Grand Canal Marketplace Suzhou

Without a doubt one of the most fascinating places, full of unique sights, sounds and smells was the market off the Grand Canal in Suzhou China.  Unfortunately this was also one of the places, including the Great Wall, where my camera(s) batteries decided to die.  However I did get several good pictures that illustrate this fabulous place.

In my opinion it is the market place(s) in China that illustrate their adherence to the old traditional way of life in a blend with much of the modern lifestyle that is in evidence in so many ways in the country.  I will say this I have never seen so much and such a variety of fresh food and vegetables.  One of these pictures also illustrates their version of a simple department store,  Wal Mart on a miniature scale.  Do they have Wal Marts? Yes they do there is one in Suzhou which I did not see but I heard was very similar to our Wal Mart.  China has been very fast to change however they have not yet embraced the concept of shopping in that way.  I wonder if that is because of their mode of transportation is still centered upon the use of bicycles and scooters.  However I did see an entire household of furnishings being hauled on a bicycle. 

So here are my pictures from the Market on the Grand Canal in Suzhous.  Spoiler Alert:  you may see some pictures here of animal parts and such that you may find distasteful. 

Grand Canal Suzhou

One of the highlights of my trip to China was our tour of the Grand Canal in Suzhou.   For those of you who are not familiar with the history of the Grand Canal it is here:   (Wikipedia)

The Grand Canal in China (simplified Chinese: 大运河; traditional Chinese: 大運河; pinyin: Dà Yùnhé), also known as the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal (simplified Chinese: 京杭大运河; traditional Chinese: 京杭大運河; pinyin: Jīng Háng Dà Yùnhé) is the longest canal or artificial river in the world.[1] Starting at Beijing, it passes through Tianjin and the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the city of Hangzhou. The oldest parts of the canal date back to the 5th century BC, although the various sections were finally combined during the Sui Dynasty (581–618 CE).

The total length of the Grand Canal is 1,776 km (1,103 miles). Its greatest height is reached in the mountains of Shandong, at a summit of 42 m (138 ft).[2] Ships in Chinese canals did not have trouble reaching higher elevations after the pound lock was invented in the 10th century (during the Song Dynasty).[3] The canal's size and grandeur won it the admiration of many throughout history, including the Japanese monk Ennin (794–864), the Persian historian Rashid al-Din (1247–1318), the Korean official Choe Bu (1454–1504) and the Italian missionary Matteo Ricci (1552–1610).[4][5]

Historically, periodic flooding of the adjacent Yellow River threatened the safety and functioning of the canal. During wartime the high dikes of the Yellow River were sometimes deliberately broken in order to flood advancing enemy troops. This caused disaster and prolonged economic hardships. Despite temporary periods of desolation and disuse, the Grand Canal furthered an indigenous and growing economic market in China's urban centers through all the ages since the Sui period.

Being able to experience the sights and sounds along the canal was unique, one that I shall never forget.  However the “old” canal life may be changing rapidly as living along the canal becomes a target for the rich who desire this waterfront property, therefore some of the things one sees along the canal today, the older building with their character and charm may be replaced with modern China.  

Here are some of my photos from the Grand Canal Tour in Suzhou:

China Part 1

On April 3, 2011 I headed off to China ..the filght from LA is a long one but the destination makes it all worth while.  We stayed at Beijing’s City Wall Marriott.  

The city wall of Beijing was a fortification built around 1435. It was 23.5 km long. The thickness at ground level was 20m and the top 12m. The wall was 15m high, and it had nine gates. This wall stood for nearly 530 years, but in 1965 it was removed to give way to 2nd Ring Road and the loop line subway of Beijing. Only in the southeast, just south of Beijing Railway Station, stands one part of the wall.  

The climate is very similar to what we have in the US however I did find some flowers in bloom around the hotel.


After that plane ride your first thought might be to crawl into bed and not move for 24 hours but we didn’t have that luxury..which maybe was a good thing.  Instead we hit the ground running, loaded onto the bus and headed to Tiannamen Square and the Forbidden Palace.

Our first glimpses of the people and the way of life in Beijing..


A light pole in Tiananmen Square: (I just liked it so snap snap)

A guard in Tiananmen Square:

Marching at the Forbidden Palace:


Inside the Forbidden city:



Some of the ornate “adornment” on the buildings in the Forbidden City.

It was very hazy and overcast..so I am pretty impressed with the quality of my pictures:




When I looked at this picture allI could remember how exhausted I was by the time we reached this point!  The Forbidden City is huge and we did a lot of walking:



Many of their valuable pieces are housed in the various buildings throughout the Forbidden City.   We couldn’t go in so squeezed around people to get a picture of interesting stuff like this throne for the emperor I am sure:



We also visited the Summer Palace:

The Summer Palace (simplified Chinese: 颐和园; traditional Chinese: 頤和園; pinyin: Yíhé Yuán; literally "Gardens of Nurtured Harmony") is a palace in Beijing, China. The Summer Palace is mainly dominated by Longevity Hill (60 meters high) and the Kunming Lake. It covers an expanse of 2.9 square kilometers, three quarters of which is water. The central Kunming Lake covering 2.2 square kilometers was entirely man made and the excavated soil was used to build Longevity Hill. In the Summer Palace, one finds a variety of palaces, gardens, and other classical-style architectural structures.

What really fascinated me about China though was the people here are some pictures!

No matter where we went it seemed someone was always trying to sell us something, note the postcards the lady in the picture above has ready to sell to us. I really did like this gentlemen selling flutes!  He was very good, loved what he was selling and was really a charmer!

Another fine musician. China is full of sensations; sights, sounds and smells!

Below:

Bronze Qilin statue inside the Summer Palace