This morning we left Shanghai for a couple of days and spent the day in Suzhou. Li says it's a small city: "Only several million." It is so odd to hear them talk about millions of people and consider it to be a small number. We also met our new guide for Suzhou, Allie.
It rained again on our way in. The rain helped cut the heat, but not the humidity. The rain stopped by the time we were ready to start our activities, so we didn't have to worry about getting wet. I just can't get over how humid it is. And it's bringing out the mosquitoes.
We spent the morning at the city gate. It's not as high as some we have seen, but it's equally as beautiful. Allie got some kites for the delegation, and they had a blast, flying them along the wall. Some a little trouble getting them to fly, but others had great success. It was a great activity after the 1-1/2 hour bus ride.
After lunch we explored Tiger Hill and saw the Tiger Hill Pagoda. We learned that Tiger Hill got its name from a legend which says an emporer was buried on the hill, and a few days after he was buried, a white tiger appeared on the hill. To this day, no one has been able to find evidence of the burial spot. Some efforts have been terminated by the pagoda. It's often called the "Leaning Tower of China." To try to excavate near the temple would cause its collapse. As always, the gardens around the pagoda were beautiful, and there were plenty of people in attendance to see it.
After dinner, we went to the table tennis school to get a lesson in ping pong. The students there were very young; some 7 or 8 years old. Some have been playing since they were two. They were unbelievably good. We had the opportunity to match our skills next to theirs. I will say that they were kind. They took it easy on us, but when they wanted to, they could crush us like grapes! We all had a good time, though, and got a pretty good workout!
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