Suzhou, China
Wednesday, July 30, 2008


Today we did some traveling! We took a plane from Wuhan to Shanghai. We then took a two and a half hour bus ride to Suzhou, south of Shanghai (See map above). To round out our modes of travel we took a ferry cruise through the canals of Suzhou as part of out tour of the city.

A view from our canal tour of Suzhou

It was tough to leave our newly made friends at Hubei University in Wuhan. They were there when we got up and most of them accompanied us to the airport. The administrators also showed up in the morning to see us off from our dorm/hotel. The hospitality we experienced here was unparalleled. The were many a tear shed by both sides this morning at both the hotel and the airport. I guess if everyone was not choked up about leaving then we would have had such a good time. A bit of double edged sword.

Saying good-bye to our friends

Once we bid our friends adieu and cleared the security we waited for our flight on China Eastern. The flight was pleasant and without incidence. I crammed my head into my book, The Street Lawyer by John Grisham. It is good fun read and it takes my mind off the travel time. It is set in DC and mentions Memphis a lot so its fun to follow along.

Once we arrived in Shanghai and got our bags we were met by our tour guide from earlier in the month, Snow. Yes, that is the name he goes by. The custom in China is that when you begin to study English as a student you take a western name. Most take traditional ones, others make up their own or go with stuff like Rain or in this case Snow. Well, Snow is good people and he runs a tight ship. After he drops us off at airport Saturday he immediately picks up another group slightly less important, the US National Basketball team. We will not be working with the players as much with the US Olympic basketball official. Pretty cool, huh.

Once we met Snow we loaded up our bus and headed west to Suzhou. I put on the ipod and listened to comfortable stylings of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young and slept most of the way. We were all exhausted so the few times I was briefly lucid on the us I noticed most of the group sleeping.

View of the pool at the Garden

Upon are arrival in Suzhou we visited the Master of Nets Garden. It was initially known as the Fishermen’s Retreat, it was laid out under the Song Dyansty and renamed by the under the Qing Dynasty. It has a beautiful gardens, a small picturesue pond, with roofed walkways, and all kinds of pavilions decorated with garderns, flowers, and landscapes. You can easily see why Marco Polo called this place one of the most beautiful cities in China.

Another view of the plants in the garden

Another pond photo

After touring the Gardens we took short tour along the canals of the city. The was some of the best views of the trip. I now see the comparison to Venice. It was quite nice. A water tour is always relaxing to me and this trip was no exception. Our ferry for the canal rides
A beautiful pagoda on the canal

Not a bad "backyard"

Gazing down the canal

After the water tour we had one of our best meals of the trip at this little hotel. We had eel, fish, dumplings, and about twenty other things that were tasty. We finally checked into our hotel, The Bamboo Grove, late and that’s where I am now. We found out they had “internets” (inside joke) so I am typing and posting. Ready to catch up on some sleep. Tomorrow we have a very busy day.

Brief video of the canal cruise

Click here for more photos of the day