Water, water everywhere.

Stone bridges crossed and causeways lined the canals, which themselves split into a labyrinthine series of waterways separating some very interesting architecture.

A Word From Our Sponsor, Baked LoL's.

With exciting flavours like 'Italian Meatball', 'Hot & Sour Fish Soup', and even 'Blueberry', who could resist stockpiling a few bags of tasty Lay's Chips? Certainly not sihing Mike (below). 'Barbecue Chicken' is not what you would expect it to taste like as all of the snacks here have been 'adjusted' for distinctly Asian tastes. Now that I think about it, I wonder how disgusting or terrific our friends in China would find 'Sour Cream n Onion' or 'Dill Pickle' chips.

Grand Canal Boat Tour - Suzhou, China

Next up on our exciting tour-de-force was a trip by boat through the Grand Canals of Suzhou. Narrow waterways and ancient stone bridgework marked the beginning of a historical passage. Long ago, dignitaries, merchants and nobles alike traveled these waters in boats of similar make and now we were to do the same.

(Below) One oar? Really? Hahaha, our boatman had no problem manouevering the sturdy craft along the narrow canals though (years of experience), although we did spook him a couple times getting off the boat quickly in certain spots. He thought we were going to fall in, not knowing we were Chiu Lau's students and thus more nimble than that. ;)

All your ducks in a row.

At one of many toll-booths along our route, I sat up from my slouched, headphone-lovin', man-i'd-love-to-sleep position at the back of the bus and saw this. Bound for a plate of Peking duck perhaps? All sorts of livestock; pigs, ducks, etc. could be seen on our journey in a similar state of transport. It looks uncomfortable but you can be certain this stack of dinner isn't long for the road as their destiny lies on a dish.

Kung-fu is in everything...

Who needs scaffolding when you have Kung-Fu? These guys had no problem. Balanced precariously and still working like it aint no thang, lol. I hung my head out the bus window as we left  the tea plantation, photographed the scene and marveled at the ingenuity (that is what's going on here right? ...ingenuity? ;) ).

 Workers Compensation Board in Canada would have a field day with this place, but somehow I doubt there has even been one accident on this site as workers strolled casually and confidently across walkways no thicker than a child's wrist.

The Tea Plantation, cont'd...

As we entered the plantation complex, the first image to greet us was the golden statue you see below, nestled in the center of a beautifully landscaped courtyard.

(Below) An ornate and massive teapot. One can only imagine where this may have been used to serve tea at one time or another...or perhaps simply for decoration. Either way, it was interesting and I photographed it.

(Below) The nice ladies at the tea plantation show us an amazing technique for packing a very large amount of tea into a much smaller canister. After a brief tea ceremony in which we learned not only some history and cultural details surrounding this magnificent beverage, but also proper serving and flavouring ot the tea itself using added natural ingredients such as dried hawthorn berries and orange peels. One for sweet, one for slightly bitter and aromatic in this case. We indulged of course and several people picked up 1 or more canisters of the finest grade Dragon Well Green Tea we could buy. After all, and here's the bad news folks; they do not export the first flush grade-A tea, for any except the emperor (at the time) and for political dignitaries and such. Even within China, supplies of the tea are in limited quantity. Henceforth, we stocked up. ;)

Tea process, and some scenery

Remember when I said that the Longjing Dragon Well Green Tea was not roasted (as Wikipedia might have you believe)... well, here's the deal. After plucking the very tops of the branches to retrieve the finest tea, the leaves are spread out over these metal basins (which are heated from underneath) and gently dried (not freakin' roasted, lol). The man shown below actually turns the leaves over and over by hand until the perfect amount of dryness has been achieved. They are not, I repeat not cooked as that would destroy much if not all of the teas beneficial properties.

The rest of the plantation grounds were no less spectacular. Flowing fountains, iconic sculptures, wooden bridges, stone fences and carvings all intermingled in what can surely be referred to as one of the worlds most idyllic settings. I could live here, drinking green tea all day and practicing kung-fu /qi-gong until my Chi was flowing like the Yangtzhe river, deep and wide.

(Below) A stone bridge leads the way to the plantations inner sanctum where we were to have dinner/lunch with some of the locals and other people in the area. This is one of the few lucky shots where the composition was devoid of tourists.

The rolling hills of tea...

It's amazing the work that would've been  done to deforest the mountainsides and plant these crops. The air pressure, humidity, light and soil all play such a vital part in  the development of the plant itself. This specialized tea can only be grown here with the same significant results. The properties of the Longjing Dragon Well tea is well-known, famous actually. Promoting longevity, good health, internal cleansing...to name a few. The actual reported properties of thsi amazing plant go beyond the scope of this blog but the links below may provide additional insight.

Enjoying Tea (.com)    or Wikipedia's take on the subject here.

(Below) the Chiu Lau students gather at the small building complex where the tea is dried, packaged and sold. All sorts of goodies awaited us inside... Candies made with tea, exceptionally-crafted tea-pots and accessories, and of course, the Dragon Well green tea itself.

(Below)  Smaller hills and mountains were just as susceptible to cultivation as the flat fields of other crops seen elsewhere. A much different landscape than the flat and  monochromatic scenes of Alberta and Saskatchewan farms that I have grown accustomed to.

(Below) Tea trees, all lush and green. The real good tea (First Flush, A-Grade) comes from the top 6-inches of the branches where the new leaves form. The rest are separated into B-Grade, and so on representative of the effort of retrieval and rarity of the leaves in question.

Unfortunately for the rest of the world,  the plantation does not export A-Grade First-flush Dragon Well Green Tea (only for the Emperor or now, just to politcal dignitaries, Prime Minister and the like), but there are some excellent and high-quality alternatives, such as:

 

Journey to Hangzhou, Zhejiang

The bus departed to Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province where we were to be treated with the most famous green tea in the world; Dragon Well (Longjing) Green tea. More information here -> Longjing Tea . Although it should be noted that not all information presented in Wiki form is accurate, for example: Longjing Tea is not roasted. It is hand dried as you will see in the coming photos.

Anyhow, the scenery became more and more lush as we approached our destination and the air more fragrant. Everywhere a person could be seen, they would be holding a jar or other container full of green tea and even the  (seemingly) elderly folks of this region bore very little signs of aging. As if out of some supernatural tale, the effects of constantly imbibing this very special green tea were all too apparent. The local peoples skin seemed softer, more toned and you could almost feel the Chi in the air.

Closer to the actual plantation site the hills gave way to valleys of tea-trees that stretched into the horizon and in many cases, up the sides of mountains. The multi-tiered crops had already been harvested for the most part, and recently...so we figured we'd be in for the freshest Longjing tea going. Although many leaves remained on the thousands of bushes, there are careful practices that are adhered to to ensure that the crops continue year after year.

Don't what?!

Ok, can someone explain this one to me? L...o...l. Let's see....'Stairs Ahead'...check, 'No cycling'...check, 'No luggage containing explosives'....what? Hahaha, anyhow, believe it or not this wasn't the weirdest of signs (more to come)...but it certainly was worth taking a picture of.

And the winners are....not these two. =O

This husband and wife team defied the rule of the emperor or lord of the area in their time. They were punished here; bound and set into a spike-walled cage, passing people would spit or hurl debris and insults at the prisoners until the day the two died, possibly here or possibly by another means of final execution in another area. This place is definitely no fun for the troublemakers of ancient China. A couple people from our group almost petted the statues on the head when they were suddenly reminded of the 'spit' factor that may have well-continued into the present day. (Ewwww, lol)

A bit of perspective, and a cool piece of rock. ;)

Below you can see the crowd gathering near Lake Taihu, with the previously posted incense brazier smoldering ahead in the center. Our group is in the front (Jordan talking with Diane) and gathered off to the left in the photo below. We had already been on the boat at this point and were returning to our bus, but several scenic spots remained along the way.

(Below) I really don't know if the carved stone below represents the grave of someone historical or if it is just a marker of significance to the lake or the area we were in. All I know is that if I ever die, I would like a marker just like this. Now that i'm thinking about it, this stone would look amazing in any garden setting or as a front-lawn conversation piece. ;)

Bronzed.

A very cool statue representing a warrior from the days of old. There was some articles of historical significance mentioned during the taking of this photo but in the adventures that followed, I'm afraid I lost the information amidst the chaos of my mind. All I can think of looking back at this now is; I sure would like to accomplish enough in my lifetime to warrant a grand statue such as this. He must've been an important part of Chinese history to have been honored in such a way.

Paintings so vivid...

Even after hundreds of years the paintings adorning the walls, arches and ceilings of old-world China still hold their colour. I tried to frame in as much of each piece of art as best I could and the photos turned out very well. All of this shot with an iPhone no less, I did bring my Nikon but all around versatility won over in the end and my iPhone ended up being the photographers tool of choice. Can't wait until they up the megapixel count/resolution of the iPhone 5, just so I can buy it and take another trip. =)

That's one heck of a window deco

There are so many complex and ornate windows, as well as doors. This one with a dragon motif caught my eye as something I would most certainly have

The Incense Brazier

At the entrance to a small temple near lake Taihu, throngs of people gather, many of whom purchased or brought ritual incense to burn in this incredible brazier. Hundreds of years old and still used frequently for it's original purpose.

Now that's craftsmanship that echoes down the ages. =)

Oh those Lions...

Sihing Mike spent some quality time riding many of these stone animals but here we just messed around. Here, Graeme gives the lion a little love n' attention.

(Below) Shawn feigns being eaten. I'm sure if that statue could speak, oh what tales of tasty arms and kung-fu kisses it would tell. Lol!!

Another view of Lake Taihu

(Below) Yep, we stood out in a crowd. Especially Spencer, Christian and Mike, who all loom over everyone here at 6-feet,2-inches+.

China Adventurers Extraordinaire =D

My Sifu Chiu Lau (left), a tour guide whose name I cannot recall at the moment (Maggy perhaps?), and tour-guide Tony (left). The other guide was only with us for a short time as she only specialized in this particular region of China (Wuxi). Ah Sifu, so serious (yet he has that distinctive twinkle in his eye, haha)

My friends Christian (middle), Scotty (foreground) and me awaiting our boat trip around Taihu Lake.

!

Buildings, old and new.

Ok, so I'm not even sure what the building shown below is. I do believe it is a hotel, but with the walls and gate like they are..who can be certain? Actually, I did notice however that in China, gates, arches and doorways can get pretty freakin' elaborate. 

(Below) Not entirely sure what the purpose of this massive black obelisk is, but I had to photograph it.

(Below) A juxtaposition of modern-day china and the old-world architecture that lies scattered among skyscrapers and office towers. The sidewalk in this photo actually looks like it's on a bit of a slope, but i'm positive that was just a combination of lens distortion and bus-speed. ;)

Hotel Art Objects - Not for Export, lol.

Yep, those are carved ivory tusks, not quite sure if it's elephant or not, but from what I recall..it was. While I do not condone the purchase or sale of ivory (poachers should all die, really), the intricacy of this piece of artwork was unbelievable. The painstaking hours it would've taken to compose such a masterful work goes beyond description.

And then there was all this Jade.... all of this artwork and dozens (or hundreds) more like it were scattered throughout the halls and rooms of the Jinma Palace Hotel. Some of these ornate sculptures have been carved out of enormous single pieces of jade, how crazy is that!? Not to mention, very very expensive. By comparison the prices in Canadian would be astronomical, but considering the yuan price-tags, they seem somewhat affordable.

The Jinma Palace Hotel

Extravagant doesn't even come close. This hotel had an entire multi-storey shopping center, massage parlours, gym, pool, etc... It was just crazy. Below is a daytime shot of the lobby...yes, that's right, the lobby. Our rooms we're incredible and there wasn't anything you couldn't order with the touch of a button.

My kung-fu brother and good friends Eric and Spencer also gave an excellent performance on the grand piano shown in the distance, while we waited for tour-guide Tony to organize the room keys. Many of us (if not all) had no idea these two excellent individuals had musical talent, but lo and behold there it was. 

Complete with intricate decor, and expensive-looking art this hotel spared no expense in delivering the 'wow' factor

(Above) Video shot of the fountain in the front of our hotel. I know I posted this earlier, but it goes with these images better, don't you think? =)

(Below) Still-shot of the aforementioned (and posted)  water fountain.

(Below) Photo of the strip in front of our hotel.  Almost everyone in my group had the explorer bug bite them and  were eager to see as much in our relatively short stay as possible and so after we checked in, many of us departed for adventure....without a clue as to which direction we should start in. =D

Room Number What?!

Ok, for the record I should explain the 11:11 phenomenon and how it has been an oddly frequent part of my life this past year. For months and on a seemingly daily basis, the numbers 11:11 have been popping up on clocks (the only time i seem to look at the clock, guess what time it is?), on signs, TV, etc.

So when we arrived at our second hotel and out of the 20+ envelopes that get handed out with room keys, and I get the one with Room 1111, you can imagine my surprise! Eerie? I think so. Nevertheless I feel strongly that there is some event about to occur relative to 11:11, perhaps November of this year....there, I said it. =)

Yep, tripped out so much I had to photograph the key-ticket and room-number plaque. So very, very odd.