China Day 11

It dawned sunny and warm. Blue sky! Really our first, so it is time for the sunglasses. Our hotel in Suzhou was very nice and everyone has survived their illnesses so far. After breakfast it’s all aboard for more site seeing. Our guide Jackie launched into our morning Chinese class…All very informative. Too bad my short term memory is shot.
This morning we visited an art gallery that specializes in silk embroidery. The needle work pictures are exquisite… so are the prices -$1000 U.S. and up. We’ll have to be satisfied with the pictures. They also manufacture Kashmir clothing and a lady was demonstrating paper cutting. The ladies shopped. The men sat.
Stopped by a canal to view the ‘Leaning Pagoda’. It was unknowingly built on an old tomb and began to collapse after construction but was stabilized with its current tilt. Chouzhou has another connection with Italy as it is known as the city of canals.
During the Mongol Dynasty a 1,000 km canal was dug from Beijing to Suzhou. This was traditionally a very rich area, the centre of the silk industry, fishing and rice production. It is also the centre of the historical Bonsai gardens copied by Japan. These were private family gardens built in and around homes.
The term Bonsai simply means potted. We toured one such garden, a world heritage site. Simply stunning.
Lunch and then back to Shanghai on a bus that decided to have mechanical problems’ but our driver managed to nurse it along until a replacement met us in Shanghai.
One uneasy note along the way we were pulled in for a roadside security check. Lots of armed soldiers plus very serious looking inspectors.
They boarded the bus, took one quick look at this sorry collection and sent us on our way. No word what or whom they might have been looking for and no one discusses these incidents, but leaves one with a feeling of unease.
Shanghai is an awe inspiring city. Buildings! Cranes! Port facilities! All spectacular. We took a River Cruise and gaped at the buildings and sites. More tomorrow as we go looking for three dollar Rolexes.
We are fed, into the hotel, doped up and ready for sleep. Nite, nite
P.S. If you expect to follow any of our travels on a map, good luck. Not sure I spelled even one city properly. (Correction, I have since edited the spelling. Can you pronounce them?)