Suzhou 14-17th Jan, 2008

Feb 4, 2008

Day-1 in Suzhou

After departed with our group, 7 of us took the 2:20pm train to Suzhou. It was about 30 mins journey & to my surprise, the train was clean & fast.
This is the Suzhou railway station. Upon reaching, there are many taxi drivers that will approach you. So please choose wisely as we then found out that we were overcharged by RMB 20.

We put our night at this Suzhou Youth Hostel, 178 Xiang Wang Road, Suzhou. It costs RMB 46 per person per night. 3 of us shared the 6 beds dorms with a Korean lady. My friends complained that she is unfriendly. However, after chatting her, she isn't that bad. She came to Tianjin to study Chinese but she wanted to quit already. She told me that Chinese is the most difficult language she has ever learned.

One of the view taken at Guan Qian Jie.

We had our dinner at Songhe Lou (松鹤楼), 141 Guanqian Jie, Suzhou, which was highlighted in the Lonely Planet book. It was rated as one of the most famous restaurant in Suzhou. It also said the Emperor Qian Long has been there before. I only tasted some of the dishes & I love the steam fish with egg white & tea leaves and braised porks very much.

Winnie & her hubby picked me up from Guan Qian Jie. They brought me to Li Gong Di (李公堤) for dinner. Winnie told me that this is a new hangout place for the expatriate. We had a wonderful gathering & the lovely couple even pampered me with a foot massage. Thanks buddies.

Day-2 in Suzhou
As the other 2 colleagues of mine weren't very comfortable with the stay in the hostel & also the problem we encountered with the heater, we have decided to move to the other hostel. It is Fisher Cafe which is also under the Suzhou International Youth Hostel. We paid RMB 174 per room & it is with attached bathroom & LCD TV.

The view from our room.


We had our brunch at this restaurant. The food is good but sorry that I didn't take down the pictures. Hehe... I was too busy with the video taping for my 1st experience with snows.

We visited The Humble Administrator's Garden (拙政园). It is the largest garden in Suzhou which was built in the 15th century. The garden is beautiful. Take a look at Picture No. 5. The wood duck couples look so fake if you didn't notice them properly.


We wanted to walk to North Temple Pagoda (北寺塔) after the tour at The Humble Administrator's Garden. However, the weather was extremely cold (-3 degree Celsius) till we stopped at one of the restaurant to ask for a pot of tea. The boss actually suggested us to order a bowl of chicken soup to warm our body up. We were so surprised that he got a life chicken from the cage to boil us the chicken soup. We felt so sinful after knowing that. :-p While waiting for the soup, we surrounded at this fire place. Guess you should know what we were trying to do?

North Temple Pagoda.

Day-3 in Suzhou
We went to this restaurant for our breakfast. It is just 3 minutes walking distance from our hostel. We had this Fried Wanton. Very delicious.


We also ordered the Yunnan famous 'Cross Bridge Noodles' (过桥面线). Micheal shared the story of this noodles with us. Check out the link.

This 18-month old boy was also enjoying his noodles.

We visited Tiger Hill (虎丘) from the entrance. Haha... Too lazy to climb up.

We bought this sweet potato from this hawker. The man is still using the traditional weighing equipment.

Another water village near to Tiger Hill.

We walked to Suzhou Calm Garden (苏州定园) & following are the few nice shots taken from there.

凤凰台, showing the 4 famous scholars in Jiang Nan (江南四大才子).

Dong Dong Chiang. The bride-to-be is here.

喜庆堂 - 5 minutes performance of the Suzhou's wedding culture.


花神庙. I have made my prayer here for everyone in the family.

岁时节令长廊 - it is a 100 meters walkway that show the 12 important festivals celebrated by us.

曲桥、天下第一壶 - The guide told us that for those who loves to play mahjong, a touch of the teapot will help you to "hu" all the way.

While having our tea at this 茶艺苑, we also get to see the performance.

AfAfter a day tour, we were hungry. So we went to De Yue Lou for dinner. It is situated at 43 Tiajian Xiang, Guan Qian Jie (opposite Song He Lou). This restaurant is also recommended in the Lonely Planet book.

Braised eel.
Stir-fry Chrysanthemums leaves. Braised Pork with cranberries juice. Sezhuan Soup.Salted Pepper Duck with Bun.
Xiao Long Pao.

Day-4 in Suzhou
Before traveled back to Shanghai, we decided to have our lunch at Yang Yang Dumpling House. It is located at 44, Shi Quan Lu & once again, it is one of the recommended restaurant by Lonely Planet.

Among the recommended restaurants by Lonely Planet, I think I still prefer Song He Lou. The pork is extremely yummylicious. Besides, the silk blanket from Suzhou is also much cheaper than Shanghai. Aiyo... got cheated. For those brides-to-be, there are many bridal shops in Tiger Hill area. I have no times to shop for it as we were traveled in a group. Doesn't feel nice to ask the entire colleagues to company me for that.

3 of us took a picture in the Fisher Cafe as a remembrance.

The railway station was so packed with the local. So we gotta be careful with belongings.

Goodbye Suzhou.


5 comments:

Unknown said...

looked like u have a wonderful trip to china. I went shanghai, suzhou and etc in CNY eve year 2005. That time winter and i got to see snow. so excited. but im sure now there very advance liao...some places still very dirty and I feel dont want to go anymore..

FL Sam said...

Nice pictures and glorious foods. You must have enjoyed yourself very much. :)

Tak Feng and Li Li said...

Haha Shirley, suzhou is a nice place. Give it a chance lor. With Air Asia, I think it should be quite worth while to visit there. :)


Hi Uncle Sam, Thanks. I enjoyed myself much more in Suzhou. I love their pork especially. Haha.

JK said...

LiLi, you are tempting me to go visit Suzhou.

Tak Feng and Li Li said...

Hey Jo-N, you should go there with ur hubby. Moreover, with the air asia promotion, I think it is quite worth while to go. :)