Suzhou Water City

The train to Suzhou

After leaving Shanghai we headed by train to Suzhou a little further inland. Suzhou is one of a number of so-called 'water towns' on the flat productive paddy regions traditionally served by a network of canals, thus retaining a vista of old China with its waterways and hump-backed bridges.

A series of images of the Taoist temple in Suzhou

We wandered first into this Taoist temple with rich illustrations of mythical and historical figures

A map of the old city and its surrounding canals

A little further down the main avenue was a tall Buddhist pagoda.

Views of the main Buddhist temple

The pagoda had excellent views of the city from the top.







We also hired push bikes and rode around as much of the canals as we could, which formed a kind of square moat around the old centre of the city.

A series of image of the canals and surrounds

Canal rubbish collectors

Tourist taxi boats

A traditional well right by the canal

A Wikimedia image of a region of the canals we missed

Suzhou is also famous for its classical gardens. We chose to visit the garden of the Master of the Nets, but there are several others, including that of the 'Humble Administrator'.

A series of images from the garden of the Master of the Nets.

The out door tea house

Two traditional humpback bridges we missed (internet image)

Suzhou, like Shanghai, is a collision between ancient and modern with a garish commercial centre right in the middle of the 'old city' precincts.

Form Suzhou we headed on by bus for an overnight stop at Hangzhou ... here you get a good idea of what is happening to some of the richest and most productive agricultural areas ...

The crowded bus station in Suzhou and scenes of the journey to Hangzhou

Industrial wasteland

Fairytale Chinese massive housing developments for the 'middle class'