Travelling backwards towards Suzhou

Somehow it seems appropriate to travel from the Chinese metropolis of Shanghai to the charming silk city of Suzhou in a train with the seats facing backwards.

Behind us, yet in front of us, is China’s city of the future, while our train takes us on a 100 kilometre journey to Suzhou, the Venice of the East, which draws heavily on its past. For the best part of an hour we move at a fair clip through Shanghai‘s endless suburbs, then out onto open plain past paddy fields and other crops, broken by huge blocks of modern buildings housing some of Shanghai‘s new settlers and businesses.

It is a relief to arrive at Suzhou and board a coach for our hotel, past whitewashed buildings and along wide, clean avenues filled with shops and customers. Camphor trees rustle in the warm, spring air, and the buildings are decorated in intricate Chinese style under the eaves. If the city looks prosperous, so do its two million citizens, who enjoy a good standard of living by China’s standards, as their GDP per capita was US$7249 in 2005, the fifth highest out of 659 Chinese cities.

Suzhou06_2Suzhou is also known for its beautiful gardens, and at dusk we walk from the pleasant Suzhou Hotel for 10 minutes through a round portal to the classical Garden of the Master of the Nets. It was created in the 12th century, and then restored in the 18th century as part of the residence of a retired official. Its beautiful proportions and serene atmosphere earned it a listing as a World Heritage site in 1997.

Our guide explains to our group that we are to watch some local Chinese opera, and my initial reaction is to prepare to be patient, but the next two and a half hours turn into a series of exquisite tableaux as we move around the garden. Our first stop is inside a hall where a low, intricately carved railing separates us from a stage. Two officials in dragon gowns and high boots, each holding a mask in front of their faces, greet us. One holds a shoe­shaped gold ingot, the other a scroll with Chinese characters representing “a successful career” to express auspicious words.

As we moved into each scenic spot by a pond or in a small pavilion, a performer or sometimes a pair are gently spotlit. A girl in an intricately embroidered, long­sleeved costume performs a delicately flowing dance, a man blows a sweet melody on a bamboo flute, and two girls, one of whom plays a string instrument known as a guzheng, first introduced 2500 years ago, play dazzling arpeggios. It is an authentic link to the rich and vibrant culture of China.

Suzhou06_1Ten minutes later we find ourselves in the shopping, entertainment and cultural thoroughfare of Shiquan Street, which was recently redeveloped. The street and its adjacent lanes are filled with small, brightly lit shops selling leather ware, pottery, CDs and DVDs, clothing and snacks, with several bars and small clubs for those keen to party.

The street is busy with scooters, bicycles and cars, and I notice our guzheng player, now dressed in jeans and a pale silk blouse, on the back of her boyfriend‘s scooter.

The Chinese first learnt how to produce silk about 4000 years ago, and silk was a national treasure, with severe punishment, probably death, for anyone found exporting silkworms. Legend has it that a group of Egyptians smuggled the first worms out of the country in the sixth century by concealing them in bamboo.

Silkworms only eat mulberry leaves, and do they eat. At the Suzhou Silk Museum we see how the worms, or pupae, feast on chopped leaves every two hours for five days, then sleep for 24 hours. After 25 days they are ready to spin their cocoons, a feat which takes them about two days to complete. The cocoons are placed in an oven to kill the pupa without damaging the silk, although some manage to eat a hole. These and other inferior cocoons are not wasted, but instead the fibre is used to fill lightweight duvets.

Suzhou06_4The good cocoons are soaked in water so the workers can easily locate the end of the silk thread, and placed in a water tray in preparation for unravelling. Eight threads are spun together to form a single strand of silk. The deft touch of the workers is extraordinary, as the threads appear almost invisible to the untrained eye. The women who work at the Suzhou Embroidery Centre have a far more specialised role. They work in the Mountain Villa of Secluded Beauty, a quiet haven within the city, and spend five years training how to create intricate, hand­woven silk embroidery, copying drawings, paintings or photographs.

Suzhou06_5I take a few minutes to watch Xu Zhun Lai work on her portrait of a tiger. She will spend several weeks on the piece, which will sell for about 30,000 yuan. “If the women want to make an original design they must do it in their own time,” says our guide, Zhu Chun Fang. They earn 2000 yuan per month, plus bonuses, and are allowed several breaks during the day to help them maintain concentration and save their eyesight. Of the dozen or so in the room, only one, Xu Zhun Lai, is wearing glasses. “The women learn more than 40 types of stitches, and some of their work is so fine that they unravel the silk thread and use one of the eight individual strands,” she says.

Most of the embroidery is single­sided, more complex works are double­sided, with the same design on both sides. “The ultimate is double-sided with a different picture on each side, but using the same outline. These are technically very difficult and take years of training to achieve.” After several days of eating beautifully cooked and presented Chinese cuisine, my stomach enjoys the chance to digest some continental dishes during lunch at the Sheraton Hotel Restaurant. A pianist and singer add to the European flavour. The chef, a burly German who has been there for several years, says it is a haven, even though he speaks no Chinese, as he can cook whatever he likes.

Tiger Hill is a popular destination for Chinese, but less so for overseas travellers, which is perplexing, considering that it has its own leaning tower. This one, the Leaning Pagoda, pre­dates and is taller than the one in Pisa. Built in the 10th century, the brick pagoda is seven stories high and began tilting 400 years ago, so that it is now about two metres out of vertical. It is not possible to climb it, but a walk through at ground level reveals an intricate web of bricks and dusty mortar.

The hill is the final resting place of He Lu, the founder of Suzhou and the king of the surrounding state of Wu. He died in the sixth century BC, and is believed to be buried on the hill with 3000 swords. Although the hill is easily climbed, it has picturesque cliffs and deep ravines, with flat areas where family groups of Chinese convene to chatter and take photographs. One of our guides, Jiang Yuan Yuan, or Stella, takes delight in being carried around in a colourful covered chair.

The climb up the hill is full of legends, one of which is the sword­testing rock, a rock in two pieces that supposedly cleaved by a legendary sword of extraordinary sharpness. On the way down we pass several temples, a garden displaying beautiful examples of mature bonsai, and a hawker selling crazy hats. Unlike most of his type he has a sense of humour, and is happy to clown around with us while we wait by a small canal for the trip back to the train.

And so we find out about the Venice of the East, named by none other than Marco Polo. The canal is one of 60 that connect with the 1794 kilometre Grand Canal, the world‘s longest artificial waterway, which passes the city. It connects Beijing and Hangzhou, and was dug in the seventh century by a workforce of millions. Our wooden craft putters slowly past little dockside houses crammed together, and we glimpse households going about their daily life. Women chat over cups of tea while small, caged birds twitter in the background, men tend to their bonsai or pot plants, and children play with their toys.

Suzhou06_6But all is not quite real. Sometimes a peek between houses reveals construction sites, as old buildings are torn down, and the waterway itself seems strangely empty of craft. “The locals are not allowed to use the canals,” says Stella. “The only boats are for tourists, police and maintenance.” Suddenly we turn into a much wider channel. A group of young girls dip their ankles into the water, but everyone on board is surprised to see a man towelling off after having a dip in the putrid water. We pull up at a jetty and see the railway station across the road. “Why are we hopping on the bus?” I ask Desiree Doyle, who has organised much of our visit to China.

“Do you want to cross the road by yourself?” she responds. It is, of course, a rhetorical question. People and vehicles are moving in every direction, and European logic decrees that an accident should happen at any moment. Our driver deftly manoeuvres diagonally across the melee, and two minutes later we are outside the station entrance, ready to board our train back to Shanghai. It is an abrupt return to the pace and pressure of modern, urban Chinese life.

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