by Seraina Benz
The morning of Easter Sunday, we spent in Shanghai in a glorious sunshine. After a great Easter breakfast, we had no official program in the morning and the majority of the delegation used the time to explore the city on their own.
In the afternoon, we took our tour bus and drove to Suzhou. The trip to Suzhou took about two hours and we never really had the feeling to leaving the city of Shanghai. Since this city is so huge, it simply got more rural and we realized how big this pulsating city is and how much growth is currently ongoing.
When we arrived in Suzhou, we were led by our coach to the Classic Garden of Suzhou which is about four times larger than the Yuyuyan Garden in Shanghai. It is even listed in the UNESCO World Heritage. We saw and heard stories about an era, which is far in the past. A past period of almost one thousand years which reaches from the Northern Song to the late Qing dynasties. We were lucky to see the garden in spring time, when the cherry and apricot trees were blooming beautifully. These and the elegant aesthetics of the classic Chinese gardens built a beautiful atmosphere were very inviting and I could have stayed there much longer, but unfortunately we had a program and had to leave the garden after two hours.
Then, we moved into our accommodation in the Pan Pacific Hotel, which is located just next to the Pan Gate and another beautiful garden. Shortly thereafter, we went to a Mall not so far from the hotel, to have dinner. We ate Hot Pot, which is similar to our “Fondue Chinoise”. It was very delicious and the noodle acrobat was also very spectacular.
After this, the day ended with a little drink in our hotel lobby.
Suzhou Gardens
Typical Chinese hot pot
