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Itinerary:
Oct 13: 8:00 a.m. meet at the hotel lobby, bus to Tongli Village, dinner at Suzhou and overnight stay in Suzhou
Oct 14: Visit Suzhou stay the night in Suzhou
Oct 15: Free in the morning and return to Nanjing after lunch
After spending the night in Suzhou, the group took off the next day for a tour of temples and gardens, as well as a silk factory. Our first stop was a temple, where fortunately, a temple fair was taking place. Our tour guide, Jenny explained the sights to us, while Joe Relyea and Lee Stevens posed in front of the "leaning tower of Suzhou." One of the sights and sounds that first caught everyone's eyes and ears as they entered the place was the sound of a woman playing the guzheng, a traditional Chinese intstrument, from a balcony.
We saw some amazing acrobatic acts at the temple fair. Men appeared to be balancing children with one hand, people walked about and did acrobatic tricks on stilts, and one man did things with a clay pot that that shouldn't be tried at home!
A woman not only balanced a table on her two legs, but was very adept at "juggling" it as well--certainly another trick NOT to try without supervision. Those who came to the temple fair were your regular visitors, such as elderly who bring their birds with them as they chat with friends, or sing parts of Chinese opera. Others were tourists that made sure they got photos of themselves in front of scenic or important monuments. This man is sitting in front of a carving that indicates the place where archaeologists believe a Han dynasty (215BCE-214CE) emperor may have been buried.
The next two stops on our list was a temple dedicated to the famous buddhist Han Shan, and a garden. Since it was the weekend, all the places we visited were crowded. Caitlin Loureiro put the situation most succintly--"if we were all to play Red Rover, the Chinese would surely win." As usual, Campbell Heath got singled out by the Chinese as they inquired how tall he is (6'6"). It's still unusual for Chinese to see such tall people. Kwok Lee and Jess Schpero decided to hang out by a pond that was filled with lots of happy carp. Kwok talked to a woman sitting next to him, while Jess played with the little girl beside her as she and her grandfather threw crumbs to the fish. Pamela Lutin and Ian Saratovsky were approached by a group of tourists who came from Shanxi province. They were part of a Christian group and were interested in making friends with Ian and Pam.
Ian Saratovsky was taken with the public spitoons/trash bins that look like animals (sometimes even soccer balls). And Robert Federici decided to contemplate China while perched on a rock in the garden.
After having enough touring of temples and gardens, not to mention tons of tourists, we retired to a tea house where a woman introduced us to the art of tea drinking. We tasted five kinds of 2nd grade tea. Each kind of tea is drunk in a special way--by tasting, slurping, smelling, looking, or "eating." Neil Routman, Jeanne Hinckley, Ian Saratovsky, and Campbell Heath test out the proper posture for drinking, while Averi Pakulis and Pamela Lutin test out the art of slurping.
But the day was not quite over and after lunch, we treked off to a silk factory where we witnessed the entire process of silk making. We also witnessed a silk quilt in the making and were treated to a fashion show of silk clothing. From the factory we were led to a clothing store where one could by just about any kind of silk product. Needless to say, more holiday presents were purchased here.
Neil Routman
was so inspired by the fashion show that he promptly tried on a dressing gown
and tested it out in front of the mirror.
Modern Languages | East Asian Studies | Terms Abroad
Term Abroad in Nanjing, China
For questions about the current program contact Megan Ferry
Last updated October 28, 2000