Chinese Sex Culture
After being in Suzhou for a week, I have seen many things that distinguish this city from its brothers and sisters throughout China. Everything from the gardens and historical districts to the broad, tree-lined avenues is remarkably well kept.
A stream of lazy days strolling through the meticulously sculpted landscaping was only interrupted once by a day trip to the canal city of Tongli; a less developed and scarcely modernized version of Suzhou from it’s time of historical glory. It was an excellent glimpse back to the era of Marco Polo; I could easily see why this area drew such great admiration from the famed Venetian explorer. The gathering of white buildings bordering winding canals and cobbled streets of this quiet town can force an overwhelming peace and awe upon even the most jaded traveler.
Click here for all of my photos from Tongli
It is also home to the mysteriously out-of place Chinese Sex Culture Museum. The strange collection of varied phallic statues, old “toys” and eunuch castrating tools offered a world of educational insight into one of humankinds two basic needs for survival; the other being food/water. However, I found this museum to be a bit ironic, located so close to Suzhou… which has recently given the impression as the prostitution capitol of China.
Within the first couple of nights in town I set out exploring the popular bar-street, in search of a live venue and hoping to scratch the itching I have to find my self on the playing end of a drum kit. After an hour with no result the hunt started to seem hopeless and I was lured into a bar by a siren singing of Y10 beers. Not even halfway through my drink, I had already been solicited from all sides with offers of cheap sexual favors. I quickly finished the beer and returned to the streets only to be accosted incessantly by more “Chicken Bar” and “Late-Night Barbershop” girls. After this experience, I became aware of the disproportionate number of these places scattered throughout town and was a bit disenchanted with the night-side of this otherwise urbane city.
Fortunately, I finally stumbled across ‘Shamrock’, an Irish pub playing host to an assortment of friendly locals, expats and a pool table in immaculate condition. Here I had the rather odd occurrence of meeting ‘Adam Shone’ on his very similar path through China and the eventually the world. The event was enough to make any feeling I had about my trip’s unique individuality quiver with skepticism.
Oh well… next stop is Shanghai! I’m hoping to find a drum-set and that last bit of westernized city-life before heading further into the mainland and toward the great mysteries of the Indian subcontinent.
Click here for my photos of the Shantang Historical Canal Area
Click here for my collection of photosets of the Gardens of Suzhou
Click here for all my photos of Suzhou
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Tags: - Photography, - Transport & Travel, Asia, China, Jiangsu, Suzhou
Adam Shane
Long time to read your story, which was a bit shocking when reaching its part about the girls at the bar. nrnrI’ve once been in Shanghai for a business trip but there wasn’t quite a special impression after making visits in HongKong many times before that. And acutally I wasn’t allowed to spend enough time to search for any further impression on it. So, I do hope you can give more time to the city for exploration and find better impression for me! nrnrI miss you, Adam.
It’s a good warm-up for Thailand!!
Adam Shone hahahaha. Atleast he was not from Jersey… or was he?
Dude, you went to a phallus museum?…muahahah! JK 🙂
I just met a guy that has been vagabonding for 3 years, and is going to Cape Town to cross Africa (longways) by land to Egypt!
Just goes to show, no matter how hard core or unique you think you are, there is always someone out there doing more.
its good hearing what you’re up to!! i’m unsure how you have managed to enjoy traveling china this long!