I am falling behind in updating this blog. The main reason is the slowness of the internet in most of the hotels that I am staying. The hotels are big so when most of the guests are logging onto the internet, the traffic crawls. I try to update as soon as I can while the memories are still fresh. Going to many places in one day and then going to multiple cities on one trip can get your mind all confused. I am now in Lhasa, Tibet.
The Suzhou Museum is a museum of ancient Chinese art, paintings, calligraphy and handmade art. It was founded in 1960. In 2006 it was moved to a new location. The new building is designed by renowned Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei and completed in October 2006. It is one of the most visited museums in the world. Although it is not a very big museum like the Louvre or Metropolitan Museum in New York, its architecture and landscape is what make this museum famous. For a deeper dive into the design concept behind this museum, click on this link to read more about it:
https://artsandculture.google.com/story/suzhou-museum-an-i-m-pei-masterwork-suzhou-museum-%E8%8B%8F%E5%B7%9E%E5%8D%9A%E7%89%A9%E9%A6%86/hgXxr9NyQc6tKA?hl=en
More about Suzhou Museum:
https://pei-architects.com/projects/suzhou-museum/
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| Entrance to the Museum |
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| Tribute to I M Pei |
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| Architectural Landscape |
Below are some of the exhibits:
Tongli was not on my itinerary but because I have an extra free day I decided to engage my guide Bruce to show me more of Suzhou. He decided to take me outside of the city, where it is crowded with tourists, to a "water town" about an hour away. Why is it a water-town? Perhaps it is because it is criss-crossed by canals. Tongli is called the Venice of the East and is probably what is shown on marketing literatures about Suzhou.
I was delighted to come to Tongli because in my mind, that's what I picture Suzhou to be. Unfortunately, Suzhou is also inundated with tourists, although there are some parts in Tongli where it is not overcrowded. It is best that I show the town in pictures and videos below.
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| A typical mealtime |
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| A traditional teahouse |
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| Young lady learning the Pipa |
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| A Canal scene |
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| Shop selling goodies |
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| Pork Knuckles are popular here |
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| An old traditional house |
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| Busy scene at the canal bridge |
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| Shopping for beans |
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| Dressed up for photography |
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| Dressed up for photography |
Above: our gondolier singing her favorite song
Many tourists were strolling along the canals. Some were dressed up for photography. It seems like a popular thing for young ladies in China to do. Go to a business, rent beautiful dresses, made up and take photographs. They were all over town.
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