Suzhou

I had decided to devote a day to Suzhou (苏州). It's about 100 km west of Shanghai and easily reached by rail. But first I had to reach Shanghai Train Station which is to the north of the centre. I took circle line 4 which is elevated. It was a nice change from travelling underground. It was a muggy overcast day but fortunately cool.

At the train station I had to spend time queuing to buy a ticket from the counter because I had to show my passport as ID. Citizens can swipe their ID cards at automats but not everybody was comfortable with automation so lines were long. Then I had to linger in the waiting room. So I didn't get away until 1200. Here you see the cavernous corridor linking the platforms. It was a big station yet it would be dwarfed by Hongqiao Station which I would use the next week.

The journey took only 40 minutes as the train reached 300 km/h speed. In China I spent far more time queuing for tickets and waiting than on the actual travel which was fast on the high-speed trains.

At the other end there was a similarly large though less crowded station as Suzhou is not an insignificant city; it has a population of 10 million, more than some small countries. I decided that I would buy a return ticket in advance to save time later.


According to my guide, it is possible to walk to the city from the station, but it looked like empty land in between so I caught bus 1 which went through the main drag. This was a wise move. It only cost 1 yuan anyway, about 15 cents.

Suzhou looked like any modern Chinese city, with shops and department stores lining Renminlu, the main drag. I wasn't sure exactly where the sights were but when I saw a colourful gateway, I figured it must lead to some landmark so I hopped off.

This turned out to be a pedestrian mall lined with modern shops. But it was a long mall so there was still hope.

Finally I ended in front of the Xuanmiao Taoist Temple. Hardly anybody seemed to be interested in paying to go in, they were just strolling around. It was a relaxing antidote to crowded Shanghai streets where you would only get enough space in the parks.

Now about those modern buildings. The structure might be modern, but according to plaques some of those establishments have been in operation for decades or even centuries.

The plaque would have some story about how a famous person, high official or even the emperor passed through and a special dish was concocted in his honour, and ever since, they have been serving that dish.

I suppose one could go on a historical gastronomic tour in Suzhou. Another thing Suzhou is famous for to this day is silk, but I can't tell you anything about that.

Finally, at the end of the mall, I found a small example of the willow lined canals with which Suzhou justifies its appellation of the Venice of China.

It seems that there is far more to see in Suzhou than I allocated time for. It is, after all a city of 10 million and so must cover a lot of area. Maybe some other time. But be sceptical of tourist brochures. I suspect that official photographers bring along riot police to shoo away all the bystanders before taking pictures. So you imagine that you will see this beautiful gate all by yourself, and when you get there, you have to share the view with 1000 other people.


(I took a lot of pictures of street food in Suzhou so I'll put them in a separate post to spread out the pictures.)