Part 7 comes directly after viewing the property from the last post. I decided to split it up because that one was pretty picture intensive (well, all of them are actually), but also because too many pictures takes too long to load.
Suzhou is famous and known globally for their silk production. Shops line the city selling anything from blankets to scarves. You have to be careful though, because a lot of the shit is fake, even if it’s just as good. For example, you could find a “silk scarf” that is 0% silk but looks and feels 100% identical to the real thing. A lot of these are sold as real but only a local or someone in the know (I’m in the know now, details laters) could tell the difference. The other thing is price. A square scarf is listed at 35 yuan but a local can get it for as cheap as 10 yuan. You just gotta know your shit and not be afraid to lowball.
Engrish…
Of course, me being me; I saw a great business opportunity here. I won’t reveal too much publicly, but I think silk scarves and lingerie could sell well here. Definitely something that I am looking into pursuing.
So I took some pictures…
This car looks funny -_-
We then visited a gallery designed by famous architect I.M Pei. Of course with my parents being in the art field, some of the places we visit are geared more towards them, especially with their sculptor-friend guiding us.
This is a pillow. Hard pillows were used during the hot summer days. Not sure who’s head is tough enough to endure that though. Not mine, for sure.
This is a pretty gnarly looking elephant tusk. The art itself is simply stunning but something about it creeps me out.
Fan art… hehe
This is what emperors wore.
Overall, the gallery was okay. I’m not a big fan of art galleries at all, having tagged along to way too many as a child.
After a short drive, I found myself at yet another old Song dynasty “house”. Didn’t snap too many pictures at this one. The most amazing thing to me is how old the stuff is, and how accessible it is. In America, if anything is more than 100 years old, it’s velvet-roped off and considered an antique.
A short walk later, we visited our last one…
Walking through stuff like this never gets boring
Place selling silk blankets
More engrish
…and the place with my horribly underexposed images
These rocks are so odd, some of them look like people
A fake boat
Didn’t snap too many pics there either…
We decided to grab some lunch
We went to a noodle place that was alright. Something light and quick since we had been eating crazy gluttonous meals non-stop. I had noodles with lamb.
We visited the famous Tiger Hill. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Hill,_Suzhou)
Although I was pretty tired and reluctant to take too many pictures, this is one of the prettiest places on Earth that I have been to. It’s natural beauty and varied “settings” are simply breathtaking. The air seems so fresh, and with rain beating down that day, everything else just seemed so irrelevant.
We were offered rides too
Thousand people rock?
Double well
This thing leans nearly as much as the leaning tower of Pisa (which came afterwards).
There was instant longing for a wider lens.
Mother nature tried really hard when she built this place.
This place had a teahouse too. Surprise! We decided to take a break here. Dry up a bit, enjoy some really special green tea. I personally preferred this tea to the $1500/lb tea we had the day before. This green tea is grown on Tiger Hill.
With some dried fruits…
Filling up water
Walked back to the car…
Spotted a riced out Mazda6 too…
We had a nice dinner that night and went to bed early. We were going to Hangzhou early the next day…
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