China 2007 (16) - Suzhou I (獅子林)

Day 11
There are many trains going from Nanjing to Suzhou daily. We bought tickets for D407 after we arrived in Nanjing. It leaves Nanjing at 7:57 am, arrives Suzhou around 9:30 am. The ticket (2nd class soft seat) cost 67 RMB each. My cousin Ping came to the train station to see us off. I told her not to. We didn't have much luggage, we could handle it ourselves. But she insisted on coming, saying it's on her way to work anyway.

Ever since we arrived in Nanjing, my cousin Ping came to my aunt's home every day to see if there was anything she could do to help us, anything, from buying train tickets, buying map, to preparing meals, washing dishes ...... She tried to spend as much time with us as possible. While waiting for the train, she told me she had been to Suzhou in the 80's during her honeymoon, she hadn't left Nanjing since. I can't imagine working hard for twenty some years without taking a vacation. I would go crazy. Yet she seemed so calm about it, content with the life she had.

The ride to Suzhou was smooth and fast. There were two stops before Suzhou. There was no messing around at the stops. They only gave two minutes for people to get on and off the train, and then the train was moving again. We arrived on time, checked into a hotel, and were ready to explore.

1. Our first stop: The Lion Forest Garden.


2. Bonsai display.


3. The Nine Lions' Peak (九獅峰). They say you can find nine lion shaped rocks here. Dave found two and figured he needed a few beers to find the rest. :)


4. Man-made mountains.


5. Taihu rocks.


6. The lion rock.


(To be continued)