The majority of today was spent exploring the city of Suzhou. First, we went to one of the largest, most beautiful classical Chinese gardens in China - the Humble Administrator's Garden. It took 16 years to build the private garden, and is now divided into 3 sections and protected by the government. I couldn't believe how beautiful the entire garden was - our tour guide told us that we could take pictures of different parts of the garden all day and every one would be unique. The weather was also a breath of fresh air - almost no humidity, probably due to the fact that most Suzhou residents travel around on electric motorbikes. Apparently, the government has been encouraging people to go electric instead of gas in order to be environmentally-friendly!
Right next to the garden was the newly built Suzhou Museum. In contrast to the classical buildings found in the garden, the museum's architecture was very modern. I was most surprised by the contemporary art gallery - it featured paintings similar in nature to Western (North American/European) paintings! I had always imagined Chinese paintings to be very simple, typically of nature, with a few Chinese characters on the side. Perhaps contemporary artists have been influenced by traveling to other countries, and experiencing different artwork.
After an early lunch caused by the insanely large crowds of people everywhere (we had to eat early to avoid line ups), we headed to the best silk manufacturer in China - Changshou. The presentation was, for the most part, the same as the one we saw in Beijing, but the quality of the silk was definitely better. And there was a new piece of information we learned - the poo (yes, poo) secreted by silkworms is actually very useful. It has certain properties that, when combined with the silk, serves to create luxurious pillow stuffing. Weird, but apparently effective.
Next, we traveled by boat to our next stop. Along the way, we saw the local Suzhou architecture - most houses are accessible by land through their front door, and by boat through their back door!
The famous Hanshan Temple was our last stop in Suzhou. This Buddhist temple can be heard before it is seen because it has a bell that tourists can ring for good luck. Naturally, this place is always filled with visitors and the bell rings constantly because it only costs a mere 5 Renminbis to ring 3 times (1 Canadian Dollar = 6.96 Renminbi). Today was no exception - as I mentioned earlier, the crowds in Suzhou were crazy. A tip of advice: avoid vacationing in China during the May 1 and October 1 week-long holidays!
Three hours on a bus took us from Suzhou to Hangzhou. Unlike the man-made mountains and lakes and many gardens in Suzhou, Hangzhou is said to be one huge garden. The city is known as the place to go for leisure in China - especially for seeing the beautiful West Lake. Following dinner at Zhang Sheng Ji, we were treated to a spectacular new night show called Impression West Lake.
One of the directors of the production is Zhang Yimou - you might not recognize his name, but if you have, it's because he's quite prolific. To name a couple of films, he's directed Hero and House of Flying Daggers. If you thought those were good, you have to see one of his live productions. This particular show is performed on West Lake. Yes, on water.
For the performance, the lake is transformed into a stage, with lights and huge platforms underneath the surface of the water in order to give the appearance of people walking on water. Alright, so you know that there's a hidden platform, but does that mean the show is any less impressive? Absolutely not - the reflections and imagery caused by the people moving on water is just so beautiful. Plus, how easy do you think it is to coordinate 600 people on water? Yeah, the cast/crew is huge! Watching the show brought tears to my eyes - it was just so breathtaking. If you ever have the chance to go to one of Zhang Yimou's shows, I would highly recommend it!
Now, to sleep! Tomorrow will be more explorations of Hangzhou and a trip back to Shanghai.
Right next to the garden was the newly built Suzhou Museum. In contrast to the classical buildings found in the garden, the museum's architecture was very modern. I was most surprised by the contemporary art gallery - it featured paintings similar in nature to Western (North American/European) paintings! I had always imagined Chinese paintings to be very simple, typically of nature, with a few Chinese characters on the side. Perhaps contemporary artists have been influenced by traveling to other countries, and experiencing different artwork.
After an early lunch caused by the insanely large crowds of people everywhere (we had to eat early to avoid line ups), we headed to the best silk manufacturer in China - Changshou. The presentation was, for the most part, the same as the one we saw in Beijing, but the quality of the silk was definitely better. And there was a new piece of information we learned - the poo (yes, poo) secreted by silkworms is actually very useful. It has certain properties that, when combined with the silk, serves to create luxurious pillow stuffing. Weird, but apparently effective.
Next, we traveled by boat to our next stop. Along the way, we saw the local Suzhou architecture - most houses are accessible by land through their front door, and by boat through their back door!
The famous Hanshan Temple was our last stop in Suzhou. This Buddhist temple can be heard before it is seen because it has a bell that tourists can ring for good luck. Naturally, this place is always filled with visitors and the bell rings constantly because it only costs a mere 5 Renminbis to ring 3 times (1 Canadian Dollar = 6.96 Renminbi). Today was no exception - as I mentioned earlier, the crowds in Suzhou were crazy. A tip of advice: avoid vacationing in China during the May 1 and October 1 week-long holidays!
Three hours on a bus took us from Suzhou to Hangzhou. Unlike the man-made mountains and lakes and many gardens in Suzhou, Hangzhou is said to be one huge garden. The city is known as the place to go for leisure in China - especially for seeing the beautiful West Lake. Following dinner at Zhang Sheng Ji, we were treated to a spectacular new night show called Impression West Lake.
One of the directors of the production is Zhang Yimou - you might not recognize his name, but if you have, it's because he's quite prolific. To name a couple of films, he's directed Hero and House of Flying Daggers. If you thought those were good, you have to see one of his live productions. This particular show is performed on West Lake. Yes, on water.
For the performance, the lake is transformed into a stage, with lights and huge platforms underneath the surface of the water in order to give the appearance of people walking on water. Alright, so you know that there's a hidden platform, but does that mean the show is any less impressive? Absolutely not - the reflections and imagery caused by the people moving on water is just so beautiful. Plus, how easy do you think it is to coordinate 600 people on water? Yeah, the cast/crew is huge! Watching the show brought tears to my eyes - it was just so breathtaking. If you ever have the chance to go to one of Zhang Yimou's shows, I would highly recommend it!
Now, to sleep! Tomorrow will be more explorations of Hangzhou and a trip back to Shanghai.
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More temples to come!