Brad Templeton's Photography
Suzhou

Suzhou

Most tours are taken from Shanghai to the small village of Suzhou, which does indeed have some nice examples of private Chinese gardens. It's on the grand canal north of Shanghai and that is also interesting.

Sadly, they also trap you into a "shopping opportunity" at a so-called Silk Factory which is interesting for 15 minutes and boring for the next 90.

Flowers from the Humble Administrator's Garden
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Flowers from the Humble Administrator's Garden
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Random art in the pavement was everywhere
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Random art in the pavement was everywhere
Part of the grand canal
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Part of the grand canal
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A viewing room frames a pond
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A viewing room frames a pond
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They spin up the silk in the tourist trap silk factory.
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They spin up the silk in the tourist trap silk factory.
Silk spins quickly as the workers find the start of the threads
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Silk spins quickly as the workers find the start of the threads
A flash shot shows the structure of the silk wheels
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A flash shot shows the structure of the silk wheels
Silk from twin cocoons can't be unraveled, so they pull it out into sheets to make stuffing for quilts.
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Silk from twin cocoons can't be unraveled, so they pull it out into sheets to make stuffing for quilts.
Because they force you to stay there, they give you a short fashion show to watch.  I had never tried photographing runway models so I gave it a try.  No other motive.
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Because they force you to stay there, they give you a short fashion show to watch. I had never tried photographing runway models so I gave it a try. No other motive.
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Typical Chinese town street.
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Typical Chinese town street.
Barge moves down the canal
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Barge moves down the canal
Peddler sits alone on ancient bridge over the grand canal, next to the old walled gate of the city.
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Peddler sits alone on ancient bridge over the grand canal, next to the old walled gate of the city.

China & Yangtse Index

Shanghai | Shanghai Chinatown | Suzhou | Museum Shots | Shows
To the Dam | Three Gorges Dam | Xiling Gorge | River Boats
Yangtse Scenes | Qutang Gorge | Lesser Three Gorges | Wu Gorge
Yangtse Towns | Chongqing | Xi'an and Terra Cotta Warriors
Beijing | Great Wall | Ming Tombs | Forbidden City | Other Scenes | Misc | Tour Group