So, on the way back, Coop and Coyote stopped into the tiny little market that was wedged between some of the dilapidated housing near the hotel, and, having poked through the guidebook for some drinking suggestions, bought a little bottle of clear stuff, which our guidebook described as “the people’s drink.” The people’s solvent, more likely – it smelled as though it could remove about three layers of manicure, and judging from the reactions of my colleagues, tasted about the same. Turns out it’s called “Erguotou,” which I think in Chinese means “Do not drink this shite under any circumstances.”After lunch at the hotel, it transpired that a tour had been arranged for the whole group up to Tiger Hill.
Tiger Hill (Huqiu Liu) is in the northwest part of Suzhou. it’s the burial site of the city’s founder, King Helu, and according to our tour guide, it’s named “Tiger Hill” because of a white tiger that appeared three days after the king’s death and refused to leave. The park is full of relics of He Lu; a huge split boulder called the “sword-testing rock,” supposedly split by He Lu’s incredibly sharp sword; and a small pond under which there are supposedly 3000 buried swords, another tribute to He Lu, who is buried somewhere in the same vicinity.
This is a beautiful park that we had to leave much too quickly. It is lush and green, with colorful flowers and incredibly interesting rock formations; stone bridges; springs; temples; and the seven-storey Yunyan pagoda, which leans precipitously to one side. I could have stayed there another 2 hours, even in the humid heat.
The next stop on the tour was a silk factory, where we were taken through the steps in silk production. It’s probably good to be reminded that the production of silk actually involves picking off a huge number of sentient beings; nevertheless, it’s an amazing process, and you have to wonder who thought of it first. At the factory you see the whole sequence, from silkworms munching to the cocoons that have been spun, the steaming of the cocoons and the extraction of the silk fibers, and then the huge looms. When it’s all over, you can exercise unbridled consumerism in the store, which of course we all did – the prices were not cheap, but they were a lot less than the same goods would have costs in the States, and the bedding and clothing sold there was very beautiful.
The next leg of the trip took place in the Old City. We were scheduled to go to the Suzhou Museum, but it was closed, so we were given a free hour. Some signs indicated that the thing I had wanted most to see in Suzhou, the Humble Administrator’s Garden, was very close by. The three of us managed to get into the garden just in time, before they stopped letting people in.
This, for me, was one of the high points of the trip. I could have easily spent an entire day there. It is Suzhou’s largest formal garden, and was built in the 16th century by, according to the DK Guide, a “retired magistrate.” It is 50-some acres of pavilions, ponds, rockeries, stone bridges, trees, and abundant flowers.
Apparently, this garden began its existence as a scholar’s garden, a type of formal Chinese garden that is intended to evoke serene contemplation. To that end, certain kinds of plants, objects, and architectural elements are combined in symbolic ways. Later, it became the monastery garden of the Dahong Temple; and then in 1513, the above-mentioned administrator, Wang Xianchen, converted the temple to his own private villa. He hired Ming Dynasty artist Wen Zhenming to help him extend and increase the garden, digging lakes and piling earth into “islands.” Wang sold it after a few years, and it passed through many hands and underwent many changes over the ages. That info is from Wikipedia, which also says the following:
Todays’ garden…closely resembles its late Qing appearance, with numerous pavilions and bridges set among a maze of connected pools and islands. It consists of three major parts set about a large lake: the central part (Zhuozeng Yuan), the eastern part (once called Guitianyuanjiu, Dwelling Upon Return to the Countryside), and a western part (The Supplementary Garden.) In total, the garden contains 48 different buildings with 101 tablets, 40 stelae, 21 precious old trees, and over 700 Suzhou-style penzai (bonsai.)
The effect as you enter the garden is instant and dramatic: from the frenetic chattering, honking and clanging of the market district and the persistent lunatics trying to sell you boat rides (Hellooo! Boatie! Boatie!) you walk through the circular door, and you are completely enveloped by sudden silence – or at least we were, since we came late in the day. Since it was almost 5 pm, it was also cooling off (the sun goes down at around 6:30 here even at this time of year, since all of China is on the same time zone.)
I frankly find it hard to describe. There are many pictures of it on the Internet, and lots of info about it – but there’s nothing that could possibly come close to standing in it.
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