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Suzhou to Hangzou
Today we went to the largest silk factory in China. We learned how silkworms make silk cocoons and how people turn those cocoons into the most beautiful fabrics imaginable. There was on-site shopping, so everyone made sure to get something special to remind them of the tour. A Chinese guy came up to me and commented on the Greater Spokane Incorporated ID tag I was wearing. He told me in English, “The closest I have ever been to Spokane was at a Creation Northwest concert in The Gorge.” It turns out, the guy used to live in Bellevue and work at Microsoft. He was laid off and moved back to Hong Kong where his parents lived. He was taking a similar tour to Shanghai and Suzhou and was at the silk factory, as well.
After the silk factory we went to Tiger Hill. At the top of the hill is a large tower. This tower was built as a memorial to an early emperor. And by early, I mean early. This tower was built on shaky ground in 951 AD and it is leaning 7 feet off vertical... like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but this tower was built 500 years BEFORE the Italian version. Tiger Hill is surrounded by a beautiful park and gardens. Flowers and trees were blooming, the grass is green, it really is springtime in southern China. I shot a lot of video there of the flowers and of Chinese school kids on a field trip.
When we got to Tiger Hill, my son, Brendan couldn’t find his journal. He thought he must have left it at the silk factory. He was really upset, as his entire trip is encapsulated in that journal. I told him I would talk with our guide and see if there was a way to find out if it was still at the factory. When we got back to the bus, he looked in his backpack one more time and found it! Disaster averted! I don’t think he set it down for the rest of the day.
After Tiger Hill, we went to lunch, where they were serving shots of some sort of alcohol with a large snake in the bottom of the jar. Though it looked tempting, I decided to pass on ordering any. Maybe next time. Oh, that reminds me, at the restaurant at our hotel, you can order goose feet in abalone sauce, duck tongues, pine nuts with ants, and any number of different types of intestines to go with your sliced pig’s ears. The menu is quite diverse.
After lunch we went to the national embroidery institute. It may sound boring, but this work is really incredible. There are five embroidery masters in China, and they work with silk thread sewing pieces that are so detailed they look photographic. I can’t even explain how they do it, but suffice to say that the work is truly unbelievable. Some of the pieces took 2 years to do, and we saw one large piece that is priced at over $200,000 US.
Once we finished that exhibit, we got back on the bus for the 2 1/2 hour drive to Hangzou.
Hangzou is called the most beautiful city in China. It was founded 2,500 years ago and has a population of about 8 million. 900 years ago the population was already 1 million. The drive to Hangzou was interesting as we traveled out of Suzhou, along gardens and small farm fields cultivated by hand. We stopped for a bathroom break at a “Happy Place” as the guide called it. It was kind of a roadside mall with bathrooms, a market, and a place that sold “stinky tofu”–that’s actually what it’s called–and it is not a misnomer. Phew!
China is a beautiful country. There is so much history here and it is available to see all around. From ancient tombs and gardens to brand-new high rise construction covered with bamboo scaffolding, it’s weird to see so much old and so much new at the same time.
Tomorrow we will continue our tour of Hangzou and then head to Shanghai.
China is ding ding hao (the best!)
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