A Day in Suzhou

Happy Chinese New Year! We decided to welcome the Year of the Dragon by spending the day in Suzhou. Jason works there everyday but we have never gone to do some sightseeing. It's a good hour away but an easy drive. Suzhou is a very old city - founded around 600 BC. It was a prosperous trading area and the silk industry boomed. It is known as "Venice of the East".

Our first stop was "Lion Grove".

It was busy but a very nice day.

The rooms were quite pretty. I don't think I would want to sit very long on that couch.

Wow - blue sky. I don't remember seeing it so blue that day:)

Outside the garden, there were some vendors. One was selling popcorn and popped rice.

It seemed a bit expensive - a little bit over $2 / bag. Rice is cheap here. It was definitely a healthy snack - no additonal toppings were added. FYI - the bags of popcorn were filled directly from the cage, not the sidewalk:) I was surprised, the popped rice was the favorite amongst everyone.

Suzhou is also known for its embroidery.

We then headed to Tiger Hill Park. The 1,000 year old Yunyan Pagoda sits on top of a hill. There are quite a few steps to get up there so we decided to admire it from afar. The tower has been leaning since before the Qing Dynasty and has become one of the symbols of Suzhou.

There were also quite a few people visiting that day.

The water canals were quiet.

The streets were busy.There is quite a bit to see in Suzhou. We decided to save it for another day - when it is warmer like the Spring time. We had a delicious dinner at our friend's Carlos & Bethe. They prepared a couple of their favorite Peruvian dishes. It was a fun night.

We finished the day with a light show that takes place every night on the lake.