China: Suzhou

Shortly after arriving in China, the Higgs family visited a small water town called Suzhou and Laura blogged about it.  I poured over every picture in her post and that was my first real attraction to visiting China- going to adorable little places like this.  When it was decided that I would come, this was my only request- to get to Suzhou. 

Suzhou was originally founded in 514 BC.  The city's canals, stone bridges, pagodas, and meticulously designed gardens have contributed to its status as one of the top tourist attractions in China. The classical gardens in Suzhou were added to the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1997 and 2000. Suzhou is often dubbed the "Venice of China".  I say "small water town", which is comical because it's actually the 9th largest city by population in China with 10 million people and is considered one of the richest major cities in China.  One would never guess this.

Laura graciously arranged for the two of us to take a day trip there, and our first stop was The Humble Administrators Garden, which is among 4 most famous classical gardens in China.  It took 16 years to create and was finished in 1526.  With 48 different buildings, it's no wonder we got lost in it and tried 3 times to get out before succeeding.  It's amazing to walk around a massive creation like this and to see all the fine details put into everything.  The pavement was all done in ornate stone designs, impressive to say the least.  It was absolutely gorgeous and incredibly calming to be inside.  It's odd to walk into the garden from the "city street" and then have it be completely quiet inside....as if you're in the middle of nowhere at a secluded resort on an island.

A little shop within the garden.  It was the sweetest thing this little old man taking a snooze!

One of the most famous embroiderers in China created this.  It's all needlework by hand.

We thought we were buying juice, but really we bought a pomegranate and the fruit of the lily pad.  Just a simple example that no matter how slow you talk, some people will just not understand your English words.  ;)

Pavement

Pavement

After the garden, we walked up and down 800 year old Pingjiang Road which had shops and restaurants on either side of it.  To the right was a canal that ran the length of the road, and when we got to the end we took a boat ride back to our starting point.  Our sweet "driver" of the boat sang us a Chinese song and even let us have a whirl at steering the boat...which was no easy task!

 

Bamboo scaffolding.  I could tell if this was for repairing things, or just for people to walk. 

 

This artist was carving people's faces out of clay.

They have beautiful ways to display food.  Pretty, but I skipped.

I saw more people eating chicken feet than not.  Robby tried then while we were living in Hawaii, but I have still managed to successfully deny.

This is across the canal from Pingjiang Road.  Everything has this beautiful old look to it. 

Alley way getting to Pingjiang Road.  Mopeds travel quickly through here also, so watch out.

Making granola bars.

We ate lunch at that first table and chair that you see.  We opted for pizza, just to be safe.

The gentleman that took us back on the canal.