2012-02 Suzhou

 On Saturday, I took the high speed rail from Shanghai to Suzhou for a day of sightseeing.  The trains run between 150 to 200 mph on elevated tracks going to many destination from Shanghai.  The 70 mile distance between the two cities took less than 30 minutes, much better than the 1-1/2 or more hours by car.  The best thing was the cost of only 40RMB ($6.50) each way.  When I arrived at the train station, I was inundated with offers for bus tours of the city for 15RMB.  Not knowing how good the English would be or how long it would take, I ventured on my own.

I got in my cab and was going to head for Jinjihu Lake.  I couldn't find a map at the train station, and the cab could not figure out where I wanted to go from the map on my phone, so I called a hotel on the waterfront and had them give the cab driver directions.  I made it to the hotel and then went in and got a local map and cab card with the various atrractions listed in Chinese.  I was now ready to head out.  A new twin towers building is being built on the west shore of the lake.  There is a large open park area that looks like it would host concerts and events, and it overlooks a dancing waters fountain in the small bay area.  It would be fun to be here in the summer for the show. 

While I was walking along the lake, I noticed a bunch of lime green bikes along the sidewalk.  These were part of a bike rental program that Suzhou has.  Unfortunately, I couldn't read directions on how to obtain the bike, otherwise I would have taken one to expand my range on my walking tour around the lake.



My next stop was Canglang Pavailion, a 1000 year old garden on small lake.  I made it easily by cab with the map and cab card from the hotel.  The garden coordinates the harmony between the rock formations, buildings and plantings.  Since it is surrounded by walls, it is very quiet and peaceful inside the garden area. 



I walked about a half mile south to the southern boundary of the old city, which is created by one of the many rivers and canals running through the city.  Suzhou is know as the Venice of China since much of the city is traversed by water.  Water taxis and small boats line the canals and bring people about the city, especially tourists.



In the shopping area, I wandered past a bar that had some very unique decorations out front including a 20' tall quitar as a sign and a sculpture of Larual and Hardy carrying a keg into a door that was surrounded by musical instruments.  This would have been a fun place to check out if I was going to be in Suzhou for the evening, but it was only 11:00AM and wasn't even open yet.



I now headed up to Tiger Hill, a 100ft high hill on the northwest side of town.  On top of the hill was large tower built half on bedrock and half on soil, so it started to lean to the side, much like the leaning tower of Pisa.  This one started to lean while it was being built, so the upper floors are built to compensate for the earlier lean.  I even tried to straighten it up, but to no avail.  Up until a few years ago, it was open and you could climb up the tower, but now more.  Tiger Hill is a popular tourist destination and is also surrounded by canals.  You can take a boat ride around Tiger Hill, or even take a horse drawn carriage around the grounds

The grounds around Tiger Hill are full of gardens and trees.  It is a very pretty park, and being on top of one of the only hills around, you can get a nice view of the surrounding Suzhou area.  After visiting Tiger Hill, I headed back down to find a cab to take me back tot he railway station for my quick train trip back to Shanghai.  A fun day making my way around Suzhou without a word of Chinese in my vocabulary that could be useful.  Thank goodness for cab cards and tourist maps from an international hotel to make getting around relatively easy.

2012-02 Nanjing

I spent a night in Nanjing while on a supplier visit.  We went to a local restaurant with pick your fresh fish right in the entry area.  The food was chosen and then it was prepared for you and brought to your table.  Most meals in China a family style with multiple dishes brought out one by one and everyone sharing the food.  Most of the time the table is round and there is a lazy susan in the middle to make it easy to get the food in front of everyone.  Like most of the meals I have had in China, it was very good.  My biggest problem is I don't usually know what or how much is ordered, so I am never sure when I will be done eating or how to portion out my meal.

 I stayed in a nice hotel with a large garden area in between the buildings.  A covered walkway between he buildings went over a pond area.   There were rock gardens an walking paths out behind the buildings.  It was very pretty layout, and I am sure it looks spectacular in the summer when everything is greened up. 

The back side of the building overlooks a large open area that runs up to a large lake.  A large barbeque and bar area sits on the waterfront.

2012-02 Shanghai

 The first few days in Shanghai, I stayed on the western side of town near the Hongqiao Train station.  This was  a new part of town for me, so I took the opportunity to explore the area.  there were many parks on this side of town with both sculptures and nice landscaping.  This time of year, many of the trees are bare, but one particular tree that is very common has white bark that stands out as they line the streets.  Many of them had been trimmed back almost to the trunk, so it would be interesting to see how they grow in this spring.

One interesting thing I was was how one of the local phone company was using their telephone booths as WiFi hotspots that could be accessed along the streets and in nearby buildings.  There still are many phone booths and pay phones around, but I never saw anyone using them





On Sunday evening, I went XinTanDi for dinner.  It is a combination of some older buildings housing many restaurants and a large new shopping complex.  Outside the complex was a year of the dragon sculpture made up of metal and lights.

My last sop for the evening was at YuYuan Gardens.  Besides the gardens, which were already closed, are many shops selling local souvenirs and goods.  It is a fun place to walk through and enjoy the sights, smells and sounds of Shanghai.  As I approached the area I was asked to take a picture of a young couple in front of one of the brightly lit building.  I complied and we started to chat.  They invited me to a tea tasting event nearby, but I declined.  On the way home, another couple asked me to take their photo in front of the same building.  We chatted, and they too asked me to go with them to a tea tasting event nearby, so now I figured this was one way that they were trying to get tourist to come and buy some stuff making it look like just a casual meeting when it was all staged

2012-02 Taipei Lantern Festival

I happen to be in Taipei during the time of the Lantern Festival, which follows Chinese New Year by a couple of weeks.  On Friday night I took the subway to Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall and Civic Plaza where the festivities took place.
Special stage shows were taking place along with a light and fountain show every half hour.  The night was foggy with some drizzle, and the low clouds were obscuring the Taipei 101 building in the background to various levels throughout the evening.





This is the year of dragon, so many lanterns were dragon themes.  Many of the local community groups and schools put together very elaborate displays with multiple lanterns.  All of the lanterns were lit internally, and some included choreographed lighting making the lanterns appear to come alive.  It was a fun evening in Taipei.




  











On Saturday, I went down to the original site of the 2011 Flora Expo, which is still open as a public park.  Many of the buildings are still there, but some of the smaller venues have been removed.  Also, some of the gardens are being maintained, although not to level they were during the Flora Expo.   

 








An old soccer stadium is now a partially enclosed auditorium.  In the open area, the seating area have been turned into a large planting area filled with flowers and plants