The rain held off for most of today, but gosh was it humid! I spent about an hour on the treadmill this morning and my shirt weighed three times as much by the time I was done. Eeek! After a morning of studying Mandarin, SharePoint, and catching up on the latest episode of Rachel Maddow, I spent a good chunk of the afternoon exploring two sections of old town Suzhou: The Lingering Garden (留园) and Shantang Street (山塘街).
The Lingering Garden is one old gardens that help give Suzhou its mystique as a beautiful city. In fact, this garden dates back to 1593 when China was ruled by the Ming dynasty. It is known for its collection of bonsai trees (about 200 of them) and interestingly shaped rocks. In fact, in the bonsai section of the garden, there was this rock collection that reminded me of a combination of a dog and an Egyptian Sphinx!
While the Wikipedia article on Shantang Street is rather … skinny … I’m pleased to report there’s a lot more going on in this area than that article would lead onto, provided I was on the right street! (Directions in China are still confusing to me…) As I walked north along Guangji Road (广济路), from the Lingering Garden, I crossed a stone bridge that went over a canal (pictured below) and on the other side of the bridge was a narrow street (maybe 4-5 meters wide). To the west, the street had a number of shops selling anything from prepared and fresh food, fruits & veg, baked goods, and textile good. To the east, the street was a bit more upscale and housed a number of other shops including a number of jewelery and art shops.
Canal near Shantang Street (left) and looking down Shantang Street (right).
If tomorrow remains mostly dry, another garden and perhaps a trip to an expat bookshop, library, bar, restaurant and events space all rolled into one might be had!
Today’s word of the day is 花园 (Huāyuán), meaning garden.