We headed from that “home” to Dongshan (literal translation: east mountain?) to visit a thousand year old temple. We bought and lit some incense and then headed over to have some $1500/lb green tea.
On the way there…
The prayer area. Taking pictures of the bhudda is strictly forbidden (even in museums) in respect. I’m not religious or anything so I had no personal moral issues capturing it’s light.
Lighting incense and candles 
*Just about describes how I feel about the whole thing, but it’s still kinda cool, heh
We then decided to have some of the world’s best green tea.
Mom sitting in a chair that’s been sat in by many famous people.
There’s a lot of intricate details about this tea. You need to put the water in first and then the tea leaves, which drop immediately to the bottom. They are grown on the mountain itself, hand picked (only the top 2 leaves) and hand rolled. The water never boiling hot, it’s spring water from the the same mountain and kept at a temperature of 70-80C.
We also had a plate of Gingko nuts. These things taste pretty weird, very expensive too. Dunno what’s so special about them.
Also had dried mountain plums which were salted.
We then headed out to the modernized and newly developed area of Suzhou. It’s like an Irvine Spectrum except nobody’s there yet. Quite amazing how only 15 miles or so separate the rural farms and basically the city center. Completely opposites as far as scenery goes, but equally as beautiful. My only regret is not bringing a better lens…
On the way there…
Water surrounded both sides of the empty road. It was a really scenic drive.
The place is so deserted! They’ve basically prepared for the future when more people start to come over.
Some shops are still under construction while others are open for business, though there is hardly any foot traffic during this part of the year.
Nevertheless, it is still very pretty here.
We decided to head to another part of the city where people actually went to! At night, the place comes to life with lights everywhere.
This is where we ate for dinner, again, excellent seats!
The food was delicious too. Here’s one of their specialties… corn juice. You can see the 5 appetizers, we probably had about 15-20 dishes in total.
There was a part boat out on the lake.
This is all INSIDE the restaurant.
Here, you can see how they make the corn juice… just cut the kernels off, add syrup and water, and blend!
After this, my dad’s friend’s son took us out to see another part of the cities – the older portion right on the canals.
It was SO beautiful here, with the canal’s reflection of all the lights providing a mystical feel. A very relaxed atmosphere… perfect for doing your “after-dinner walk”
You can see how their doorsteps lead right down to the lake. Years ago, before this place modernized a bit, the lake was a huge resource. It was used for travel, trade, used to wash their clothes, and provide water to drink.
Here’s a little boat coming down the canal. Aside from the private tours, the people of the area like to go inside their boats at night and watch tv, play card games, drink, etc.
On the other side of the houses are shops.
We went late at night so some shops were closing down. If you notice, they have doors, but also board up the outside because that’s what they used to do. It ensures that the “town” doesn’t lose their traditional look and feel.
A shop selling pearls…
After that, we went for some tea and snacks. They really do love their tea here…
Of course it was next to the water…
Occasionally, a boat would go by. I thought this area had a wonderful ambiance. We need something like this in LA!
Afterwards, we headed home. It was a great day.
We’re caught up to Monday night now. Have all of today (Tuesday) to upload and write about.
Out.