A Synthesis in Time: Suzhou (Part 1)

Suzhou is an old town in between my city of Changzhou and Shanghai. Most of the city is modernized but a section of it has been left mostly unrestored. It is surrounded by canals and has many more running through it in a grid system. Walking the roads of Suzhou you are brought back in time as you admire the old architecture and boats driven by locals floating alongside the roads, yet simultaneously you can appreciate how the modern day influences pervade the scenery. Suzhou was definitely a unique and wonderful place to see.

We bought tickets for an early train out to Suzhou. They only had high-speed train tickets available so we forked out an extra 20 yuan, but since Suzhou is fairly close to Changzhou it still only cost us 35 yuan each. This leg of our journey would be six days long; 2 1/2 days in Suzhou and then 3 1/2 days in Hangzhou. As we met up that morning to head to the station, the other five girls in my group looked at me rather incredulously. They each had a backpack crammed with stuff as well as a rolling bag……..I had one hiking backpack. Let’s just say I have a gift for consolidating and packing haha, a gift which served me well over the week, since I didn’t have to carry around a bunch of luggage.

Walking into the high-speed train was such a different experience from the slow-trains. Let me set the scene: Slow Train- as the train pulls up, it’s a mad-dash, complete with pushing and shoving, to get onto the train. If you make it inside you have to squeeze your way between people cluttering the aisles and dodge luggage being swung carelessly around. Once you find your seat, nine times out of ten, you have to kick someone out who may or may not give you a hard time about it. Then you sit through hours of being bumped and shoved, those with standing room only tickets are filling the aisles and staring at you, and you pray that the luggage that’s sliding around overhead isn't about to fall off the small metal shelves. The announcements over the intercom are entirely in Chinese so you strain to listen and hope the words you’re picking out are the station names so you know when to get off. You don’t realize how bad it smells until you get off and breathe the “fresh” air outside. Fast Train- As the train pulls up everyone forms fairly orderly lines to get in the doors. As you file in, you’re greeted with a well-lit, clean, uncluttered car. Your seat is empty and waiting for you with a comfy cushion and more legroom then you know what to do with. Signs overhead tell you in English which stations you’re stopping at and which ones are coming up. The ride is smooth and takes only 25 minutes instead of an hour.

See what I mean? But you know….I’m actually not sure which kind of train I prefer ;)

I was a little nervous arriving in Suzhou; it was our first time completely on our own and my group was pretty much dependent on me to make sure everything worked out. You see I’ve kind of accidently become a leader when it comes to travelling. Ever since Shanghai, it’s become my job to figure out trips, book hostels, find trains, get tickets, know directions……It can be both exciting and terrifying haha. Our first order of business was to purchase our tickets to get us from Suzhou to Hangzhou so that we didn’t have to worry about them later. It’s always a battle when it comes to getting train tickets. For one they can never seem to make up their mine about how far in advance we can get out tickets; 6 days….4 days…2 days…we’ve heard it all, I really think they just don’t like giving us tickets haha. After battling my way to the front of a line armed with my paper I had written the date for the tickets on and the name of where we wanted to go I attempted to get our tickets.

The lady at the window seemed to understand where I wanted to go but informed me with a few curt shakes of the head that there were no slow-train tickets left so we would have to get fast-train tickets which in this case were 5 times as expensive. My group had apparently decided they didn’t need to be there and had left to go wait by a wall, so I had to yell over angry Chinese people’s heads to try and get their attention to ask them what they wanted to do. That’s when the guy behind me (who apparently spoke English) asked if I could get out of line until I was ready to actually get tickets.

Slightly frustrated, we all decided to check the long-distance bus station, to see what those tickets would cost. We were so relieved to find an English speaker at the info desk who told us that we could get a bus to the North Hangzhou bus depot for only 70 yuan. She even wrote down the ticket details for us in characters so we could just give it to the guy in the window who promptly printed them out for us. We also asked her to write down the name and address of our hostel on a paper so we could get directions if we needed it. She was super helpful, and I am so grateful for her.

The real adventure was what came next. You see when I originally got the hostel, I was under the impression it was about a fifteen minute walk from the train station… boy was that wrong. Our first problem was that when we exited the train station there were next to no street signs and we couldn’t get ourselves oriented right. After walking back and forth several times we eventually gave in and bought one of the overpriced English city maps from the street vendors. Then it took us a little while to figure out where we were on the map. At that point I knew where we were and where we were going so we headed off down the rd to find one that could get us across a little canal area. We had to go several blocks east until we found one and then after heading south not nearly as far as we needed to that road stopped and we had to turn off again. We eventually came to a bridge that we had to back track a little to go over and then a few more blocks down that rd is when we finally recognized a street name from the directions the hostel had given us. We followed that road a little ways and turned off onto Baita Dong Lu which shrunk from a main rd into a small street and after nearly an hour we found our hostel tucked back in an alley off of that street. We were very relieved to finally get there, and to whoever said it was a short walk……you must have had really long legs or something.

The hostel itself was, in my opinion, one of the coolest ones I’ve been to here in China. It was kind of a sketchy one, a little dirty and in an older building, but the vibe was definitely legit. Entering the hostel you are greeted with a small reception area with walls covered in ads for other hostels and for concerts and parties at a nearby club. To the left is a small desk where we check in and to the front at first you think is a wall but on further inspection you find that you can go around it into a large group area. There you find pool tables, foosball, a bar, a stage, a couple loft areas with chairs and some niches with lamps and pillows. Back in the reception area, if you go left you find a staircase winding up 4 floors. All along the walls are hundreds of names, quotes, and drawings in various languages, posted by former tenants that had passed through. Their legacy left behind to be read by future travelers. Reaching the top floor, you see a wall of showers and around the corner a co-ed bathroom complete with a urinal two squatters and a western toilet that didn’t flush.

The other way is a hallway where the rooms are. At the end of the hallway is a door opening onto a rooftop terrace with the most beautiful view off the entire city. There was also a fire-escape, which I used several times instead of the inside stairs. You could also climb another set of stairs up to where an antenna was and get an even more spectacular view. The bedrooms consisted of 3 metal bunk beds and six lockers. Our window opened onto the street below and so provided us with a wonderful view of the bustling city.

Admittedly some might consider the hostel run-down and dirty and wouldn’t have liked it (some of the reviews testify to that) but in my opinion I would not stay anywhere else in Suzhou, if you want a cultural experience in Suzhou, the Lohas Youth Hostel is the way to go.

After unpacking and taking a brief rest from travelling, we set forth to explore the city. As we walked up Baita Dong Lu we were fascinated by what we saw. Lining the road were tons of pet stores. There would be four or five in a row, and what made it even weirder was that none of us had ever seen one anywhere else that we had been. I must say the vet inside me did cringe now and again at the condition of some of the cages and the dirtiness of a few of the animal hospitals. However, despite the odd nature of the shops the road itself was very cool.

It was a small street lined with these pretty white trees that gave it a very old town feel. The buildings were all “white” with black moldings in an old-style design. Part-way down the street we passed by a small pedestrian street. We almost didn’t go down it, but we changed our minds and ventured forth. Good thing too as it tuned out to be one of the famous attractions of the city.

It was a small road lined with various shops and restaurants. Running along the side of the road was a long canal with boats that you could rent out to row you up and down it.

A few shops in we came across the most glorious sight; a place serving pasta and legit salads :D Despite the fact that it was (gasp!) a whole five dollars a plate (how dare they! ;D), we decided to eat dinner there. I ordered a plate of spaghetti, which had to be the best plate of spaghetti I will ever eat. Afterwards we walked up the street a little ways and explored a few of the trinket shops. After a while we gave in and rented one of the boats to ride up the canal in.

It had started getting dark so the street was lit-up and as we floated serenely down the canal we of course bust out into random song, which inspired our driver to begin singing to us in Chinese. It was as we journeyed back to be dropped off that I spotted what would be a life changing place on the street.

All I saw was a green and white sign saying “GoMax” and what appeared to be a yummy looking drink. We scurried back down the street after getting off the boat and found the shop. That’s right, we had found it, somewhere to finally get…. A smoothie!! They had caomei (strawberry) and mangguo (you guessed it, mango) and they were the second most glorious thing we had found that night.

After thoroughly enjoying our splendid discovery, we headed further down Baita Dong lu to the first main road which we turned down. We walked up and down it for awhile, until we got tired and began heading back towards the hostel. That’s when we came across some street performers on the corner of the main road and Baita. They were two guys singing and playing guitar hoping to earn some cash. They were very talented so we stopped to listen. It was quite funny to watch as the crowd suddenly became a lot thicker after we showed up. A few songs in I randomly decided to do a little dance with Dayna and some of the Chinese got really excited and started motioning for us to perform something for them. The singers smiled and waved at me to come up as my fellow travelers tried to push me from behind, but my terror froze me. A couple songs later I finally gave in, much to everyone’s delight and was handed a guitar and placed in front of a microphone.

Yeah, scariest moment ever! However, it was also the coolest moment ever, as I began to play the only song I ever have confidence to play in front of big crowds; Hear You Me by Jimmy Eat World. There was no way they understood a word out of my mouth but boy did they get into it, the singers even played a little drummer beat along with me. I’m pretty sure I got video recorded by a couple of them haha. When I finished they all cheered as I quickly scurried away, I’m so glad it was dark so no one could see me blushing. We left the corner and ended the night back at our hostel. We were all pretty dead from the long day so we decided to get to bed early.

It was an adventurous day, but our time in Suzhou had only just begun…

…

In The Peace Of The Mountain Tops: HuangShan

Every semester ILP gives its teachers one long vacation so they can travel and see more of the country. It’s 10 days long and I've been super excited for it since before I even came out here to China. My group which consists of six teachers (including me) are planning on going to three different cities over the course of our vacation. I’m going to give each city its own post so that it can be broken up a bit haha.

Our first stop was to a beautiful place called HuangShan. It is the name of both a mountain range and the city at its base. In Chinese “Huang” means yellow and “Shan” means mountain. So as you could probably guess the mountain range is also referred to as the yellow mountains. For this leg of our journey we decided to go with a tour group to see the mountain. So early sat morning (Oct 1) we left our dear school and headed to the train station which is where the bus depot was. With it being the Chinese National holiday it was crazy trying to catch a bus to the station. Every one that came by was jammed full, but we managed to get one in time to make our scheduled pick up at 12:30.

First thing to note about this tour is that it was a Chinese tour haha, luckily our guide spoke some English so he could explain some stuff to us but whenever he talked about the mountains or did any of the touristy stuff we never knew a word of what he was saying. Another lucky thing was that one of the guys on our tour named Jack spoke really good English and was kind of a life-saver. He made sure we always knew where to be and when and what was going on. It was actually super fun.

After boarding our bus we began the long journey south to HuangShan. It was a lovely six hour bus ride during which I was stuck in a seat that I couldn't lean back because the handle was broken. It was like sitting against a wall. Somehow I managed to fall asleep for part of the ride, but I was sure sore when I got up. Our first stop in town was at a yummy restaurant for some dinner. There was a rotating platform on the table where they set dishes of rice, chicken, pork, veggies, fish, and various things that we had no idea what they were. It was delicious!

Afterwards we drove to a famous shopping street where we got to wander in and out of some super cool shops. There were men making candy and stone combs. There were painting and wooden scrolls. All I bought was some postcards however cause I was saving my money for the super legit stuff we would find the next day. After the market we finally made it to our hotel, which was probably the nicest place we will ever stay at while we’re here. We had two people to a room and the beds were super soft (compared to our rooms at the school anyways haha), it was really clean, and big and we had working air conditioners. The bathroom had the first bathtub I’ve seen since I’ve been here. It was a beautiful sight!! That along with a western toilet makes for a good stay!

It was such an exhausting bus ride that we crashed pretty early once we got to the hotel, we had to get up super early too in order to make it to breakfast before checkout at 8. The breakfast consisted of boiled eggs, some fried bread and rolls, fried rice, a kind of dumpling, and basically was just amazing. At our school breakfast is usually a boiled egg a pastry and a bowl of really bland rice porridge, so needless to say it was quite a treat. After breakfast we boarded the bus and drove about an hour to Huizhou, which is an old ancient village of HuangShan.

All the old buildings are still there and there is a small lake at the front with a pretty bridge that we crossed. Most of the streets are narrow with small waterways flowing down the side.

People still live in the old dwellings and make a living selling, food, tea, and handmade trinkets to the hundreds of tourists who pass through each day. One disconcerting thing I saw was one woman who was washing her vegetables right downstream from another who was washing a raw chicken. They used the waterway for everything. While I was there I found a tucked away shop where a man was hand-painting scenes of the city on fabric and hanging them in hand-made wood frames. I got one for 35 Yuan (or about $6). It’s one of my favorite things I’ve found. There were also bamboo cups and bowls and wood pieces carved with pictures of the mountains or the city. It was certainly a cool little place to see.

After the ancient village we stopped for a quick lunch and then headed to the base of the mountain. To get up the first 6km of the mountain we took a cable-car. The views were spectacular although possibly slightly to highly frightening, especially with the car sporadically bouncing around. Just to get to the cable-car however was quite the adventure. Picture for me if you will hundreds of Asians packed into a small confined area attempting to shuffle, push, and squeeze their way to the front of a “line” as 12 oblivious Americans attempt to avoid being butted and shoved backwards. I’m telling you it was a battle for the ages!

However, I managed to come out triumphant by making friends with three sweet Korean women who very much enjoyed my sporadic outbursts of singing (I even sang some mamma mia when they requested it). They became my little bodyguards and aided us in making our three hour way up to the front of the line. I was sad to part ways with them, but I will never forget that sweet experience.

At the top of the cable car we were greeted by the most wondrous views. Unfortunately we arrived as mist was rolling in so we quickly put on a few more layers before beginning our 8km trek to our hotel on the mountain.

The path was all stone paved, which was good thinking on their part since the mountains climate is most commonly rain and mist, if it wasn’t paved it would be completely muddy and slippery (and with hundreds of Chinese tourists alone visiting the mountain every day that would be a disaster waiting to happen).

Some small slightly masochistic part of me wishes I knew how many steps we climbed that day, but it is probably better not to know.

All I can say is that we started from the cable car around 4 pm and didn’t get to our hotel until about 9:30. The majority of the people in our group severely disliked the entire hike and say it was the worst thing they’d ever done. I was soaking wet, stumbling up and down countless stone steps in the pitch black fog, at the top of the largest mountain range in China, surrounded by people who don’t speak English, and simply trusting that I was going the right way since it was too dark to see where my guide was most of the time and you know…….It was the best experience of my life! :D I wouldn’t have traded it for anything else!

When we got to our hotel, it was a glorious sight. Nestled in a mountainside, and shrouded in mist it was the coolest place I’ve ever stayed. The travel agency had told us that the conditions at the hostel were not very good, but I gotta say they were pretty awesome in my opinion.

The beds were soft, it was warm, and the lobby was super nice. Sure they didn’t give us towels and we had to bring our own toothbrushes (a lot of hotels here provide complimentary ones) but other than that it was pretty sweet. There were 12 of us in one room (five bunk beds and two pullouts) and we had one tiny bathroom, but we only slept there so we didn’t need much room. We woke up at 5:30 the next morning to head up to a lookout point in hopes of seeing a sunrise over the mountains. It was looking pretty promising but just before the sun was supposed to rise, thick mist rolled in and we could barely see our hands in front of our faces. It was also cold and windy, but man, before that wind blew in it was the most wondrous view. Gorgeous, tree covered, rocky mountain tops rising out of a foggy ocean; nothing could compare.

The hike off the mountain was just about as long, but much faster. We took a different route and didn’t take the cable car. It wasn’t as foggy as the day before and as we descended out of the cloud bank we got to really see the beauty of the mountain. It was unlike anything I had seen before. So different from the look of my mountains back home, the yellow mountains had a beauty all their own. Not even pictures could do them justice.

The hike was almost entirely downhill and the stone steps were somewhat steep so by the time we finished my calves and thighs certainly did not like me. Standing at the bottom of that mountain and looking up to where I had previously been standing definitely brought an amazing feeling of accomplishment and wonder. From there we started back towards Changzhou, which was eight hours away. This time I made sure to get a seat that I could lean back in haha.

Getting back to our school was relieving, we were all so happy just to get the chance to put our feet up. It was weird not having Kareena there, since she was off with a different group. The room seemed kind of empty, but alas I passed out fairly quickly so I didn’t have much time to think about it haha. That was the end of our adventure to the top of China, but the next day our travels would continue…..

Impromptu

The other day a group of us decided to take a random trip into town to see what we could find. We just wanted to find out what this “little” city of ours has to hide. So we hopped on our favorite bus the 302 and headed towards downtown. We got off by the Tesco we had seen before and began our journey wandering around this little mall across the street. We were surprised to see that it was almost completely dead. It was the middle of the day on a weekend and there was hardly a person in sight. We soon decided that the mall must not be officially open yet because it looked as if some store were still moving stuff in, but there were a few random places open.

We came to a big courtyard and were quick to find the most random thing to do. Ride around on some animal toy things that you could wheel around. Oh the simple joys haha.

Then as we explored some more we were pleased to discover an arcade. However the greatest treat was at the top where we stumbled upon a truly joyous sight: a legit roller rink. We’re talking the four wheeled skates with the big chunky brakes on the front and everything. No. Joke. I was in heaven. And apparently were a couple of the Chinese girls there too because when they saw us they screamed and ran over and motioned (they spoke no English of course) for us to come out on the floor. This is apparently where all the people were. It was three levels and as we rode up to each one we made some cool discoveries such as bowling lanes a basketball court and pool tables.

It took all of 3.5 seconds for Dayna and I to run over to the counter pay our 15 yuan and strap on those babies. Soon after Kareena and Kelli followed while everyone else waited and watched. The girls we had met helped us around the rink until we got into the groove and then we had the time of our lives.

I think we may have cause a bit of chaos with our stumbling around but everyone seemed tickled pink that us four white girls were at their rink. It has been so long since I’d been to a roller rink but by the time we left I had gotten back into my old ways. I can assure you, more trips shall follow ;)

The rest of the day consisted of us finding the beautiful Hong Mei City Park, which is a huge park with lakes and trees and hills you can climb for spectacular views. It was so relaxing and peaceful.

We even discovered where you can rent peddle boats. Unfortunately the ticket office was closed so we opted to go back another day. We walked through the park and then started in the direction we thought the train station was. We ended up down a sketchy back alley where there was people with old air conditioners and fridges and people cutting big slabs of meat. It was a totally Chinese non-tourist thing that was a little unnerving but as we popped out the other end and looked left we were greeted by the lovely sight of the train station and the bus we needed to take home.

It was definitely a day to remember!