China – Flower Blossoms & Peony Festival Tour
April 8th to April 22nd, 2008
 

April 18: Suzhou
Suzhou, the garden city of China. In the morning enjoyed a Grand Canal cruise. We visited the city which is anciently regarded as one of China’s most scenic places and also referred to as “Venice of the East.” Watch – you might spot people doing their washing on the nearby Taihu rocks. Suzhou is located in the south of the Yangtze River Delta and borders Taihu Lake to the west and Shanghai to the east. Thus it is a water city as well as a famous historical and cultural center with a history going back 2,500 years. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, there were some two hundred famous gardens there, and the city was renowned both in China and abroad for this place that inspired the great East Asian garden tradition.

We saw the Garden of Master Nets, a garden designed for harmony and tranquility during the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279). This garden is reputed to be the most well-preserved in Suzhou and should not be missed. It has three distinct sections. The integral buildings afford you access to any part of the garden from each of their rooms. This type of garden was built for relaxation and to entertain guests. It is found on the world cultural heritage site list and often remains open at night so that visitors can attend theatrical performances and enjoy night views of the garden. See the children? They are there enjoying a little picnic ... pure innocence…
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/jiangsu/suzhou/wangshi_garden.htm

Then a visit to the Lion Grove Garden
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/jiangsu/suzhou/lion_grove.htm
and a visit to a silk factory where I think everyone bought something…the silk comforters went over really well…as you can see. They also got to try their hand at pulling the silk strands for the comforters – they were extremely surprised at how strong those strands were.