Day 6 (Suzhou)

Sunday 8^th July: Suzhou J

Three visits today: Suzhou Silk Museum, North Temple Pagoda on the same street as the museum and Pan Gate. The Silk Museum, though displaying great samples of clothing and having explanations in English on the Silk Road, it was a Sunday and on Sundays the factory was closed and that meant we didn’t get to see the silk being produced from the silk worms to the weaving looms… L

Exiting the museum we could see a very tall pagoda: our next spot. It is called the North Temple Pagoda. Suzhou has tall pagodas all around the city and they are quite something. This one is 9 storeys high which you may climb and as you go up a level, the view grows and expands offering you an overview of the city. Suffering from vertigo, I still faced this challenge holding on to the bars and never looking down. My curiosity had the better of me.

It was time for lunch and this time the question was: cheap and cheerful or middle range? There was a tiny Muslim restaurant just outside the North Temple Pagoda and that is where we had excellent noodles.

Pan Gate

A bus ride took us to Pan Gate, a beautiful garden that Seb and Augustin had visited before but well worth a visit. Walking on the paths along the pond gorged with fish was truly pleasant for an afternoon activity.