ChinaTeacher

The city of SUZHOU is just a 2-hr bus ride from Hangzhou, in sleek modern buses lined with wide cushioned seats, each with its own padded arm rests.  I didn’t know such buses existed, having been squeezed into all manner of wheeled vehicles during my time in China.  Perhaps I could plan future trips simply based on the type of bus used!

Suzhou is built on a network of interlocking canals which feed its famous Classical Gardens – these gardens are the source of Suzhou’s pride and glory, and the reason that most tourists continue to visit Suzhou.  But my friend and I didn’t visit any of these gardens, both having done so on previous visits.  I do however encourage everyone to take some time to visit Suzhou to appreciate these popular gardens in the peace for which they were designed. 

The purpose of THIS visit was simply to ‘chill out’ and try to find some of Suzhou’s old historical laneways and homes dating from the Song Dynasty.  The old city walls have been almost entirely demolished, and the parts of the old city that still survive – moats, gates, tree-lined canals, stone bridges, cobblestone streets and whitewashed old houses – are disappearing fast.  We know there are still some out there, so this time we’re going to Suzhou with the sole purpose of seeking them out!

I did my research and found a wonderful old renovated hostel called Watertown Hostel (www.watertownhostel.com).  It’s conveniently located in the heart of Suzhou, in a traditional Suzhou ‘block-house’ containing all the modern conveniences.  We paid 180 RMB ($26) for a very nice room with twin beds, heat/ac and private bathroom – dorm beds are 50 RMB each ($7).  Great value!  We still can’t believe we found a Colour TV in our hostel room!  Hostels have come a long way!  Staff were very helpful and, had we not asked, we would never have known we were just a 10-minute walk away from Starbucks on nearby GuanQian Shopping Street (such great news for us!).

I had read about a historical pedestrian street named Pinjiang Jie.  We followed its narrow lanes to find ourselves in front of the Museum of Opera and Theatre.  The Ming-dynasty theatre is made of latticed wood and features a stage raised up on the 2^nd floor of a large pavilion beneath a spiraling wooden dome.  The audience is accommodated in an open-air ‘pit’ and in galleries on all three sides facing the stage.  Kun Opera (Suzhou-style) is apparently over 5000 years old and considered China’s oldest operatic form (Beijing Opera has only existed for 3,000 years).  We were particularly lucky to arrive at a time when some of the performers were practicing for an evening performance.  Unfortunately I still find Chinese Opera quite ‘ear-splitting’, so we didn’t hang around too long after that.  But, I must say that that the architectural structure of this theatre is well worth the visit!

Continuing down Pinjiang Jie, alongside a small canal, we greeted old men, families, and young children.  We even wandered into some small shops to have ‘limited’ Chinese conversations with their owners.  My friend was quite taken with one shop owner’s red jade bracelet adorning his wrist.  We don’t often see red jade, but I now know why – turns out the owner’s bracelet cost 8,000 RMB (approx. USD 1,200)!!!  Moments later, we found ourselves in front of another IYH Hostel (International Youth Hostel) perched alongside a narrow canal.  While not conveniently located close to amenities and such, the idea of actually living in a restored Song Dynasty building bordering a small tree-lined canal in a local neighbourhood is tremendously appealing.  I should also point out that such areas are really quiet, so if you’re looking for bar action, forget it.  As for us, we simply walked in and asked to see some rooms, for future visits of course!

Suzhou has restaurants to meet all tastes, and budgets.   Along Shiquan Lu (Suzhou’s Foreigner Street for Bars and Restaurants), we found the Pang Yang Dumpling Restaurant which comes highly recommended by Lonely Planet.  Instead of the usual Pork Dumplings everyone orders, we decided to try the Beef and Cilantro, and enjoyed them immensely, at very little cost.  Both mornings we enjoyed an egg stuffed pita breakfast which we bought from a little old lady just down the path from our hostel.  She cooks outside, using a simple wok and what appears to be a large metal ‘garbage can’ converted to an oven for baking the pita.  One Kuai (15 cents)! Yum! 

One night we found Good Eats, a diner-style restaurant where we decided to order a burger and fries.  They used ‘real cheddar’ and gave us lettuce and tomato for our burgers – nice!  This is rare to find here in China!  Ran into an Australian chap who gave us the lowdown on bars and such in Suzhou.  Thanks to his recommendation we checked out Jane’s Bar, just a block further down on Shiquan Street – it’s a nice neighbourhood bar, just what we wanted before heading home for the night!  Our last night found us finishing off our evening at Fisher Coffee which is located on a small alley, parallel to Shiquan Street.  We discovered there are many bars and coffee shops to choose from in Suzhou.  And you can’t go wrong if you hang around Shiquan Street. 

We spent the majority of our two days in Suzhou simply staying away from the major streets and wandering off along laneways taking us into the heart of Suzhou’s local people and their neighbourhoods, away from the prying eyes of most tourists.  It was most satisfying for us to see that many of the old homes remain standing, for now.  Get to Suzhou while you can, before much of its history is destroyed to make way for future development.  I’m already planning a return trip!