If I were to sum up China, it would be a mixture of contrasts and contradictions, most definitely shaken rather than stirred. For me, this is most evident in Shanghai and Suzhou, two mega-cities that are rapidly connected by high-speed rail and offer a mix of tradition, high-rise buildings and tourist crowds.
For me, though, Suzhou is the most important.
Shanghai may be the model for modern China, and the exhilarating night scene on the Bund showcases the 21st century spirit of each country, but you never have to look far from the towering skyscrapers to find the tradition of moments of intimacy with each country.
Welcome to Shanghai
This was my third visit to this bustling city, and I’ll never forget the fear I felt the first time I ventured to the Bund alone. Crowds gathered to take selfies against the iconic backdrop, sellers tried to hawk poor quality catalogs and massages with special offers, and I stumbled through the entire tour in a shockingly haphazard manner. This time, I was much better prepared, if not, I think being with our G Adventures tour group would have been better than my first solo visit to China.
That said, the view of Shanghai from the Bund doesn’t excite me as much as it does many others. While the towers are often obscured by fog and pollution during the day, the bright lights always come through and are dazzling enough during my evening visits; it misses out on a particularly stunning factor you can find in Hong Kong or Singapore . But if you venture up the Shanghai Centre Tower, which is now the tallest observation deck in the world and one of the reasons it made Lonely Planet’s list of the best trips of 2018 , you’ll find yourself transported to the mysterious clouds above the dreamy towers at your feet.
Jing’an Temple – one of my favorite temples in the city, walk around all the rooms and hope you find monks among the Buddha statues
Yuyuan Garden – go early to try to avoid the crowds, quiet and peaceful at noon
Propaganda Museum – weird and wonderful, perfect for rainy days, it’s a little hard to find so don’t be afraid to ask
Suzhou was my least interesting destination on our two-week trip to China, but it ended up being one of my favorite stops. After a quick rejuvenation at our hotel and admiring its gardens – after all, this is a city known for its UNESCO-listed gardens – we all over-ordered and indulged in our first proper meal of the nearly day.
Paper prayers
A prayer left on paper
Well fed and excited to explore the city, we headed to the Webmaster’s Garden, one of the smaller gardens in the city, but one of the most famous due to its gorgeous detailing and design that maximizes space. We strolled between the small bridges over the water, took too many photos, and felt a sense of Zen that we hadn’t felt on our previous days of travel in Beijing and Xi’an.
While the rest of my G Adventures tour group hopped on various rickshaw tours, my feet embarked on a journey past street stalls where I ate snacks I couldn’t name, small temples without any tourists and people drinking coffee watching next to a small canal.
The “Venice of the East” is the nickname many people give to Suzhou, but in reality, it stands on its own and needs no comparison.
A stroll along Santang Street, one of the main tourist centers of the city’s bars extends into the narrow streets alongside the canals. Long lines of large boats plying the waterways are a far cry from the small gondolas on the creek, and entertainers dazzle crowds taking a break from the many souvenir stores.
At this end of Shantang Street, the public toilets have no doors, and a row of locals squat as neighbors playing with their phones while others take turns waiting. Chiltern threw rocks and logs into the river and watched it float under the bridge. The laughter and screams of my family replaced the tourist hustle and bustle, and I enjoyed it.
These are the moments I will always remember from China; moments when smiles and nods became plausible conversations and the language barrier was irrelevant. When traveling to a country, you have to find its heart, and in China, a country so vast, it often feels like there is no single pulse to follow. Each city has a different pulse, which made the trip so magical: I never knew what would happen in China or what I would find, but Suzhou was the first time I knew it would be the country I would return to.
