Suzhuo 蘇州 and Hangzhou 杭州

Our next two destinations from our hub in Shanghai was Suzhou and Hangzhou.  They are both relatively close to each other and can be reached by train or bus in a couple to few hours.  Suzhou was by far our favorite of the two (but not as nice as Zhouzhuang).  In actual fact, Hangzhou is more well known and supposed to be more beautiful due to it’s famous West Lake 西湖… but we didn’t think it was that special.  Suzhou was another town surrounded by water, and we took a really peaceful ride on a boat with the boat-man doubling as a driver and singer.  Suzhou is known for its beautiful gardens… when you think traditional Chinese gardens, Suzhou is where everyone borrows  or steals the look from.  We only visited one garden, the Humble Admisistrator’s Garden 拙政園, but it was exceptionally good.
Suzhou is also well known for it’s silk, so there were plenty of silk shops around this  area. Hangzhou was a bit of a let down for us as it was supposed to be one of the most impressive sites to see in China, but it was just okay.  You can see some of our photos HERE.

Last stop is Macau and then back to Taiwan!