A Great Little Place Called Tongli
Yesterday my friends and I spent the night in a great little town called Tongli. Tongli is less than an hour east of Suzhou and it has a great small town feel when you get to the older parts of the town. China has designated Tongli as a historic site that needs to be preserved, so even though lots of people still live and work in the older part of town, most of it remains unchanged since the earlier dynasties. This creates for an interesting atmosphere when you see kids walking home from school in their uniforms right next to the grounds that hundreds of years before housed the residence of some high ranking officials. To top it all off, rather than using streets for transportation people use canals. For this, Tongli is known as the "Venice of the East".
Check out my photos of the "Venice of the East".
Once we booked a hotel room we went to the older part of town. This part of town contains a lot of little shops where you can buy silk garments and other stuff for tourists. Along with all the little shops this area had a lot of museums and gardens to see. We spent a lot of time walking around and enjoying the peacefulness of the gardens. One apsect of the gardens I enjoyed, besides the ponds and the architecture, was the horrible translation of Chinese into English on a lot of the signs. For example, "watch your step" turned into "wutch your stcp".
After we walked around and saw most of the sights to see we did a little more walking. Rather than going back to the main street we decided to walk through some of the smaller streets. As we welked the streets got narrower and we came across more residences. There were lots of people outside their homes eating dinner. It was really interesting smelling all the food being cooked and listening to people speak Suzhouhua (Suzhou language). It made me feel like I was lightyears away from Beijing. I really liked it.
We eventually found a small restaurant to eat at. The restaurant was actually a small boat on the river. At the restaurant we ate a lot of different dishes, most of which I can not remember the names of. The last dish was the best though. It was a simple dish with chicken. Basically they cook a whole chicken, head and all, in a pot with a few bamboo shoots. Even though it was really simple it was tasy and delicious. It also gave the three of us Americans a nice warm feeling inside because it was a lot like home made chicken soup that we ate at home.
Once we had our fill we left the restaurant and went window shopping. As we were leaving one of the owners said our Chinese was good, but since he spoke Suzhouhua, our teacher had to translate. Window shopping was a lot of fun because the shop owners were very welcoming to us and they all seemed to be having a good time socializing with each other. Even though we all had just eaten a big meal we bought a lot of snacks and ate them on the street.
When we approached the main canal dividing the older part of town and the newer part of town we were approached by a lady who wanted to take us for a ride on a boat around the canals. We did not have anything better to do, plus riding the boats at night is relaxing and romantic we decided to ride. On the boat we took a lot of pictures and got to know the person steering and his companion. They taught a little Suzhouhua and explained where people in the area go to church and what religion they are. The thing I will not forget, though, is when the younger lady on the boat said that president Bush is a bad president. That was the first time I had heard a Chinese person say it so bluntly. Most of the time only our teachers bring up America's president.
Once we got off the boat it was still pretty early so we did a little more shopping. We found a small jewelry store that is run by a college student studying are in Shanghai. We spent quite a bit of time there looking at jewelry and talking with the owner. We also met some people from Beijing in the small shop. We got to talking with them and found that they own a restsaurant just outside of the south gate of Tsinghua University. They said they would give us a discount, so we exchanged phone numbers and said that we would eat at their restaurant as soon as we got back to Beijing.
One of our friends, Tyler, was still hungry after we got done shopping, so we looked for a place to eat dumplings. We found a place after a few minutes of walking. We asked the people inside if the restaurant was still open, but they said no. After I told them we wanted to eat dumplings and asked them where the nearest place to buy them was they were more than willing to let us come in and eat. We were all very thankful that they let us come in after hours. This is why I want to go back to Tongli if I am ever in the area again.
Last night we met a lot of nice people who were friendly and willing to go out of their way for us, but this morning at the bus station it was a different story. Because we could not buy bus tickets from Tongli to Shanghai we needed to go back to Suzhou. So this morning we returned to the small Tongli bus station and bought our tickets. But because the bus station is so small there was not really a good system and you are not even guaranteed a seat. If you miss your bus or it never comes then you are out of luck. ... A lot like a lot of things in China. The people at the station told us to that we could wait inside or outside for a bus, so we waited a little bit as a few bus come and went. As they called out for different cities Tyler and I noticed that being passive and sitting in the waiting area was not going to help, so we got in line next to the small gate. There was not even a line really, it was more of a crowd. So as a couple Suzhou busses came and went that did not have enough room for us I started to realize that if we did not start being more aggressive and pushing also then we were going to be at the station all day. The five of us made it to the front of the small crowd and when the next Suzhou bus came we were first to go through the gate. I thought to myself, "sweet getting on the bus will not be so tough now". As I walked around the front of bus and saw all the people next to it already I realized I was wrong. I should have known that if you buy a ticket and can board a bus at the station and on the street with the same ticket, then why do you even need a ticket? We already waited about forty minutes and I did not want to wait longer, so I did what the locals did and pushed myself on the bus. I was able to grab a bunch of seats on the bus, so my friends and I could sit together. I felt bad for pushing for about a second, but then I realized it was not a matter of courtesy. This experience seemed to fall into the category of experiences I have had where if you do not speak up and act then you will not get anywhere or any help. This will be one of the apsects of China I remember, but fortunately all the good aspects still outweigh the bad aspects, so overall things are still good.
Right now we are on the bus to Shanghai. We have about another two hours before we get to Shanghai. Once we arrive we will probably go out to eat lunch and then try to find a place to stay and buy our train tickets to Beijing. In the evening we will probably go out to a bar.
I am having a great time right now. I am really enjoying the fact that I can really use the Chinese I am learning. Since I am using it more and more I finding it easier to learn a new word or saying and actually remember for more than a day. Now I just need to start writing more, so I can improve my writing skills. Also, I need to hang out with my two friends, Ji Maike and Taili, since they refuse to speak any English. I am glad that I met them.
Well I do not have much more to say now and I have a chance to take some pictures.
Check out my photos of the "Venice of the East".
Once we booked a hotel room we went to the older part of town. This part of town contains a lot of little shops where you can buy silk garments and other stuff for tourists. Along with all the little shops this area had a lot of museums and gardens to see. We spent a lot of time walking around and enjoying the peacefulness of the gardens. One apsect of the gardens I enjoyed, besides the ponds and the architecture, was the horrible translation of Chinese into English on a lot of the signs. For example, "watch your step" turned into "wutch your stcp".
After we walked around and saw most of the sights to see we did a little more walking. Rather than going back to the main street we decided to walk through some of the smaller streets. As we welked the streets got narrower and we came across more residences. There were lots of people outside their homes eating dinner. It was really interesting smelling all the food being cooked and listening to people speak Suzhouhua (Suzhou language). It made me feel like I was lightyears away from Beijing. I really liked it.
We eventually found a small restaurant to eat at. The restaurant was actually a small boat on the river. At the restaurant we ate a lot of different dishes, most of which I can not remember the names of. The last dish was the best though. It was a simple dish with chicken. Basically they cook a whole chicken, head and all, in a pot with a few bamboo shoots. Even though it was really simple it was tasy and delicious. It also gave the three of us Americans a nice warm feeling inside because it was a lot like home made chicken soup that we ate at home.
Once we had our fill we left the restaurant and went window shopping. As we were leaving one of the owners said our Chinese was good, but since he spoke Suzhouhua, our teacher had to translate. Window shopping was a lot of fun because the shop owners were very welcoming to us and they all seemed to be having a good time socializing with each other. Even though we all had just eaten a big meal we bought a lot of snacks and ate them on the street.
When we approached the main canal dividing the older part of town and the newer part of town we were approached by a lady who wanted to take us for a ride on a boat around the canals. We did not have anything better to do, plus riding the boats at night is relaxing and romantic we decided to ride. On the boat we took a lot of pictures and got to know the person steering and his companion. They taught a little Suzhouhua and explained where people in the area go to church and what religion they are. The thing I will not forget, though, is when the younger lady on the boat said that president Bush is a bad president. That was the first time I had heard a Chinese person say it so bluntly. Most of the time only our teachers bring up America's president.
Once we got off the boat it was still pretty early so we did a little more shopping. We found a small jewelry store that is run by a college student studying are in Shanghai. We spent quite a bit of time there looking at jewelry and talking with the owner. We also met some people from Beijing in the small shop. We got to talking with them and found that they own a restsaurant just outside of the south gate of Tsinghua University. They said they would give us a discount, so we exchanged phone numbers and said that we would eat at their restaurant as soon as we got back to Beijing.
One of our friends, Tyler, was still hungry after we got done shopping, so we looked for a place to eat dumplings. We found a place after a few minutes of walking. We asked the people inside if the restaurant was still open, but they said no. After I told them we wanted to eat dumplings and asked them where the nearest place to buy them was they were more than willing to let us come in and eat. We were all very thankful that they let us come in after hours. This is why I want to go back to Tongli if I am ever in the area again.
Last night we met a lot of nice people who were friendly and willing to go out of their way for us, but this morning at the bus station it was a different story. Because we could not buy bus tickets from Tongli to Shanghai we needed to go back to Suzhou. So this morning we returned to the small Tongli bus station and bought our tickets. But because the bus station is so small there was not really a good system and you are not even guaranteed a seat. If you miss your bus or it never comes then you are out of luck. ... A lot like a lot of things in China. The people at the station told us to that we could wait inside or outside for a bus, so we waited a little bit as a few bus come and went. As they called out for different cities Tyler and I noticed that being passive and sitting in the waiting area was not going to help, so we got in line next to the small gate. There was not even a line really, it was more of a crowd. So as a couple Suzhou busses came and went that did not have enough room for us I started to realize that if we did not start being more aggressive and pushing also then we were going to be at the station all day. The five of us made it to the front of the small crowd and when the next Suzhou bus came we were first to go through the gate. I thought to myself, "sweet getting on the bus will not be so tough now". As I walked around the front of bus and saw all the people next to it already I realized I was wrong. I should have known that if you buy a ticket and can board a bus at the station and on the street with the same ticket, then why do you even need a ticket? We already waited about forty minutes and I did not want to wait longer, so I did what the locals did and pushed myself on the bus. I was able to grab a bunch of seats on the bus, so my friends and I could sit together. I felt bad for pushing for about a second, but then I realized it was not a matter of courtesy. This experience seemed to fall into the category of experiences I have had where if you do not speak up and act then you will not get anywhere or any help. This will be one of the apsects of China I remember, but fortunately all the good aspects still outweigh the bad aspects, so overall things are still good.
Right now we are on the bus to Shanghai. We have about another two hours before we get to Shanghai. Once we arrive we will probably go out to eat lunch and then try to find a place to stay and buy our train tickets to Beijing. In the evening we will probably go out to a bar.
I am having a great time right now. I am really enjoying the fact that I can really use the Chinese I am learning. Since I am using it more and more I finding it easier to learn a new word or saying and actually remember for more than a day. Now I just need to start writing more, so I can improve my writing skills. Also, I need to hang out with my two friends, Ji Maike and Taili, since they refuse to speak any English. I am glad that I met them.
Well I do not have much more to say now and I have a chance to take some pictures.
posted by Jon Keto at
7:03 AM
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