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This marked the beginning of my 3-days guided tour to Suzhou and Hangzhou.
Shanghai-Suzhou Train (上海-苏州火车)
Checked out my hotel extremely early at 5 am and took the Metro Train to Shanghai Train station. Managed to find the travel agent waiting outside the Train station at about 6 am and got the necessary vouchers including the train ticket (left photo below). The train T776 departed from Shanghai Train station at 0621 hours and arrived at Suzhou train station at 0704 hrs (right photo below).
Maybe don't take train often, I was quite amazed by the double-deck train I took (left photo below). Hard seat was allocated to me; to be honest it wasn't that uncomfortable for a short journey (right photo below).
Suzhou travel agent was already waiting outside the train station. However, one main disadvantage of guided tour is that you have to wait for the rest of the tour group before the actual tour starts. This day tour would cover a total of 6 sights and 2 factory visits.
Lingering Garden (留园)
This was the first sight. Lingering Gardens, or Liu Garden (留园), was established during Ming Dynasty in 1593 by a retired minister, Xu Taishi (徐泰时). He named this garden "East Garden" (东园). From the 3rd year reign of Emperor Daoguang (道光) or year 1823, this garden was open to public, and became a famed resort. However, during the Sino-Japanese war, this garden was abandoned. After the establishment of the People's Republic, the Suzhou government renovated the garden and it was once again opened to public in 1954.
Lingering Garden together with other Suzhou classical gardens were listed as World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997.The ticket sales office blended well with the traditional chinese style building (left photo below). The admission ticket indicated that this garden is a world heritage site (right photo below).
Like other classical gardens of Suzhou, the Lingering Garden seeks to create stunning natural landscapes within limited space. Buildings, rocks, trees, and flowers blend harmoniously with their surroundings (photos below).
The Celestial Hall of Five Peaks (五峰仙馆) is the largest hall in the garden (left photo below). The western section is enchanting for its natural scenery. It is a large rockery built from stacked stones and soil during the Ming Dynasty (right photo below).
The eastern section of the garden is arrayed around the cloud-capped peak stone (left photo below). The most impressive was the rock from Tai Lake (太湖石), named as 'Guanyun Peak' (冠云峰), measuring up to 6.5-meters in height which is the tallest in all Suzhou gardens (right photo below). Could imagine how much effort and money was required to move this huge rock during the Ming Dynasty.
As this was a guided tour, I only had 30-mins of free time exploring the gardens.
Couple's Retreat Garden (耦园)
Second sight of the tour. Couple's Retreat Garden, or Ou Gardens (耦园), was built during early Qing Dynasty and is only 0.8-hectares in size. Man-made rock was piled in the centre of the Eastern Gardens which was another spectacular site among Suzhou gardens. Maybe I've seen many of the classical gardens in Shanghai and Nanjing, the Suzhou gardens seems to be almost the same as any other gardens.
As part of the extension in 2000, Couple's Retreat Garden has been added to the same list with other Suzhou classical gardens as UNESCO World Heritage Site.The admission ticket also indicated that this garden is a world heritage site (left photo below). A panorama view at its entrance to orientate visitors to the garden (right photo below).
Taoism Practising House (便静宦) is a unique tower structure of two bays with a specific Northeast orientation according to Taoist principals (left photo below). The Studio of the Returned Inkslab (还砚斋) is named for the discovery of a lost inkslab by the grandson of the original owner (right photo below).
Two pavilions stood close to each other: Among Mountains and Water Pavilion (山水间) and My Loveable Pavilion (吾爱亭) at the Eastern Gardens (left photo below). The garden is located in the intersection of canals and is surrounded by water on three sides (right photo below). It is accessible directly from the canal by boat.
Next was a boat ride from the Ou Gardens to the carpark. The boat was propelled by hand and the distance was only less than 20-meters (left photo below). Felt rather cheated as I expected the boat ride to be longer. Only 10 passengers were allowed in each boat. As what the tour guide mentioned, it just gave us a feel of riding these "rocking" boats through the canal (right photo below).
Suzhou River Cruise (姑苏水上游)
Third sight; cruise along Suzhou River (photo below). This time the boat was much better than the earlier one at Ou Gardens.
The boat passed through several Suzhou landmarks, including a short glimpse of China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park. Now I know where my tax money went to! Must comment that great effort was put in by the Suzhou Government to incorporate Chinese architectural element in modern infrastructure, such as the pavilion (left photo below) and bridge (right photo below).
Silk Factory Tour
First factory visit was a Silk Factory. The factory had some interesting exhibitions such as clay model of traditional silk harvesting (left photo below) and a running silk reeling mill (right photo below). The factory also allowed visitors to stretch the silk filaments into thin sheets and this is also where I learned how to differentiate a real silk product from an artificial one.
Lunch was taken at one of the restaurants near the Hanshan temple. Ordered a bowl of noodles at a rather pricey cost of RMB 25 that tasted average. Never expect to get cheap and good food as most tour agencies earned their commission through these "recommended" restaurants.
Hanshan temple (寒山寺)
Fourth sight: Hanshan temple (寒山寺) or literally 'Cold Mountain' temple. This is a Buddhist temple believed to be founded during year 502 to 519 of Southern and Northern Dynasties period. The current name of the monastery derives from Hanshan (寒山) who was the legendary monk and poet. Hanshan and his disciple Shide (拾得) are said to have come to the monastery druing the reign of Tang Emperor Taizong (627 to 649) where Hanshan became the abbot.
Fame of this temple is mainly attributed to one famous Tang poem by Zhang Ji (张继) who lived around 715 to 779, named《枫桥夜泊》：
江枫渔火对愁眠
姑苏城外寒山寺
夜半钟声到客船
Admission ticket was handed to us for the entry to the temple (photo below).
One famous attraction is the incription of Temple's name "寒山寺" on the yellow wall facing the entrance (left photo below). Another famous highlight is the ringing of bell in this bell tower (right photo below), which had became a pilgrimage and tourism event especially during the Chinese New Year eve. During normal days, visitors could even pay a small token, about RMB 10, to ring the bell three times.
In the Arhat Hall (罗汉堂), Guanyin Bodhisattva is the main deity worshiped (left photo below). Behind the covered wall of Buddha statue in the Mahavira Hall (大雄宝殿), it is not the Bodhisattva that is enshrined but the Hanshan Shide (寒山拾得) statues (right photo below).
For more than a thousand years in its history, pagodas have been destroyed and rebuilt several times, and there have been temple but no pagodas for more than 600 years. In 1996, Hanshan Temple rebuilt the Puming Pagoda (普明宝塔) imitating the Tang Dynasty wooden pavilion-style (photos below). No wonder my first impression of this pagoda almost resembles the one I saw at Asakusa temple (浅草寺) in Tokyo which was also built in Tang style.
Clay Teapot Factory Tour
Second factory visit was to Clay teapot factory. Simply felt it was a waste of time because the sales person spent more than half an hour bragging how unique each teapot was designed and produced.
Tiger Hill (虎丘)
This was the fifth sight. Tiger Hill, or huqiu (虎丘), is a popular attraction in Suzhou, which has both the natural beauty and historical elements. Based on historical records, King Helü (阖闾) of Wu Kingdom in Spring and Autumn period was buried in this hill (about 496 B.C.). The hill's name is said to come from the fact it looks like a crouching tiger. It has an elevation of over 30-meters and covers about 20 hectares.
Admission ticket was given to us prior entry to this attraction (left photo below). The panorama view at its entrance provided a good visual map to the garden (right photo below).
Tiger Hill boasts 18 scenic spots, and among them the Sword Pond and the Yunyan Temple Pagoda are most well-known features of the hill.
Sword Pond (剑池)
- Sword Pond, is a small rectangular pond, beneath which a treasure of some 3,000 swords are believed to have been buried. It is believed that the Wu King Helu was buried next to the lake wall (left photo below). Efforts excavating the site were made in the 1950s, but eventually were stopped because the archeologists found the Leaning Pagoda's foundations resting on the site. This remained an unsolved mystery till now.
Yunyan Temple Pagoda (云岩寺塔)
- The Yunyan Temple Pagoda, or Tiger Hill Pagoda (虎丘塔), is better known as the "Leaning Tower of China" (right photo below). Built during the Song Dynasty, this thousand year old pagoda has an awesome height of 47-meters in a seven-storey octagonal structure. Due to its soft foundation, the pagoda had slanted by 2.32-meters (difference between top and bottom of the pagoda). The slanting is so obvious that it can be seen at the foot of the hill. In 1957, concrete was pumped into its foundation to reinforce and stabilize the pagoda from leaning further.
Thousand People Rock (千人石)
- It is a rock-based plaza at the bottom of the Yunyan Temple Pagoda plaza (left photo below). Legend says after the burial of Wu King Helu, his son, the successor of the throne, commanded the murder of some thousand craftsmen who were involved in his father's burial in order to conceal the exact location of the grave.
Erxian Pavilion (二仙亭)
- This pavilion was originally a Song Dynasty building and was rebuilt during the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty (right photo below). There are two stone tablets in this pavilion, on which two immortals are carved: Chen Tuan (陈抟) and Lu Dongbin (吕洞宾). It is said that one day the two immortals were playing chess there. A woodcutter saw them, so he came to watch them. After watching a game of chess, he returned home but no one knew him. Later, people guessed from his clothes he wore was from thousands of years ago. So there is such a saying, "A game of chess by immortals has been in the world for thousands of years." This explain that Tiger Hill is the place where immortals live.
As visit to the Tiger Hill was not covered by the tour package, each person had to pay additional RMB 60 of entrance fee, which can be optional depending on individual.
Shantang Street (山塘街)
Sixth and last sight of the tour. Shantang Street, also known as Seven-mile Shantang (七里山塘), was constructed during Tang Dynasty in 825 A.D. by the great poet Bai Juyi (白居易).
Many of the buildings are still in traditional classical style and some are even listed as 'Conserved Buildings' by Suzhou government (left photo below). Known as "First Street in Shuzou", it is a popular tourist destination with visitors being attracted by the heritage nature of the buildings and the various old stone bridges such as the Tonggui bridge (通贵桥) (right photo below).
Now most buildings are occupied by shops selling food and souvenirs (left photo below). Bought only a pack of dried bean curd (about RMB 6) as it was recommended by the shop owner (right photo below).
Jiari Guest House (假日宾馆)
Was next transferred by the travel agency after the day tour to my next lodging Jiari Guest House (假日宾馆) in Suzhou (left photo below). Room was acceptable (right photo below) however was shocked that there wasn't any lightings at the main stairway leading to the third floor where my room was located.
Dinner
Since no meal is covered in the tour package, therefore had to search for my dinner. Managed to find a restaurant 'Luyang Hundundian' (禄杨馄饨店) along the street (left photo below) and ordered a plate of noodles at RMB 5 which was rather plain in taste (right photo below). After which went to one of the convenient stores along the steet to get some biscuits and drinks for my supper and breakfast.
Day Seven
Waited at the hotel lobby at 8 am for my next full day tour to Zhouzhuang. Interestingly this day tour was operated by a different tour agency even though I booked only through a single travel agency in Shanghai.
Zhouzhuang (周庄)
Boarded a coach tour that took almost an hour from Suzhou city to reach the famous Zhouzhuang. Located 30-km southeast of the city centre of Suzhou, it is one of the most famous water townships in China, noted for its profound cultural background, the well preserved ancient residential houses and the elegant watery views. Known as 'Venice of the East', Zhouzhuang claimed to be number One water-township in China.
Upon arrival, all visitors were brought to a hall near to the main entrance to have personal photo taken. This black and white photo (rather with poor resolution) would then be printed onto the admission ticket (photo below), which personally I don't really appreciate and couldn't understand their rationale. In fact I find it a waste of time and resources.
Shenting House (沈厅)
- Shenting House was the private property of the descendant of Shen Wansan (沈万三), the first millionaire of Jiangnan (South of Yangtze River) in the early Ming dynasty. The whole architectural complex is of the Qing's style and occupies an area of more than 2,000 square meters. Over 100 rooms are divided into three sections and each one is connected by arcades and aisles. Tea room and main hall are places for serving guests, and the furnishings here are all very elegant (photos below).
Lunch
- The tour group was next brought to a "recommended" restaurant 'Longfeng Jiulou' (龙凤酒楼) for lunch (left photo below). First I ordered a plate of tofu at RMB 10 (right photo below). The tofu was served cold with some soy sauce and sesame oil, and tasted better than expected.
Was told that this 'common barbel fish' (鲃鱼) lived only around Zhouzhuang and has exceptional big liver (left photo below), thus decided to try. This steamed fish at RMB 38 did not have any fishy taste and the liver was good (right photo below). However this restaurant had over charged me when I walked around the shops and realized most restaurants were selling each 'barbel' fish for only RMB 25. Well, this was just another typical case of 'recommended' shops and restuarants.
Free and Easy Time
- Was given free time of an hour and half to tour Zhouzhuang after lunch. This was where I discovered more charm and beauties of this famous water-township (photos below).
The Double Bridges, which are Shide Bridge (世德桥) and Yongan Bridge (永安桥), are the most famous and are considered the symbol of Zhouzhuang. Built in the Wanli era (1573–1619) of the Ming dynasty, the Double Bridges are located in the northeast of the town. Shide Bridge is east–west and has a round arch, while Yongan Bridge is north–south and has a square arch (left photo below).
Located at the eastern end of Zhongshi Jie, Fuan Bridge (富安桥) was built in 1355 during the Yuan dynasty. The unique trait of the Fuan is the consummate combination of the single-arch bridge and the bridge towers (right photo below).
- The entrance archway marks the start of the ancient town (left photo below). Its old streets, packed with local snacks and traditional crafts & souvenirs in narrow streets, also have its own unique charm (right photo below).
Visits from dignitaries
- Many famous people had visited Zhouzhuang, including Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji, and President Jiang Zemin (left photo below) who even signed an autograph in chinese calligraphy (right photo below).
Of course, among the dignitaries also included Singapore President Nathan (left photo below) and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew (right photo below).
Food Souvenirs
- Bought some food souvenirs, including a vacuum-packed Pork trotter (万三蹄) for RMB 55 (left photo below) and a box of cake (万三糕) for RMB 6 (right photo below). The Pork trotter tasted good but was rather high in calories with those thick layers of fat. An unique way of eating this pork trotter dish is to pull out the smaller bone (fibula bone) and use it as a knife to slice through the soft meat.
Guangyin Temple and Silk Factory Tour
After visited Zhouzhuang, the tour group was brought to a Guangyin temple (水月观音馆) and a Silk factory. Some advice when visiting this Guangyin temple: one has to be objective and do not believe what the stuff told you; I was told by a fellow tour group mate that monks there requested "believers" to pay few thousands of RMB to ward off their bad luck! Luckily I just walked away during this 'fortune telling' session.
Dunhuang Hotel (杭州敦煌饭店)
Waited for the coach bus to Hangzhou for almost an hour, and the actual bus ride took 3 hours from Suzhou to reach Hangzhou. After which was transferred once again to my next lodging, Dunhuang hotel. This hotel definitely deserved to be 3-Star as the room was clean and the hotel was well maintained (photos below).
