China - February 10th con't

More picture's from the Humble Administrator's Garden.





Before leaving Suzhou we also went on a visit at one of the local silk factories. The factory we stopped at has a display that shows the life of the tiny silk worms, from birth, to feeding on delicate mulberry leafs, to cocoons. The cocoons are where fine strands of silk lie, but they must first go through several processes before being ready for use. To prepare each thread, eight strands of silk are united and processed by a combination of hand and machinery. There were beautiful yards of fabric, clothes and embroideries for sale but not having a plan of what I'd use the silk for I left it all at the factory store. As we ran long and needed a fast lunch we stopped at a familar American fast food resturant.

After lunch it was off for a drive to West Lake area of Hangzhou. Dinner was at an elegant resturant with many delicious foods.

China - February 10th

Today was for sightseeing in Suzhou. Suzhou is a city on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the shores of Lake Taihu in the province of Jiangsu, China. The city is renowned for its beautiful stone bridges, pagodas, and meticulously designed gardens which have contributed to its status as a great tourist attraction. Since the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Suzhou has also been an important center for China's silk industry and continues to hold that prominent position today. The city is part of the Yangtze River Delta region.

Our first stop was to a Buddist temple that is famous in Suzhou. The temple was just blocks away from our hotel so we walked there. Our host is Buddist so while we were wandering around the various buildings of the temple, he was worshipping.
Upon returning to the hotel we checked out and drove over to the Humble Administrator's Garden. Today the temperatures were just about 35 and a little drizzle was falling.

The Humble Administrators Gardens was built in 1509 A.D. and is one of the four most famous gardens in China. The garden is composed of eastern, middle and western parts that are divided by walls with round open circles in the walls. The areas are all different and might have a pavilion or two for the users to sit and relax and enjoy the views. There is much lake rock - both large and small in these rooms with trees and plants. The lake rock is really beautiful and unique in it's look. There was a section for just Bonsai trees. We spent several enjoyable hours walking around the gardens.

China - February 9th

Arrival in Shanghai was after Midnight where we were greeted by Ying's second and third brothers, their wives and some friends at the airport. Then it was off to JoJo's (second brother) home in the Xu Hui District of Shanghai. Once home they set out a welcome feast for us though we all were ready to just climb into bed as later that AM we would be leaving on a road trip to Suzhou and Hangzhou.

About 9AM all 14 of us were packed and ready to go in a caravan of 3 vehicles to Zhou Zhuang which is an water town of Kunshan City, Jiangsu Province.

The water towns have become popular tourist attractions for both the Chinese and overseas people. Zhouzhuang lies at the midway between Shanghai and Suzhou. The town abounds with rivers and lakes. It is thought by many to be the best waterside town in China. This ancient town is more than 900 years old with many houses built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are about 100 houses with courtyards, and 60 of them have arch gateways made by carved bricks. It is surounded by 4 lakes and inside the town there are many very old stone bridges built in the Yuan, Ming and Quin Dyanasties. Leslie, JoJo and I enjoyed a walk around the town stopping in several of the restored homes of the "wealthy villagers" of olden times. There is was beautiful curved wooden furniture inlaid with jade. The rest of the group did only a small amount of walking before taking a boat ride around the water town.









Lunch was in the water town before heading off to JoJo's real estate project in another part of Kunshan. The project is a development of homes and stores in large buildings that are many stories high- 25 or more. There will be a number of these buildings which will be built in phases as the project goes forward. The placement of the property is good for JoJo as the Chinese government is building a new high speed railway which will stop about 5 minutes from the development.

After we finished walking around the property we went to view a nearby park and lake area. We have found that the government has designed a fair amount of green areas throughout all of China so there are many parks for recreation.

Then we finished our last part of our trip driving to Suzhou to the Younger Central Hotel. Dinner was out that evening with schoolhood friends of Brother #One at a classy restaurant.

China - February 8th

Monday, we went to the Temple of Heaven which is just a subway stop away from where we were staying. The temple was built in 1420 A.D. during the Ming Dynasty. It was built to offer sacrifices to the Heaven on the day of the Winter Solstice by the Emperors in the Ming and Quin Dynasties. They were thanking Heaven and hoping for good in the future. In front of the Temple of Heaven is a park where the Chinese gather daily to socalize with the peers. You can find card games, chess, exercising, karaoke and many other activities. Even though the temperatures were in the mid 20's the park had many people there.

We had a late lunch and then went home to get ready to take a late evening flight to Shanghai for the next part of our trip.

Going to the airport was accomplished by 3 taxi's for all 9 of us plus our luggage. Security at the airport was quick and efficient, moving faster than security at a US airport.

China - February 7th -the Great Wall

Our plan was to go out to the Great Wall on Sunday leaving fairly early to travel by tour bus several hours to a better area of the Wall but Saturday evening's snow meant changing plans to go to a part of the Wall that is closer to the city. No matter the Wall was AWESOME! We traveled by motor couch with about 24 people stopping first at the site of the burial tombs of several of the emperors. While driving we were able to look at the windows at the local sights and see some of the work the government had done in planting trees along the roadways. The tombs to me were just ok and I was really interested in getting to and climbing along the Great Wall. The snow made it slippery in parts but fun was had by all of us. I would love to climb some of the other sections in better weather but that will probably remain just a dream. We found for climbing that the steps started out one at a time but very quickly you are climbing 3 to 5 blocks per step. That makes it very steep to climb. There was a railing that is too low to use in climbing up but boy is it a lifesaver on the way down. The section we climbed was pretty steep. Leslie, Michelle & I climbed up the highest.

China - February 6th (con't)

Pictures are my siblings and I along with 2 sculptures taken at the Forbidden City.

China - February 6th - Visiting Beijing

Early Saturday morning we were up and out going first to Tiananmen Square. Before entering the Square everyone goes through a security check of their person and has their bags checked.

Then just across the street is the entrance to the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City was the Chinese Imperial Palace from the Ming Dynasty to the Quin Dynasty. For five centuries it served as the home of the Chinese Emperor and his household. It was the political & ceremonial center of the Chinese government. Built between 1406 to 1420, it has over 900 buildings. It now houses the Palace Museum. Much of the Forbidden City is open to the public and has been restored though there are areas off to each side that still need to have work done on them. We were able to view both areas.
After a late lunch in a hot pot resturant we were off to a restored Hutong village and lake area. Because it's been very cold this winter in Beijing the lake is frozen and the government rents different types of skating apparatus for the locals to use on the lake. All of the citizens looked to be enjoying their time on the lake. The Hutong area has been turned into a shopping area and borders the lake. We enjoyed exploring and bargaining with the shop owners though we didn't come home with any purchases.