words

chapter seven @ 2000 May

suzhou: land of rice and fish
suzhou: venice of the east
suzhou: paradise on earth

suzhou: an introduction

me and marco in suzhou

In the Summer of 1998, I was offered a chance to spend my summer vacation in what is considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in China: Suzhou. They would pay me to live there for 2 months. Is this great, or what? Well, I fell in love with the city. The following year, I was offered positions at Suzhou University and Suzhou Zhong Shan College. I spent six months at each, spending all of 1999 living in this beautiful city. It was one of Marco Polo's favorite cities in Cathay (China) and it has likewise become my favorite city in China. Here's the skinny on Suzhou by the books:

• Situated just south of the Yangzi (Yangtze) River, just west of Shanghai, just east of Lake Tai (Tai Hu) and just north of Hangzhou, Suzhou lies in the most fertile, and economically prosperous area of China. Today and yesterday. Listen:

• The Chinese like to call Suzhou - The Venice of the East. That's because it is a city of canals flowing through and among the city proper. Well, if you wanna get it right, Suzhou is 2,500 years old. a 1,000 or so years older than Venice. Ah! Venice! "Suzhou of the West".

• Suzhou: "Paradise on Earth!". That's what the travel guides all say. That's what the people here all say:

Shang You Tian Tang (Heaven has paradise)

Xia You Su Hang (Earth has Suzhou and Hangzhou)

What else do Suzhou, Venice, and Italy have in common? Well, some Italian guy named Marco Polo visited here a few times in the late 1200's. Here's what he had to say about Suzhou:

Sin-gui [Suzhou] is a large and magnificent city, the circumference of which is twenty miles. The inhabitants are idolators, subjects of the Grand Khan, and use his paper money. They have vast quantities of raw silk, and manufacture it, not only for their own consumption, all of them being clothed in dresses of silk, but also for other markets.....By the name of Singui [Suzhou] is to be understood 'the city of the earth', as by that of Kinsai [Hangzhou], 'the city of heaven' ".

- Travels of Marco Polo, (Wordsworth Ediitions Ltd., 1997) p.182

Okay, there's a little bit of ancient historical background and perspective on Suzhou from the West.

From the East, suffice it to say that Suzhou is one of the Four Famous Cities of China; a place schoolchildren country-wide are taught they should aspire to visit some day; a city with 2,500 years of history. Walk up to any Chinese person anywhere ON EARTH and say: "Shang You Tian Tang". And they will immediately reply: "Xia You Su Hang"

"Shang You Tian Tang
Xia You Su Hang"

"In Heaven There is Paradise
On Earth, Suzhou and Hangzhou"

Chuck @ China has moved on to Suzhou in southeast China. The next few chapters will focus on this "paradise".

CHUCK @ CHINA 8: SUZHOU THRU THE AGES
Background and history of Suzhou from other sources old and new, East and West.

CHUCK @ CHINA 9: SUZHOU THRU MY EYES
What this grand city is like today, IMHO.

CHUCK @ CHINA 10: SUZHOU TOUR
An illustrated tour of some of the most beautiful, famous, and interesting spots in and around Suzhou.

CHUCK @ CHINA 11: LIFE IN SUZHOU - Part I
The best of my anecdotes from life in Suzhou.

CHUCK @ CHINA 12: LIFE IN SUZHOU - Part II
More life in Suzhou: A Tale of Two Villages.

Dive in and enjoy. I hope it was worth the wait. As my students would say:

 "Welcome you to Suzhou!"

Chuck