Lan Xin Hotel Zhangjiagang

... the first few people have completely finished their meals. STUPID!!!!

... they are freezing too, but they leave the classroom and leave
the door open. Are they crazy???!!! I have been vigilant in closing
the classroom door and therefore my classroom warms up nicely by the
end of the day I took off my scarf, raincoat and even for awhile my
fleece coat. It is to be noted though, that I get to stand directly in
the line of the heater. It is wonderful. The heater blows right where
the teacher stands ...

... my itinerary, which included Pingyao, one of the best examples of beautifully preserved ancient architecture in the country. Their response invariably was: "why would you go there?...it's so old!"

Good question. While us Canadians, accostomed to shiny objects, crave exposure to a past we've never had, the Chinese seem to prefer the modernity that reflects their recent success, opting instead for the glimmering cities of Shanghai or Hong Kong.

The day began very early; 4:30 am. We headed to the airport and took off for Shanghai. Denise and I weren't so sure that this part of the trip would be anything too great. After all, we hadn’t really heard of any of the places we would be going in Shanghai. It certainly didn’t have the ring to it that the Great Wall and Forbidden Palace did.

We arrived in Shanghai and were met by our new tour guide, Joe. Joe helped us to ...

... retired from his work. Now it's a governmental garden and people are permitted to visit and enjoy the scenery.It's now one of the four famous garden in Suzhou and it's recorded by UNESCO as a World heritage site in 1997.


In fact it has many guest rooms with Chinese old style furniture. It's roof even has the dragon shape style of houses and the roof is made of brick. Many show rooms displays owners of the garden in all years, and photos of garden in many ...

... Reading "Aftonbladed" on Internet while having my breakfast. It's really a ****** news site, but I'm used to it and it gives bits and pieces of what has happened in Sweden and the rest of the world the last 24 hours. 0800 "Eric" calls, he and the driver are down on the street waiting for me in the car. 0815 Arrival to the office. My office is on the second floor, the door is locked and outside is a thermos with hot water. I use that to make tea during the day ...

... however, was our time spent with Mr. Zhang. He has lived in Tongli his entire life. Farming when he was young, and driving his sanliuche now. He was able to tell us how the park has changed over the past century, since it opened. We discussed local cuisine (were able to look at some eels/fish/and crabs caught in the nearby lake), play on the random playground equipment dispursed throughout the park, and yet again tune our ears to another dialect of Mandarin. It was a lovely day.

This city is located about 30 minutes out of Shanghai. It is a water city linked by many canals and bridges. There are an incredible amount of vendors in China surrounding you as soon as you get off the bus, out of the hotel or out of the subway station. Usually they're trying to sell you something, but here, they were trying to shine our shoes. The highlight ...

... to see ant temples, historic buildings or country parks. And by my thinking clubbing is a great way to pre-empt jet lag since in the UK i'll be heading to bed at about 6am China time and getting up at 2 pm in the afternoon! So, a quick run down of my last few days in China Thursday afternoon - A stroll along the bund and shooping. Boat trip down the river Thursday night - Drinks at the hostel Friday ...

... Strolling down to the Huangpu River, we couldn't fail to miss the cluster of sci-fi looking skyscrapers and uber-buildings on the opposite bank of the river, like Gotham City manifest. Whilst taking some photos, touts bombarded us with introductions, and they all seemed to share the same name; "Hello, Watch..". We found ourselves in Pudong, the financial district of Shanghai having successfully navigated the subway system... okay, we caught a cab. Having ridden the subway ...