An example of the interesting signs that abound in China. The Chinese would probably find the same when visiting the West, smiling at our translations or interpretations.
The Central courtyard of the hotel.
The Entrance area.
We start today in Suzhou with a boat tour of a section of the Grand Canal.
The Grand Canal,
also known as the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, is the earliest and the longest
artificial river in the world. The Canal is ten times the length of the Suez
Canal, and 22 times that of the Panama Canal.
It originates near Beijing in the north, and
ends in Hangzhou,
in the south. Six provinces and five river systems are connected by the canal.
In history, the canal is the artery of communications between north and south.
For over two thousand five hundred years, rich historical relic sights have
been found along the river. Like the Great Wall, the canal is regarded as one
of the two great projects of Chinese ancient time.
The Grand Canal is divided into seven parts with different names: Tonghui River
(Beijing - Tong
County), North
Canal (Tong
County - Tianjin),
South Canal
(southern Tianjin - Linqing, Shandong),
Lu Canal (Linqing - Taierzhuang), Middle
Canal (Taierzhuang - Huaiyin, Jiangsu), Li Canal (Huaiyin - Yangzhou),
and finally, Jiangnan Canal (Zhenjiang - Hangzhou, Zhejiang).
A thousand year old bridge,
The silk factory.
The Humble Administrators garden
The beautiful waterside City
of Suzhou in Jiangsu
Province in South
China is most famous for its elegant classical gardens. Among
these, the Humble Administrator's Garden, covering about 52,000 sq. meters
(12.85 acres), is the largest and most renowned. Due to its unique designs and
ethereal beauty, the garden has garnered many special honors. It is listed as a
World Cultural Heritage site and has also been designated as one of the
Cultural Relics of National Importance under the Protection of the State as
well as a Special Tourist Attraction of China. Along with the Summer Palace
in Beijing, the Mountain Resort of Chengde in Hebei Province
and the Lingering Garden in Suzhou, it
is considered as one of China's
four most famous gardens. No other classic garden in the country has been
honored more than this one.
The Humble Administrator's Garden was
originally built in 1509 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It was initially
a private garden of a former government servant named Wang Xianchen. It was
said he intended to build a garden after retired and just do some gardening
work like planting trees and vegetables there, which was said to be the life of
a humble man by him. Hence is the name of the garden. The garden was created
upon the old relics of a resident and a temple. Water feature is the main
background and its natural landscape includes small forests, hills and rock
formations. It also has man-made pavilions, halls and parlors. Unlike the Grand View Garden and other famous gardens in Beijing, it is representative of the Ming
Dynasty building style.
The garden consists of
Eastern, Central and Western sections as well as some residences of the former
owners. The resident houses are typical of the style of Suzhou Local
Residences, whose feature can be seen in the famous water township Zhouzhuang
not far from Suzhou
City. The site of the
residences has been rebuilt as the Garden
Museum now.
Di stepping over a bridge. If you take only 3 steps to get over the bridge you are due for a long life. Alan, Michael and I also made it over in 3 steps.
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