream. I would have loved this tour to go on another hour. People still live and work along the canal. For about 30 minutes we watched life go by us. We slowly glided along the river passing under stone bridges, past people washing clothes, shopping, talking, or just enjoying a bit to eat. At the end of the boat ride, we walked through the walled entryway of the city through some famous gardens, a stone bridge, and saw a the oldest Buddah Pagoda in Suzhou, Auspicious Luster Pagoda, built in 247 BC.  We could have bought some sweet potatoes for a snack by a vendor just outside but instead had lunch at a hotel. The lunch was not that appetizing. I ate some fried rice and had a coke.

make way for more modern

tree limbs cut to make way for tourist busses

our yacht awaits

life on the canal

people still live in the homes

Cutie watching from bridge over canal

love the steps

pretty wooden bridge over the canal

Suzhou is a walled city with a moat-

Auspicious Pagoda - oldest Buddhist Pagoda in Suzhou

After lunch we enjoyed a guided tour of the Humble Administrator's Garden built during the Ming Dynasty in 1509 A.D.. It was lovely but it certainly was not quiet. This too is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is considered one of the four most famous gardens in China today. Lu Guimeng, a Tang Dynasty Scholar, created this garden. He became disgruntled after being accused of corruption and then harassed by the secret service. Rather then deal with politics of the time, he bought a piece of land and took up gardening, shutting out the rest of the world. A man with a vision, well ahead of his time. It took him 16 years to complete his masterpiece. He designed walkways around and through a maze of ponds. It was his paradise around the water with trees, vegetation, flowers, bridges and pavilions. When he died, his son lost the garden on a bet while gambling in a mahjong game. It has changed hands many times since.

Now, it is anything but quiet. It was hard to take a picture without hoards of people in my background. I am happy so many are enjoying his garden. Mr Lu and I would have enjoyed it more if there were fewer pink neon hats, orange neon hats and fewer tour guides with flags and megaphones on our path.