Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Hangzhou, Suzhou & Zhouzhuang

Beautiful West Lake in Hangzhou
The Chinese are all about posing....the girls taught me this...means I'm cute.....hahaha.
We fit right in.
Spring has arrived and the gardens are gorgeous!
Grand Canal in Suzhou....homes along the canal......
I've got to bring one of these little guys home. Stone pugs!
Hmmmmm......I guess when you gotta go--you gotta go!
Venice of the East.
Lovin' the waterways!
Kept looking for my frogs, but I think they're in Hawaii.
Now we're in Pisa--just kidding, but it is a leaning tower too.
Tiger Hill--3 Tigers together!
The Humble Administrator's Gardens (is that an oxymoron?)
You can hardly imagine the flowering trees and gardens.
So peaceful.
Terry said, "them ain't painted on!"

We had a four day holiday the first of May and took a trip to see what some say is the most beautiful part of China. It didn't disappoint. Hangzhou is so green and lush. We visited the Lingyin Monastery and Hupao Spring Park. Thursday night we walked about seven miles around the famous West Lake or Pearl Lake and enjoyed the afternoon and early evening. It was literally spectacular.....gardens, bridges, quaint pathways, fountains, small cafes, wooden boats.... The next morning we took a boat trip on the same lake. Relaxing and perfect weather.

About an hour bus ride away is Suzhou, home of canals and classic Chinese style gardens sometimes referred to as the "Venice of the East." We took a boat tour on the Grand Canal, visited the largest traditional garden in Suzhou, the 10th century, Humble Administrator's Garden, Lingering Garden, Museum of Embroidery and finally Tiger Hill, Suzhou's best park. Tiger Hill still contains its remarkable leaning pagoda, a seven story structure dating from 961 AD. We saw Venice and Pisa, both, here in Suzhou.

Finally, we ended the tour in Zhouzhuang a small East China ancient town. We took a boat trip on the canals and visited the old street, the Zhang and Shen Family Mansion. We had the famous, local sweet pig's elbow for lunch and bused back to Shanghai for a flight to Qingdao Sunday evening. Our guide was telling us some stories and mentioned waking up to the "Gooster." (goose--rooster????) Did you know China has such an unusual bird......seriously.....he couldn't say "rooster" even with coaching.

4 comments:

DeAnna Packer said...

SPRING must be universal! It is simply breath-takingly beautiful. And we feel our 'ride' is coming to an end.
Thank you for these beautiful photos and the commentary. We have been enjoying it so very much...... (Even the ones who DON'T comment do.....Huh Brent!)

DeAnna Packer said...

And.....You keep that "I'm cute pose" going.... It is true.

*ABBY* said...

All of these photos are so great! Love the smile sweatshirt!! Keep capturing each moment!!

Zadoc & Whitney said...

I miss you guys like crazy and I wish I was there. Enjoy the good time you are having and just know that you have a daughter back in Utah who loves you and misses you two soooo much!