We decided to take the tour to Suzhou today. Suzhou is a city about 2 hours ride from Shanghai on the lower Yangtze River. It is considered a small city in Chinese terms because it has a population of fewer than 10 million people. It also is home to some of the most beautiful classic gardens in China.
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| Tiger Hill Garden |
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| Leaning Temple at Tiger Hill |
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| Tiger Hill Garaden |
Our first visit was to the Tiger Hill garden. This garden is built over 1000 years ago. It covers approximately 50 acres and surrounds a leaning Buddhist temple. Our second visit was to the Master of the Nets Garden. This garden was originally constructed in 1140. It redesigned 1785 by a retired government official of the Qing Dynasty.[2] He drastically redesigned the garden and added new buildings, but retained the spirit of the site. He often referred to himself as a fisherman and renamed it the Master of the Nets Garden, in honor of the simple life of a fisherman.
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| Humle Administrators Garden |
The last garden we visited was the Humble Administrator’s Garden. It was originally started sometime between 618 and 907. In the and early 1500s a government minister bought it and spent 16 years building it into his residence and naming it the Humble Administrator’s Garden. At 51,950 m2 it is the largest garden in Suzhou and generally considered the finest garden in southern China. It was breathtakingly beautiful as the trees were beginning to show off their fall colors of red and gold.
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| Master the Net Garden |
The last part of our tour was a river cruise down a river that was diked on both sides and the city had built up on the banks. As you moved down the river you viewed the back of the houses of the local residents. We stopped for lunch at a local hotel and then boarded our bus and headed back to the ship for our voyage to Japan.
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| Our River Boat in Suzhou |
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| Canal Street in Suzhou |
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| Homes on Canal Street - Suzhou |
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| Home Canal Street - Suzhou |
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| Home on Canal Street |
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