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Suzhou
After the completion of the Grand Canal during the
Sui Dynasty, Suzhou found itself as one of the major trading
centres of world. As a result of all the wealth being poured
into the city, by the 12th century Suzhou had established
itself as the leader in silk production and hundreds of gardens
were built to serve as private retreats for the new wealthy
upper class. Suzhou is now known as the "City of Gardens"
which tops all others in both number and artistry of the gardens
themselves. There were once over 200 green retreats in the
city, and 69 of them are still in good preservation today.
The Garden of the Master of the Nets is the most exquisite
and best-preserved garden in the residential estates of the
city. The garden originated from the owners desire to retreat
from the strife of official duty and to shut out the happenings
of the outside world. Taoist philosophy underlies the theme
of the garden with hills, water, trees, flowers, terraces
and pavilions constituting the basic elements. The colours
of the roof tiles, wall bricks and wood construction together
with the use of space between the basic elements creates the
tonal harmony and establishes the unity of the garden as a
whole.
The numerous Venice like canals of Suzhou were once used
to transport silk to the capital Beijing, which pushed silk
production to its height in order to support the demands of
the imperial court, officials, gentry, wealthy citizens and
the increasing popularity of silk abroad. Silk was seen as
a virtual currency and the process of silk production was
such a heavily guarded secret that anyone caught exporting
the worm would be put to death. Silk is still manufactured
here today and the largest factory in town offers tours every
morning.
Tunxi
Tunxi also bears the name of Song City due to the
houses and streets that are perfectly modelled after the architectural
style of the Song Dyansty. This ancient village falls under
the umbrella of Huangshan and offers a stark contrast to the
city itself.
The pedestrian only Tunxi Ancient Street runs through
the centre of town and serves as a perfectly preserved relic
to this old style of architecture. The ancient buildings here
are well preserved and shops that have lined this street for
centuries still open their doors to customers. The three-story
shop fronts are simple, clean and elegant with horse head
shaped eaves, Hui style woodcarvings, red lacquer finishing
and ancient shop signs reflecting the scholarly nature of
the goods and services inside. Proud doctors still work in
the prestigious Chinese medicine shops with over 6000 herbs,
animal and mineral products. The street is also well known
for its snake shops. Snake powder is said to make your
skin smoother and look younger and the snake wine, made from
over a hundred deadly snakes, will give you the extra strength
you need for the treks into the scenic mountain surroundings.
Fengdu
When you envisage the gates of hell do you picture the devil
standing at the pits of the earth surrounded by fire and torture
chambers? Did you know that the gates of hell are actuallly
on the top of Mingshan Mountain within the city of
Fengdu? Legend has it that this ancient as well as modern
day Ghost City is where all souls come to be judged
upon death. Those who have upheld the morals of Chinese society
will ascend to the 11 levels of heaven but those who have
been naughty will be sent straight through to the gates of
hell.
For those people who are still alive, a cable car or hundreds
of cobblestone steps are waiting to take them to visit to
this judicial place of the afterworld for themselves. Forty-eight
temples are constructed on top of the hill and pathways are
dotted with scary looking, lifelike demon sculptures that
describe the afterlife of torture awaiting those in hell.
One statue eats the head off of babies while another stone
carving of the ghost king has appeared in the Guinness Book
of World records.
If these statues scare you into thinking that you are doomed
for the rest of your immortality, your salvation can be guaranteed
by completing a battery of physical tests. Only if every one
of these tests is completed successfully, will your passage
into heaven be insured. Included in the tests are your ability
to pass through the right gates to determine your sex in the
afterlife, run up a flight a stairs without breathing, balance
on a small round stone for so many seconds, and move a 100
pound stone onto a smaller stone.
If these Gladiator games are too much for you, with corruption
that could rival the Catholic Church, you can forgo the physical
tests and obtain salvation by donating sums of money towards
the construction of new temples in the area. So it looks like
the verdict is in and you have to be rich or incredibly fit
to get to heaven!
Ghost City attracts over a million visitors, both foreign
and national, every year. Fengdu sits on the banks of the
Yangtze River and will soon be completely underwater
after the completed construction of the Three
Gorges Dam. Fengdu city proper will have to be relocated
but the government claims the actual Ghost City sits high
enough in order not to be affected. Only time will tell.
Chongqing
Chongqing, located in the Sichuan Province, is the
third largest city in China and holds the prize as one of
the top ten most polluted cities in the world. The same eternal
haze that plagues the city actually saved it from ruins during
World War II by hiding the city lights and landmarks from
the detection of Japanese Bombers.
Since Chongqing is located in the province most popular for
its food, small street kitchens are abundant and eating out
is a favourite pastime of most people. Many of the kitchens
near Xinghu Lu serve the ever so spicy Sichuan Style
Hot Pot. This meal involves dipping fresh vegetables,
mutton, beef or chicken into a pot of hot peanut oil laced
with red chillies. Beware if you are eating hot pot late in
the day as the chefs don't change the oil between customers
but instead add red chillies for every new victim! You wont
know spicy food until you have tasted hot pot late in the
evening. Make sure to have some local beer handy to wash it
down!
To burn off the recently consumed calories and soothe the
over spiced stomach, there are a few places worth checking
out in town. A cable car ride takes you across the Jialing
River and allows supreme views of the original old town.
The old town itself is home to Chongqing's famous Sichuan
Opera. Opera is not a high status event here and many
performances are held in street squares or at local teahouses.
For some more modern entertainment, musical fountains have
been installed in the city square to mark the turn of the
millennium. Every night, the locals congregate here for some
good old western line dancing to the tunes emanating from
the fountains themselves!
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