Day and Night 5 [Part II]
After the SIP, we proceeded on to the Master of the Nets Garden.. which I suspect was literally translated, but unfortunately couldn’t find the original Chinese plague to check against it..
Nice backdrop for nice pictures to be taken against =)
有山有水.
Guanqian Street was a pale comparison with the opulence of Nanjing Road, and the great deals at Xiangyang. Nevertheless, we were spellbound, watching a really accomplished Magician demonstrate his card tricks and more. Mingyi and Anthony purchased some really unique items. Ask them to demo it haha
Having been to Suzhou before, the Silk Factory was not a place I hadn’t visited prior to this trip, and still has the repugnant odor produced when the silk worms are boiled.
Day and Night 6
Luzhi Water Town.. where you see old buildings (constructed without any nails), water, villagers, nice bridges and thresholds to walk over.
Nice place for pictures though….
The tour through the water town proved to be the longest had experienced on this trip. With the twisting passages and maze-like alleys, it was not a surprise, that several members of the entourage were lost, and the tour agents had to do a search and rescue mission.
Grand Canal.. the second largest architectural and engineering feat in China, after the Great Wall. It supposedly stretches from Hangzhou to Beijing, and is used for trade, and transportation purposes. Construction started during the Warring States period. Again, do not underestimate them.
The Embroidery Institute showcased the epitome of Chinese fine art, with delicate hands weaving pieces of thread into works of art, the most impressive of which resembled an oil painting.
As I mentioned previously, Breadtalk has come to China. What do people do when they see a good product in a country that doesn’t really care about intellectual property rights?
They Pirate it.
Holiland Bread was a fine example of how Breadtalk has been copied in China. Same colour scheme, same concepts, but. Interestingly,
Better Products.
I wonder if they’ve moved on from piracy to innovation already. Certainly, they seem to be walking in Japan’s footsteps…
Imitate – Innovate – Invent.
Our last dinner was an interesting affair, with a san hu (?) player taking requests and singing whatever songs which we requested for. Within those 20 minutes, he had made a grand total of 140 元. Hmm....
