Often called the Venice of the East, Suzhou is a lovely garden city in China just west of Shanghai. After spending four days in Shanghai, I took the high-speed train to Suzhou and spent about 24 hours there – just enough time to take in this sweet little spot. (Side note – taking the train in China alone when you speak no Mandarin was not the easiest thing I have ever done. I definitely got confused and flustered trying to figure out where in the hell I was supposed to pick up my ticket, but hey – I did it and it was so worth the frustration to make it to Suzhou.) Canals, bridges and lush gardens make Suzhou a very unique and beautiful place to visit. Here’s my day for you in photos:
I start off every new city the same way – roaming around the streets a bit with no real destination. I have one big thing I want to do today, the Humble Administrator’s Garden, so I take a taxi to this general area and walk around for about an hour and settle into my day here.
After getting to know the city a little, it’s time to check out the Humble Administrator’s Garden which the ladies at my hotel have told me (in some very broken English) that’s the garden I can’t miss.
This place was just so beautiful. I had never been anywhere even remotely like this. I wandered around here for about two hours, but you could easily have spent the whole day here.
Again I say, so damn beautiful. And just, so exotic, so different.
After the Humble Administrator’s Garden, it’s time for some more city wandering and to find something to eat. I have not eaten all day, and I’m starving.
First thing I find – street food. I really don’t know exactly what these were, but they were good. I think they were some type of fried fish ball. That’s what they tasted like to me. And I liked the sauce. Yum, I got a huge cup full for like seventy cents (USD).
But I am still hungry, and I need real food. So I wander into a restaurant where, of course, no one speaks any English. Lucky for me, the menu has English and Chinese, so I can actually know what I’m ordering. This was my lunch: Crispy Fried Duck, Hot and Sour Soup and Broccoli. Not pictured: cheap Chinese beer, I drank it with literally every meal.
I am completely satiated after that huge meal, and it’s almost time to head back to my hotel and get ready to make the journey to Xi’an. Just another quick walk through the city though.
One more look at lovely Suzhou. What a magical place, I’m so glad I didn’t miss this special city.
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