Memories of 17 July 2004

Suzhou + Nanjing

Woke up quite early to take a shower before we went over to the next block for breakfast. As usual, it's a buffet breakfast. Had a quite full breakfast. Following that, we went to "Canglang Pavilion", one of the famous 4 gardens in Suzhou at 9.00am. "Canglang Pavilion" was a very nice place, the garden scenary was really beautiful, took some photgraphs n enjoyed the wind here and there.

[Canglang Pavilion]

Canglang Pavilion, located south of Suzhou city, is the oldest garden among the existing classical gardens of Suzhou. It is also one of the four most famous gardens in the city - the others being: "Lion Grove", "Humble Administrator's Garden" and "Garden for Lingering In." The area used to be the private garden of a Prince of the Five Dynasties (907-960). During the Northern Song Dynasty, the scholar Su Zimei built a pavilion in this garden and named it Canglang Pavilion. The garden has been rebuilt many times but most of the present garden buildings, simple and plain, date from the Qing Dynasty.

Covering an area of 10,656 square meters, the garden, connected by a long roofed walkway, features a range of man-made mountains on the inside and waterscapes on the outside. To enter the garden, one must proceed past an expanse of water over a zigzag bridge of stone and through the entrance. It is at this point that one catches sight of a man-made mountain covered with age-old trees and bamboo.

Canglang Pavilion, in the shape of a square, stands at the top of the mountain. A parallel couplet on its stone pillars reads: "The refreshing breeze and the bright moon are priceless, the nearby water and the distant mountains strike a sentimental note." A double- corridor built by the canal lies to the north of the garden, unifying the waterscapes outside with the garden and "mountain scenery" inside.

Enlightened Way Hall (Mingdao Hall), located to the south of the mountains, is the major building of the garden. It was said to have been a site for lectures during the Ming Dynasty. Surrounded by verdant trees, it appears simple but dignified.

In addition to its mountains and water, the garden is also famous for its unique latticed windows. There're about 108 kinds of latticed windows with impressive designs, possessing extremely high artistic value. They are uniquely designed and elaborately made, and enjoy a high reputation among all the gardens in Suzhou.

Following that, we went to see the Suzhou famous product, "Silk". On the way there, Qu Qing briefed us on the silk worms and silk. At 10.30am, we reaches the Silk Factory named "Suzhou Dong Ling Fang". First we were being introduced on the different type of silk, how to differentate the real n imitation silk, the silk worms etc.

Then we were shown how the silk was being made and how the blanket was made. The famous "Chang Si" Blanket was said to be very good for health, "Dong Nuan Xia Liang". The whole group bought over 20+ blankets n we were being given special price for that. We bought 3 too and the blanket covers too but we only bought 1 silk blanket cover cause the price was too high. Ha.....Ha... Have to pay by credit card, else there were be no more cash for the whole journey. Later, we went for the silk fashion show. At 12.00pm, we had out lunch at the silk factory. There was a restaurant on the 3rd floor, the food here was not bad too. We also bided Qu Qing farewell here before we proceed to Nanjing.




On the way to Nanjing, Xiao Yuan introduced us the background of Nanjing, the mass killing, the history, the food, the people etc....

Upon reaching Nanjing, we met our Nanjing local tour guide which is "Ms Wang" and Xiao Yuan went home cause its his hometown. On the way to Zhong Shan Ling, Ms Wang briefed us on the history of Zhong Shan Ling.

There were a lot of people at Zhong Shan Ling, we alighted from the bus and walk towards Zhong Shan Ling. As we went in, we were being introduced to various spots of Zhong Shan Ling. 392 steps lead to Mr Sun Yat San's grave. The whole group including the 80 year old uncle, also went all the way up there. From the top, you can see a very nice view of Nanjing.

[Zhong Shan Ling-Mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen]

The mausoleum is situated at the foot of the second peak of Mount Zijin. Construction of the tomb started in 1926, taking three years. On first July 1929, Dr. Sun was buried there. Sun has been respected as Father of Modern China since he fought unyieldingly against the corrupt Qing government and led the 1911 revolution to end feudal system and found Republic of China, leading Chinese people into a new era. He died in 1925 in Beijing.

Reclining on mountain slope, the mausoleum looks majesty and sublime. Lying at the mountainside, the vault is more than 700 hundred meters away from the Paifang on the square below, which is the entrance of the mausoleum. There is a three-tier stone stand on which a huge bronze Ding, an ancient Chinese vessel symbolizing power perches. To the north of the square, the Paifang towers high. Beyond is the 480-meter-long and 50-meter-wide stairway which has 392 stairs, leading to the vault. On both sides, high pine trees, cypress trees and gingko trees guards the way alongside. At the end of the stairway is a gate which is 16-meter-high and 27-meter-wide. The tri-arched marble gate is inscribed with four Chinese characters written by Dr. Sun, which means "the nation is people's nation and everyone shall serve the nation selflessly".

Inside of the gate, there is a pavilion in which a 9-meter-high stele is set, which is a memorial monument set by Kuomintang. A few stairs up, is the sacrificial hall and the vault. In front of the sacrificial hall there stands a pair of Huabiao, ancient Chinese ornamental column, which is 12.6-meter-high. The sacrificial hall is actually a palace of 30 meters in length, 25 meters in width and 29 meters in height. In the center of the hall a 4.6-meter-high statue of Mr. Sun sits. The statue was sculptured out of white marble produced in Italy. Visitors will learn Mr. Sun's glorious life in the hall. North of the hall lies the vault. In the bell shaped vault, Dr. Sun falls asleep. A statue of him rests in a white marble coffin, under which the great man lies.

Following that, we went to Xuan Wu Hu. The bus bought us around the Xuan Wu Hu and stop at one of the tourist spot for us to take pictures. At it was evening time, the wind was blowing and the sun was getting ready to set, a nice view indeed. We had dinner at the restaurant at Xuan Wu Hu which served quite good food.

[Xuanwu Lake]

The lake lies northeast of the city near the railway station, out of the city wall. It used to be the drilling camp of the imperial navy and recreation center of aristocrats. At the end of the Qing dynasty, it was turned into a park, which occupied an area of 434 hectares with 368 hectares in water. It was said that once a black dragon was seen in the lake. Then it was named Xuanwu Lake, since black dragon was considered God of Water, respected as Xuanwu in Chinese Taoism.

The lake is surrounded by mountains. In the lake, there are five isles which are connected by bridges or mounds, each of them having a very attractive and unique flavor. Huan Isle is famous for its willow trees in the mist in spring, while Ying Isle is popular for its cherry blossom; Liang Isle is noted for its chrysanthemums in autumn; Cui Isle wins fame for its varieties of trees and quietness; Ling Isle attracts people for its purple and golden clouds.

By 8.00pm, we reached the well-known Fu Zi Miao- Qin Huai He. Just like Guan Qian Jie, there were a lot of different kind of varities of shops available, from fashion to foods to traditional small handicraft. We were there for about 1 and 1/2 hour before we went back to the hotel. Tonite, we will be staying in Qing Du Da Jiu Dian.

[Confucius Temple]

Nanjing Confucius Temple, Fuzimiao in Chinese, is the holy shrine of Confucius, the outstanding ancient Chinese philosopher and thinker. The temple was first built in 1034 in the Song dynasty(960-1729), expanded on the basis of the Imperial Academy of the East Jin dynasty (317 - 420). The complex consists of Confucius Temple, the Imperial Academy and Gongyuan where provincial and national examinations were held. However, people called the complex and surrounding streets Confucius Temple due to custom. The grand complex structure experienced vicissitudes of history. It was burnt and restored for many times. In 1937, brutal Japanese invaders burnt it into ashes. However, it was rebuilt by the local government in accordance with Ming and Qing style in 1984, and rated as one of the top 40 tourist attractions in 1991.

Confucius Temple has the largest screen wall in China, which is ten-meter-high and 110-meter-long. The main structure is Dacheng Hall, seated on a 1.5-meter-high base and measuring 16.22 meters in height, 28.1 in width and 21.7 in depth. In front of the hall, there is a platform where ancient sacrificing, dancing and singing were performed. These acitivities have been revived. On the sides of the pathway leading to the hall, eight Confucius' disciples, sculptures of white marble, stand. On a stand before the hall, there is a 4.18-meter-tall bronze sculpture of Confucius, the largest of its kind within the nation. Inside of the hall, four white marble saints flank a huge portrait of Confucius hung at the center, which is also the largest of its kind. On the walls inside, there are 38 pictures recording Confucius' deeds. The pictures are decorated with various gems, gold and silver.

Mingyuan Tower, the main structure of Gongyuan, used to be the commanding center in the session of examinations. Behind the tower, examination rooms arrayed, one for each student. They had to live in those shabby rooms during the session. At its peak time, it covered a space of 70 thousand square meters and had 20644 rooms, excluding rooms for governmental personnel.
The place was red-light district in ancient time, especially in the Ming and Qing dynasties. When national examinations were held, service industry prospered to provide thousands of candidates various services. Book houses, teahouses, hotels and whorehouses appeared like mushrooms. Many famous, talented and versatile prostitutes came to be known. The annually lantern festival held here also earned a lot of fame.

[Qin Huai River]

Qin Huai River, southwest of the city and extending 110 kilometers long, is a branch of Yangtze River. It was called Huai River originally. Legend says in the Qin dynasty(221-207B.C.) under the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, Mount Fangshan was chiseled through to lead the water into the city, so that it was renamed into Qin Huai River. The inner river of the river used to be the most flourishing place of Nanjing since it was the red-light district famous throughout the nation. Painted boats shuttled to and fro and music sounded all night. Many love affairs and romances spread from here. Almes earned their fame and left their sorrow on the river. On a street beside the river, visitors may see a famous lady's former residence to feel the history. Painted boats on the river were extraordinarily famous. Large or small, all were decorated with colorful lanterns. Sitting on a stool in a boat, flowing with water and recollecting history is a fascinating experience. Nowadays, Qin Huai River has been archaized and revived. With lanterns hung high all around and music played, streets along the river restored its flourish.




My Thoughts:

At "Canglang Pavilion", you will find yourself very relax here, the old type of houses, the old type of building which cannot be seen in Singapore. The visit to the silk factory was indeed an eye-opener, cause never see how silk was being woven before. Spent quite a lot of money here. Ha...Ha.... Lunch was great today, I had a very full lunch today.

"Zhong Shan Ling" was a very great place, the scenary was great, what you can see from here was really amazed. Can you imagine how the place was built & how long did they take to build. The big big "Pai Fang", even though there are 392 steps to the peak of "Zhong Shan Ling" I like this place a lot. As we were there at about evening time, "Xuan Wu Hu" looked very beautiful under the sunset. There were many elderly couples exercising at "Xuan Wu Hu".

The local tour guide,Ms Wang say "Bu Dao Kong Miao，Xiang Kong Miao", "Dao Le Kong Miao, Ma Kong Miao", "Zai Lai Kong Miao, Mo Ming Qi Miao". By the time we reached "Fu Zi Miao", it's already 8pm. There were many shops around just like Guan Qian Jie but I felt that Guan Qian Jie looked better and a better place for shopping. Did not buy any 'special' things or items here. Went to KFC to get a drink n waited for the whole group to assemble before going back to the hotel.

Today, went to a lot of places. I like these places quite well cause they were all very beautiful. A tiring but happy day.