Hello, everybody! The time has come for our last update of the trip. It has been a fantastic, once in a lifetime journey, and I am so glad that I have been given the opportunity to travel so much over the last few days.
For our last few days in China, we traveled to two of China's most beautiful coastal cities: Hangzhou and Suzhou. As a common expression goes: "In heaven, there is paradise; on Earth, there are Hangzhou and Suzhou." Both cities are famed for their immense beauty, but also for a number of large industries dating back hundreds or even thousands of years.
For our last few days in China, we traveled to two of China's most beautiful coastal cities: Hangzhou and Suzhou. As a common expression goes: "In heaven, there is paradise; on Earth, there are Hangzhou and Suzhou." Both cities are famed for their immense beauty, but also for a number of large industries dating back hundreds or even thousands of years.
Our first stop in Hangzhou was to the former residence of one of the richest men in the history of China, a former merchant during the Qing Dynasty. The merchant used his vast wealth to create a massive estate, with beautiful gardens and stunning scenery for he and his family to enjoy. It was a chance for us to witness the beauty that these cities are famed for, but also to understand the immense wealth that was accumulated in the region during certain periods of Chinese History.
Next, we went to witness a common practice in China, dating back thousands of years: Chinese Traditional medicine. Unfortunately, the museum for the medicine in Hangzhou was undergoing renovation, and was not available for viewing, but nonetheless, a short lesson in the practice was interesting and thought-provoking. Many of these Chinese remedies can be backed up with some science behind why they would be at least somewhat effective.
After our quick trip to the Chinese Medicine shop, and a museum on ceramics, a major industry in the region, we went to another site to learn about another major industry in the Hangzhou area, and one of the most famous resources of China: tea. We went through a large tea museum, learning about the history of tea, and then walked a short while to an actual tea plantation, with a small tea cafe on it, where we took a break, and drank some tea, while we were taught a lesson on tea tasting and the different varieties and standards of tea.
On our second day, we went to a small water town outside of Hangzhou, as well as West Lake, one of the most famous scenic views in China. We did a short bike tour around the lake, and then took a small boat to a small manmade island in the middle of the lake, and then another boat around to the other side of the lake, taking in the view as we went along. After so much travel throughout our time here, it was a welcome opportunity for the group to relax and unwind.
Our last stop on this whirlwind tour in China was Suzhou, the city of gardens. Famed for its beautiful garden views, for our last stops, we went to tour one of the city's most famous gardens, the Lingering Garden, as well as a tour of the famous Grand Canal. In both cases, this was much more relaxing than our fast-paced trip has been recently. However, we also saw more of the massive industry that has been present in this era throughout Chinese history. In this case, a tour of a Silk factory. This trade has a history thousands of years old in Suzhou, and Suzhou is still the primary producer of silk in the world today. It was an interesting juxtaposition to experience in these two cities; two places so relaxing, laid back and slow, and yet filled with business and industry, not only today, but throughout the history of these huge cities.
Our last stop on this whirlwind tour in China was Suzhou, the city of gardens. Famed for its beautiful garden views, for our last stops, we went to tour one of the city's most famous gardens, the Lingering Garden, as well as a tour of the famous Grand Canal. In both cases, this was much more relaxing than our fast-paced trip has been recently. However, we also saw more of the massive industry that has been present in this era throughout Chinese history. In this case, a tour of a Silk factory. This trade has a history thousands of years old in Suzhou, and Suzhou is still the primary producer of silk in the world today. It was an interesting juxtaposition to experience in these two cities; two places so relaxing, laid back and slow, and yet filled with business and industry, not only today, but throughout the history of these huge cities.
This trip as a whole has been a fantastic journey. Traveling throughout the country has been an unbelievable experience, and one that I will never forget. As happy as I am, and as I'm sure all of us have been, to have gone on this trip, I think that we are all also looking forward to going home. We all head off to the airport in the morning, and before long, we'll all be heading on the long, long flight home.