One person’s Suzhou travel guide 2017 Suzhou independent travel guide

Suzhou has been a paradise city since ancient times. There is no chain link or controversy about this. As a famous city in ancient times, Suzhou still retains a large number of ancient garden buildings. Let me share with you my 2017 Suzhou free travel guide.

When traveling, you can suddenly brighten your dull and tired eyes, you can relax your frowning brows at will, you can throw away all your worries at will, and you can infinitely expand your cramped heart.

In November of that year, I spent three days of my life in Suzhou, which I had longed for for a long time, and walked along the longitude and latitude of the ancient city of Suzhou.

And Suzhou is a woman whose mood is as sad as lilac. The quiet and ancient light and shadow contrast with the beautiful and graceful face. She lowered her eyes for a moment and walked towards me holding an oil-paper umbrella.

01 Hidden away in the city - Lion Forest

The hotel we stayed in is located in an alley with a concentration of scenic spots in the ancient city, called Bashang Alley. The surrounding streets are criss-crossed, and I can walk directly to two famous gardens, the Humble Administrator's Garden and the Lion Grove. Suzhou gardens are of course modeled after the Humble Administrator's Garden. No matter in terms of scenery, scale, or fame, they are naturally not as good as other gardens. Considering that gardens pay attention to allusions and the focus of this trip is to measure the ancient streets on foot, I chose to visit the Lion Forest.

If planting chrysanthemums in Nanshan is a small retreat away from the temples, then the quiet Suzhou gardens amidst the hustle and bustle satisfy the scholar-officials' ideal of seclusion in the city. The Lion Forest has two names: First, it is named after numerous rockeries that look like lions. Many old people in Suzhou used to climb the rockery in this garden when they were children. The second one was built by Buddhist disciples in the Yuan Dynasty to commemorate the relationship between master and disciple. It was built by the eminent monk Wei Ze. "Lion" as "teacher" can also be used in Buddhist terms such as "Leo" and "Lion's Roar".

The lion can be said to be a sparrow, although it is small and has all the internal organs, which is enough to give a glimpse of the characteristics of Suzhou gardens. The garden has a circular corridor, a majestic hall, and winding paths. There are appropriate stone tablets such as "Enter" and "Explore You" above the door. The doorway is round and in the shape of four petals. They make excellent frames for the garden's rugged rocks and lush old cypresses. Taking a photo at any station is the effect of people traveling in the world of pictures.

It is early winter, and the flowers and trees are in decline, but there are still towering ancient camphor trees and vigorous ancient pines. There is a piece of green water in the garden, and the artificial waterfall on the high slope pours zigzag below, making the water in the garden come alive.

The pavilions and pavilions on the Shangshiqiao River are scattered in an orderly manner, and the lotus flowers in the water are swaying in the wind. There is a rockery maze here with several passages in the rockery. I tried to go through here, but after thinking about it many times, the road was still blocked, so I climbed up and dived among the rockeries for a while, but I couldn't reach the other side of the pool. After turning a few corners, I had no choice but to go home. No wonder Emperor Qianlong personally approved the word "Zhenqu" and imitated a similar rockery group in the capital. Think of the ingenuity of the garden builder. A rockery has many "organs", not to mention the layout and structure of the entire garden.

I am just a layman in garden art, and I cannot interpret what is good about it from a professional perspective. I just think that the combination of various elements is just right to make people relax and have a rest. The tranquility of Lai Laixi may be the perfect place to “hide in the city”.

02 Pingjiang Road - Petty bourgeoisie distribution center

If you see young people aged 20-35 on Pingjiang Road in Suzhou, wearing ironed cotton clothes, sitting quietly in the small Beside the flowing water of the bridge, people are wearing no makeup or light makeup, headphones in their ears, a book by Haruki Murakami or Baby Annie lying on the table, holding a delicate white porcelain cup with their slender fingers, and occasionally lowering their heads to sip the fragrant coffee. , don’t doubt, they are the legendary petty bourgeoisie. They are defined as "artistic youth" by the current popular label - artistic youth. Then you're depressed, doubtful and in dance school.

On the other hand, Pingjiang Road provides all the elements

The gurgling flow of clear water in the river is the unchanging blood and vitality of this city for thousands of years. Occasionally, boatmen and tourists waddled by, paddling wooden oars through the slightly churning river, chattering about the past. The ancient house with pink tiles is half-hidden by the weeping willows and holly on the river embankment, like a continuous ink painting. The weathered walls have been peeled away by time. Vines spread along the walls, and the moss was moist and warm, like light green paint splashed randomly.

Red lanterns hang under the eaves, adding a touch of stunningness to the gray tones, just like the red ChloDan painted on the fingertips of the woman with her face turned upward.

On the other side of the river on Pingjiang Road, there are dozens of stone bridges that have seen the ancient city of Gusu for hundreds of years. After crossing the bridge, they also walked into the homes of ordinary people on ordinary streets. They lit dim lights and spoke Wu Nong's soft language, gradually burying the long history in daily fireworks life.

Here, specialty shops are lined up along the ancient streets. Milk tea shops, clothing stores, bookstores, cafes, restaurants, and hotels all have different moods. The name of the store is meaningful and the decoration is also very unique. Most shopkeepers have a petty bourgeois complex, listening to music, reading books and chatting. Even during the off-season, they don't try to attract business. Just walk into a concept bookstore, buy a famous hand-drawn map of Suzhou, and sit down with a cup of signature milk tea.

Here, time is wasted, there is no need to race against every second. To be honest, this brand of milk tea is not as delicious as the legend says. I even think it's so pink that it's not worth the real money. But in the room, music was flowing slowly, and outside the window, sparse pedestrians were passing by. Time is quiet and lovely, what is there to care about?

The grandma selling white orchids staggered forward, and her silver-haired and kind face reminded me of my grandma. So I bought one, and my grandma kindly pinned it on my skirt for one dollar, in exchange for fragrant flowers and warm little touches. Pingjiang Road, where you can't see flowers across the barrier, is filled with a strong atmosphere, allowing you to get up close and feel the clear pulse of the flowing water under the bridge.

03 Garden Dream - Kun Opera Museum

Kun Opera has a history of more than 600 years, which is different from the majestic Peking Opera. The delicate and graceful cultural and geographical environment of the south has given birth to the unique "ink tone" of Kun Opera. The singers' singing, reading, sitting and playing are all full of emotions.

The Suzhou Kunqu Opera Museum is located in the alley of Pingjiang Road, next to other houses. Its predecessor was the Quan Shan Guild Hall built by Shanxi merchants. There is a promenade in the pavilion, a small pond pavilion, and a green banana rockery. However, the season is bleak at this time, the drizzle is like silk, and there are only a few people. The museum displays ancient books, props, wood carvings, inscriptions, New Year pictures, etc. related to Kun Opera, all of which illustrate the grand occasion of thousands of people listening to Kun Opera.

There is an ancient stage in the museum, and the plaque reads "Celebrate the World", which contrasts with the silence of this scene. Two strings of red lanterns hang from the cornices, dotting the dove-grey sky and empty stage.

Sitting there in a daze, the contrast of time makes people think deeply. In "The Peony Pavilion", Du Liniang and Liu Mengmei's flowing eyes, fluttering clothes, and faint singing seemed to penetrate the mountains and rivers.

“It’s so colorful, like this, and it all comes down to a broken well and a decaying wall, and its moments of beauty are like this. Who is the host of the party? ? Flying at night, clouds and pavilions, wind and rain, smoke and waves painting boats, the Jinping people especially look at the gorgeousness and despicability of "Wandering in the Garden"! The classic love of life and death, "I don't know what it is, but it is gone forever" is a dream story. Maybe everyone has some classical feelings in their heart. It can be "Flowers and plants are loved by people", or it can be "Life and death are as people wish", which makes people willing to take half a day of leisure from the dull and bleak years to go to the theater and realize their dreams with the actors.

If you don’t go to the garden, how do you know what spring is like? If you don’t go to Suzhou, how can you know the ancient charm? The opera is over and my trip to Suzhou is over. Let me slowly stew what I have seen and thought in these three days, and continue my classical dream with this long-lost feeling of regret.