People would be wondering that why I am writing travel story of 10 days ago. I have to say that I was trying to write it just after finish the day, but the chinese government sucks, their internet firewall "Golden shield" blocked my blog, I could not even read the website. Well, then I think before I forget everything, I have to finish the travel story.
Well, I went to Suzhou with a tour, because I wanted to hear from the guide about the history of each place. Because the history of China is so interested, if you go anywhere without understand the history or story, it will be meaningless.
I decided to go Suzhou, it is because when I went to the tourism agency, there was a phrase, from a famous chinese poet, he said "if you go to Suzhou and you don't go to tiger hill, it will be a pitty".
Tiger Hill
Nowaday, it is famous of the tower called "Yunyansi tower (雲岩寺塔)", it is an eastern Pisa tower, this tower is about 1000 year of history. The hill is about 300 m around only, so you don't have to climb a lot of steps, just in 5 mins you can get the tallest point.
The tower is getting everyday more inclined, in 2008 was only 2 degrees and something, now it is more severe.
There was too many people, I want to take some picture with clean scene, but hardly to take the them out of the screen.
Tiger hill was a place where the king of country of Wu lives with his wife in 2500 years ago, the famous beauty of the history of China, Xishi (西施). This place got the name of tiger hill is that when the king was dead, his tumb was build up in somewhere of this hill, together with at least 3000 precious swords. At the third day he die, the spirit of the sword converts into a tiger and staying there on the hill to protect his tumb, then people call the place Tiger hill.
The tumb of the king haven't be found yet, it still is a mistery of China history, but some archeologist think that it is related with the "Sword lagoon".
Lingering garden
Well, it is just garden for me, it is a fuxxing big garden, I almost got lost inside.
It is pretty, but I am not so interested if there are no related with chinese history.
I like stories, you know, specially those kind of war between some chinese old countries, blah blah blah.
In China, we have a very famous phrase, "beauty comes from Suzhou". Mainly that was one key point that attracted me also for this trip, but I could not find out a lot of pretty one. Maybe it is as usual, pretty girls do not appear on daytime...
Hanshan Temple
It is a traditional chinese buddism temple, it is famous 'cause its big bell sounds. Normally chinese people knows about this temple is because it was mentioned in a poem. I like this kind of temple tower, it looks very nice. ^^
Inside the temple you can knock the big bell by paying 5 RMB, I did not do that but a lot of people was knocking that in order to get some good luck. I am not supersticious so..
The poem:
月落烏啼霜滿天，
江楓漁火對愁眠。
姑蘇城外寒山寺，
夜半鐘聲到客船。
| Yuè luò wū tí shuāng mǎn tiān,
Jiāng fēng yú huǒ duì chóu mián.
Gūsū chéngwài Hánshán Sì,
Yèbàn zhōngshēng dào kèchuán.
| While I watch the moon go down, a crow caws through the frost;
Under the shadows of maple-trees a fisherman moves with his torch;
And I hear, from beyond Suzhou, from the temple on Cold Mountain,
Ringing for me, here in my boat, the midnight bell
|
The garden of the couple's retreat
It is located inside of the Suzhou's old city, the city is rounded by a river protector, that's why Suzhou in old time was a city really hard to conquest. Suzhou is like a Venice in Italy, a lot of river inside of the city, just walking 100 meter you can find a river in front of you.
The garden is comparatively small than the previous one, but it is very special and nominated as world heritage.
The exit of this garden is through the backdoor, take a ship for 2 mins. That is why chinese people usually use the word of "go through the back door" as the origin of giving undertable money or non legal ways. Well, something like that.
After finish this, we departs to go back to Shanghai. Go back home for more rest then the next day I can be more powerful to hang around Beijing.
