In the morning we walked to the train station, only a few minutes away from our hotel. Our destination was Suzhou, a canal town with a 2,500 year old history and world famous gardens.
The board at the train station was easy to read.
I found the vending machine in the train station interesting.
The section of the train station where we waited for our train. I believe we were the only non-Chinese there.
While we were waiting , someone came up and offered to sell us a map. After we bought that they sold us tickets on a tour. We had intended to do our own tour, but at just $5 per person (plus the entrance fees) we figured it could be interesting, and we wouldn't be out much if we didn't like it. Plus this person had a smattering of English, so we figured that the tour guide might also. (She didn't)
We took the bullet train to Suzhou. It was nice having designated seats especially since the train was full. The people who didn't have designated seats just sat in the aisle.
Taken from the window of the train
Also from the window
This man was waiting for us to take us to join the tour which was already in session. He didn't get our name correct, but it didn't matter since it was the only non-Chinese name on his list. He didn't speak English, but we only had to follow him.
Our Tour Guide
Beisi Pagoda Beisi Pagoda was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644)
It has an octagonal footprint, rising nine stories high to a total of 243 feet with double eaves and flying corners.
Behind the temple was a pretty garden with an arched bridge.
Lunch! Not sure what it was, but it tasted good.
Next the bus drove us to Couple's Garden, bordered on 3 sides by canals, first laid out during the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and now a World Heritage site.
It had a pomegranate tree in the main area.
We met Kitty, a fellow tourist, who spoke good English and was happy to translate for us important things , making both the tour guide and us happy.
We took a small boat across the small canal to the other side.
The man rowing sang what we assumed was a traditional Chinese song while he rowed.
Then we boarded a larger boat on the main canal and took a cruise about halfway around the canal (the old part of the city is entirely encircled by this canal.)
Once off the boat, we walked over this bridge past a lot of people selling "authentic antiques" including old dollar coins with the same year and flaws. Interesting how the price drops when you show an initial interest then walk away.
Our next stop was the silk mill which showed the process start to finish with old machines. First the silk worms.
Then the machines creating the silk threads from the cocoons.
The weaving machine ran from the cards.
Workers stretched hundreds of individual layers to make a single duvet.
After the silk factory, we went to Hanshan Temple in the Feng Qiao Scenic and Historic Area from the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-906) Dynasties.
First we listened to some traditional Chinese music:
Then we walked around. This commemorates the site where the famous poet Zhang Ji wrote a poem about this area.
Feng Qiao was an important merchant area with two main streets intersecting by the canal.
We had to leave the tour early to catch our train. Fortunately our new Chinese friend, Kitty, did also,so we shared the taxi back to the train station where we took the bullet train back to Shanghai.
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