Text by Ai Su / Photo Source: ylj.suzhou.gov.cn

The refined temperament in local culture and the feminine beauty of the scenery of Suzhou never fail to impress travellers, especially those living in north China like myself who are tired of the masculine and robust characteristics of that area. Last October, I finally got a chance to visit this ancient city in the lower reaches of the Yangtze.

I can still recall the excitement of that moment when I had just arrived in Suzhou: a humid autumn weather with clear sunshine and mild wind, delicately pretty girls speaking in the sweet, mellow tones of the Wu dialect, the beautifully displayed foodstuff of the local folk, the crisp and delightful tune of ballad singing from the distant alley... The enduring impression of an ineffable beauty lingered in my mind for days.

During my five days trip in Suzhou, I stayed with my friend Yang and his parents, a very hospitable local family. I will never forget Yang's mother's palatable home-made dishes and the tradition decoration of her house. They lived in the center of the city. What surprised me was the government's policy to preserve the city's unique garden-like appearance by making sure that all the resident buildings within the city center were constructed in a tradtional style.

The first few days of my trip in Suzhou were used to visit famous scenic spots, such as Tiger Hill and Humble Administrator's Garden. Tiger Hill deserves a long visit because there are dozens of scenic spots on the hill, each with its own story. One spot especially worth mentioning here is the Huqiu Pagoda, also named Yunyansi Pagoda. This ancient leaning pagoda has stood soaring into the sky for over one thousand years and is known as "the Orient’s Pisa Tower". The Humble Administrator's Garden was large and somewhat artificial, I felt, sprawling over five hectares. It also featured large numbers of flowers and tourists. While beautiful, it felt more like a crowded park than a garden, and impressed me far less than the Lingering Garden which I visited afterwards. Feeling exhausted after strenuous day trips, I often went to the night market to have supper. I also bought some local pastry specialties and dried beancurd. The dried beancurd in Suzhou is more succulent and sweet than those of other regions partly because of the high water purity of Suzhou.

Apart from these large gardens, there are also many small-sized gardens once owned by wealthy but now historical inhabitants. Lingering Garden(Liu Yuan) is such an example. The garden is famed for its awe-inspiring and spacious Nanmu Hall (nanmu is the name of a precious hardwood in China), the elaborate and elegant Hall of Mandarin Ducks, and the Guanyunfeng, the largest Taihu rock even found south of the Yangtze River. I noticed that many newly-married couples in modern fashionable dress took their wedding pictures here. This blend of tradition and fashion was something akin to a work of art in its appearance.

After I had finished visiting these gardens, Yang took me to experience the local city life. Riding on a scooter to go sight-seeing, I found that this is the main form of transport in Suzhou apart from the public transportation. Indeed you can see people of all ages ride these scooters about town. Suzhou is indeed a small but exquisite city with a main trunk traversing the region: Streets and alleys extend side by side with canals; Small bridges and flowing waters, white walls and dark grey rooftiles match one another in tranquil elegance. We went to the restaurants and tried famous dishes including Mandarin Fish in Squirrel Shape, Emerald Snails, Snowflake Crab, Vegetable Duck, Steamed Pork in Lotus Leaves. I gorged myself with these culinary delights without caring about my weight for once, because these dishes were all cooked in a low-fat way, with ingredients mainly consisting of fresh-water fish and vegetables.

My journey to Suzhou was indeed wonderful. I had never found a city in China with so many attractions. "In heaven," goes an old Chinese saying, "there is paradise. On earth, Suzhou and Hangzhou." This saying is absolutely true!

(CRIENGLISH.com)