One thing that’s been rattling around in my head is a philosophy relating to the composition of Chinese gardens. I read it on a sign in a museum in Suzhou.
So sparse as to let a horse walk. So dense as not to let breeze in.
This principle can also relate to the composition of a photograph, and describes a balance I’ve always tried to achieve in my own work.
This really is quite a lovely city. Even nearly 800 years later, it’s easy to see why Marco Polo referred to Suzhou as the most beautiful city on Earth. The canals, trees, bridges and elegant architecture make it a very pleasant place overall. It’s sort of mind-blowing to realize that Suzhou has been here for about 2500 years. I’m sure that among the millions of people who live here now, there are some who are descendants of the original inhabitants of the city.
Today, we strolled along the canals until we reached the “Humble Administrator’s Garden.” The garden, although crawling with tourists, was still a soothing spot. It’s not too humble though, covering about five hectares, with large ponds, pagodas, bamboo groves, pavilions and bridges.
After spending an hour or two in the garden, we had lunch at a little restaurant built on a bridge over one of the canals. Then we walked a few more blocks to see a large pagoda in the north end of the city.
We returned to the hostel on one of the main streets, and then through an enormous outdoor shopping complex, only slightly less impressive than Shanghai’s East Nanjing Road. The contrast of these bustling, cosmopolitan urban spaces to the peace and reflection of the quiet canal lanes and gardens was astounding.
I’m presenting the photos in a slightly different way today. The square thumbnails aren’t proportional, but WordPress makes this gallery automatically, and that saves me a ton of time. I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, if you know what I mean.
The title of this article rhymes, if you say it right. I’m finding it a lot easier to get around in China with my little bit of Chinese. Just the small matter of knowing how to pronounce the name of a place when buying train tickets to that place saves me a lot of time miming and staring at puzzled faces.
I didn’t write anything yesterday, mainly because I didn’t do a lot of photography. The day was devoted to recovering from the last couple of days of strenuous activity and body-clock adjusting. Dad and I took a river cruise to see Shanghai from a different perspective. The amount of development evident in the city is astounding. There’s a neverending stream of barges heading up-river, carrying loads of construction materials. At any time, and in every direction, there seem to be dozens of skyscrapers under construction. In the run-up to the 2010 Expo, Shanghai is fully caught up in a frenzy of transformation.
In the evening, we got dinner and massages, which is probably about the best way you could spend an evening. After the very vigorous massage, I feel ready to tackle the rest of the country.
This morning, we checked out of the hostel and taxied to the train station. The high-speed train to Suzhou was a snap, taking about half an hour. Suzhou is one of many canal towns in this region. I use the word “town” lightly, as there are almost 6 million people living here. Considering Shanghai’s ballooning population of 19 million, it’s all relative, really.
The hostel is charmingly located on the edge of a canal, along a pedestrian street of renovated Ming Dynasty buildings. It’s been renovated, and has plenty of character, although some things don’t work. Some of the fancy light fixtures in here remain stubbornly dark when you flick the switch.
I took a few photos around the neighbourhood around dusk, and then later on in the evening. The town is pretty lively. There was some sort of dance warmup or rally in front of one of the local businesses. That’s a pretty cool marketing trick!
