Suzhou (6mill), just west of Shanghai, is one of those legendary cities with 2500yrs of history. It was said that in heaven there is paradise, on earth there is Suzhou and Huangzhou. Even Marco Polo said it was the most beautiful city in China, with its tree lined canals, fantastic gardens, silk and art epicentres, and trading hub. Well, none of the above have seen the post Stalinist/Mao influences since. It has much of the pollution and noise and congestion and smog and concrete blockitecture typical of Chinese cities. Some of the canals and alleyways reek of charm, but these are few and far in between. And only a few of the hundreds of gardens of yesteryear, tho they are utterly breathtaking.
Anyway, we’re doing a homestay here. If you’re thinking we have a small room in a family home with an outhouse, handdrawn well water, chickens in the yard and adorable, wrinkly faced granny…forget it.
We’re 14 floors up in a western, expat enclave of luxury hotel apartments. Interesting carpentry note for you Andre and Stan, whether its the 5 star hotels or our spacious deluxe condo—-the lack of craftsmanship is appalling. The abundance and use of top notch materials—-interesting rocks of all kind, exotic woods, metal and glass, is wasted with shoddy workmanship. The Chinese and their facades, eh?
If you’ve ever wondered where cushy westerners live in foreign places, well we found it. Bubbles. Surrounded by guards, sterile highrises, Starbucks and Tex Mex. And not far behind, are the columns of locals who have escaped the has beens and are on the escalator up. Behind them, as far as one can see…industrial, soulless wastelands. Were staying with a local Suzhouness, Sally (they all seem to have western names, we suspect a status thing) who is married to an Austrian (currently in wicked Bangkok). Shes 34, and part of a generation who have done well economically, yet is quietly critcal of the government…..something she would never articulate publicly.
She runs an acupuncture and massage clinic (great hands–10 bucks).
speaks perfect Eng, tho she starts and ends every sentence by singing the last syllable, and jumps around her sizable apt. You’d swear she was 8.
Anyway, this is a much needed pitstop, fajitas or not. But to be honest, the odd bit of western food has been nice. We`re trying to chill and pace ourselves. For a month we’ve been going out exploring everyday. Not to complain. Each and everyday has been crammed with wonders and adventures big and small. Whether its streetscapes that haven’t changed much in a 1000yrs, or the subtle beauty of a pavilion surrounded by rockscapes and water, or a kamikaze cabbie impersonating an F1 driver.
We checked out Suzhou Museum (designed by a local lad, same dude who did the pyramid of the Louvre…I.M Pei). Stunning in its simplicity, the sleek geometric shapes and angles, the gray rock and white washed walls that honor the unique Suzhou heritage and highlight the small but cherished collection of silks, bronzes, sculptures and Ming and Qing artifacts. And what they did manage to salvage and restore after the maddening cultural revolution is a tribute the greatness that was Suzhou. The gardens are a harmonious interplay of naturally eroded limestone, water and fish, and flora and fauna, within historical temples or residences of the elite. They all competed with one another in a Yin and Yang keeping up with the Joneses kind of way.
We’ve been riding public buses to the local villages. What they mean by villages are smaller cities on the fringes of suburban and industrial sprawl. ( We are really looking forward to rural China). Anyway Suzhou is surrounded by UNESCO sites—water towns….villages with canals for streets kinda thing. Many have changed little over the centuries but for the souvenir shops and endless electric bikes (real bikes are so Mao). The electric jobs are scary. Fast and silent…when they brake (this is a good time to laugh) the shoddy plastic parts vibrate, emitting a high pitched banshee cry.
The villages are indeed charming, and welcome relief from the big city. Tongli for example contains several wealthy restored Qing style mansions replete with antiques, rock gardens and well stocked ponds. Now it is simple lives, no
t unlike the hutongs in Beijing, but a distinct Suzhou architecture of narrow alleyways, grey tiled roofs, white washed walls over long rectangular bricks, stone footbridges over avenues of water.
Whats really big in the watertown of Luzhe, are the costume shops. Many young women come to rent wedding dresses, Ming Dynasty costumes and the like, and have their pix taken. Most of them work in the nearby industrial parks. Most of the time I am the only white person or ghost as they 
call me. Many other ghosts get stopped to have their pix taken, but they don’t have a soy boy toy escort, so I am usually left alone. But in the watertowns, several smiling giggling young women with cameras were left appreciative of a pasty white, Yorkshire pudding visage.
Wayne experiences a different sort of celebrity, because he is Chinese they expect him to speak mandarin and when he cannot communicate effectively with them, they scold him like a moron. Despite our lack of language and huge regional variations in Mandarin, Wayne has done wonders getting us what we need and where we need to go.
