Suzhou, China

Suzhou is considered by the Chinese to be one of the most beautiful cities in the country and also one of the most beautiful in the world. Well, I did not have the best weather to be a fair judge, but I would venture to guess that these are probably true statements.

The city is famed for its gardens and traditional waterside architechture, and, to a less extent, its pagodas. It is is sometimes called the Venice of the East. And, despite the constant cold and nearly constant rain, it remained gorgeous.

I have noticed that China has a way of charging admission for just about everything. As in, some public parks, that are largely not visited by tourists but by locals doing tai chi in the mornings, often charge admission. On that note, it was obviously no surprise that the pogodas and gardens had an admission fee, but sometimes they are unreasonably high. One of the better gardens, The Hunble Administrator's Garden, has a entrance fee of 50RMB in the low season and 70RMB in high season. To Americans, this does not sound like too much money (about $7.75 and $10.75), but it is a lot of money here and when you consider that it only takes a few hours to explore and you usually do a few attractions a day, the costs add up quickly. So, you discriminate and become more selective about which attractions you visit. Which means you see less.

I decided to go to the tallest pagoda in the area (North Temple Pagoda) and what is usually regarded as the best garden (The Garden of the Master of the Nets). The entrance fee to the pagoda was 25RMB (about $4). The pagoda itself was just OK. It provided nice views of the surroundings but the weather and smog significantly diminishes the sights. However, while doing a lap on the top level of the pagoda me and the two guys I was spending the day with noticed a small pond just off the foot of the pagoda. We made our way there and this is what made the 25RMB money well spent. The pond was very pretty and it was nice just to walk around absorbing the atmosphere.

After lunch me and the two Americans I met in the hostel split ways. I took my rented bike down a couple of the nicer streets Baita West Road, which is more developed with clothes shops and such but still has a very Chinese feel, and Pingjiang Road, which is an ancient street that has not been touched and follows one of the many streams in the city. This was a great bike ride. The rain had all but stopped and the sights are picturesque.

The bike ride was taking to my second entrance-fee-required site of the day, The Garden of the Master of the Nets, which I had read was 30RMB, but was only 20RMB. I picked this garden in particular because my guide book says it is probably the best in Suzhou despite it being among the smallest. Also, I like the name. The Garden of the Master of the Nets. Awesome. The garden is highly regarded mostly for its use of space and its proportionality. Now, I do not know what those terms means when it comes to gardens and I am sure I would appreciate the garden more fully and with greater depth if I did, but it was still a nice place despite my lack of garden knowledge and terminology. The main attraction in the garden is a pond, which, of course, is very nice. About half of the garden consists of the former residences. I found this part less enjoyable but, again, that probably has to do with my limited knowledge. Either way, it was good time.

From the garden I headed back to my hostel. Almost as soon as I left it started to rain again. I half expected to just give up and get in a cab with my rented bike but once I got going I really enjoyed riding in the rain. It was 5:20PM and there were hundreds of Chinese riding their own bikes home from work. I felt like a local. I was weaving in traffic, ignoring traffic signals, and getting soaking wet just like everybody else. It was great. Probably my most authentic experience in China.

Then I got lost and it was no longer great. I had been doing really good for about an hour then I lost it. I do not even know what happened. I was perfect and then I wasn't. Also, just about then is when the chain fell off the gear for the first time (it happened a second time about 10 minutes later) which was not fun to fix in the rain, with no light (I did not even know what the problem was for the first 5 minutes), no tools, and partially numb hands and fingers. I got it fixed and eventually found my way. Despite getting lost and the troubles with the bike, this ride was probably my favorite part of Suzhou.

The following day I slept in a bit and hung out in the hostel until I needed to leave to catch my train back to Shanghai. Suzhou is pretty small and I had seen enough of the city the previous day, plus the weather was unfavorable and I did not feel motivated to do much more than sit down and chill out. The hostel did not put on the heat, however, so could see my breath the entire time.