A Day in Suzhou

     Today Lia woke up at 5:30 a.m. proclaiming it's "morning time".  So of course we were up and running so we could meet our guide and 8 a.m. to go on a tour of the City of Suzhou. Suzhou is an old city of about 2 million people about one hour outside of Shanghai.  It's known for two attractions that we saw today; "Tiger Hill" and "The Lingering Garden".    

 

The 36-meter-tall Huqiu (Tiger Hill) stands outside the lumen Gate to the north west of Suzhou. It was where the King of the State of Wu( a small state in the Spring and Autumn Periods over thousands of years ago) Fu Chai, buried his father-Helu along with 3,000 swords. Legend has it that on the third day after the burial, a white tiger appeared to guard the tomb, hence the name of the hill.

     Lingering Garden (留园, Liú Yuán) is located outside the Changmen gate (阊门) of Suzhou in Jiangsu Province. It was commissioned by an official named Xu Taishi (徐泰时) in 1593. A main feature in the garden is an artificial miniature mountain called Shi Ping Peak that is modeled after Tiantai Mountain in Putao.

     In between the two tours above we had lunch with our guide and driver.  Of course they selected the items off the menu..... and "WOW" was the food good!  After lunch we went to the Suzhou N0.1 Silk Factory where they taught us how silk is made and where it comes from.  It comes from the "silk worms"... 

Yummy

     All in all a good day in China.  Lia is loving all the waitresses that we have in various restaurants we eat in.  She is a "real charmer".  We eat breakfast in the hotel restaurant and this morning as we got off the elevator she loudly exclaimed "Hello, Ni Hao" when she saw the hostesses.  The time change, nap routines, sleep is tough, but we'll get through it.  We talk about Rosalie all the time and can't wait for Monday!