June 28, 2010 - Wuzhen

We took two more stops in Suzhou before heading to Wuzhen. First we went to the opera house. It is the oldest opera house in China. We discovered that the Chinese opera is different from what we call opera. It can mean singing, or drama.

There is much imagery involved, and no scenery. Everything is done by gesture. We learned some of the gestures, and even had the opportunity to try a few out.

On the way to the opera house, we saw a woman washing her laundry in a well by the street. Li says that can be quite common.

Next we stopped at the Embroidery Research building. It was unbelievable. These artists create beautiful embroidered pictures by hand. Some are so detailed that they look like a photo. They have also done portraits, for example, Princess Diana. It looked so life-like! There was also a recreation of the Mona Lisa that was magnificent!

The most amazing thing, though, was the two-sided embroidery. They could create the picture on both sides of the material with no knots and in different colors. For example, they had a cute design of a tabby cat, and on the reverse side the cat was black. Even more incredible was the two-sided embroidery of two totally different subjects. One side was a lion and the other a tiger. Both are on the same piece of material, not two pieces put together. I've never seen anything like it.

We then headed to Wuzhen, the water city. It's aptly named today, as it is raining again. The city is filled with canals. We're staying in guesthouses in this ancient town atmosphere. There are cobblestone walkways and a mixture of guest houses and shops throughout the village. It really is charming.

The delegates played some tradtional Chinese games when we arrived. Some of them, I remember playing as a child. They had bottles to drop rounded sticks into, hoops to roll, tops to spin and a strange form of hacky-sack. I was telling two of the delegates that I remembered playing Chinese jumprope when I was in school, and they asked what it was. When I described it, they said they saw one, but didn't know what to do with it. They got it, and I was able to show them what I remembered about it. Even the Chinese guides who were with us were surprised that I knew what it was and how to play it. It really brought back memories.

My room looks like something straight out of the "African Queen." I have a small room, with barely enough room to move. There is a single bed, a stand with a TV about 18 inches from the bottom of the bed, and a desk 12 inches from the side of the bed. There is a stool for the desk, but no room to pull it out. (I'm lying on the bed to type the blog.) AND... the entire bed is covered in mosquito netting. I feel like I'm in my own little tent.

After dinner at one of the establishments, we took a boat ride on the canal. Fortunately it had stopped raining. A man maneuvered us through the canal, much like a gondolier in Venice. Along the trip we could see residences and shops, and people just enjoying the atmosphere. The carvings and the stonework are very intricate, and each turn was one more beautiful sight. It was the perfect way to end the day.

When we got off the boat and were gathering the delegates with the usual "O-H" a girl came up and asked us if we were from Ohio. When we told her we were, she just beamed and said that she goes to Ohio State. She's a junior in the Business college and is home on break. She was very excited to see some Buckeyes in her home country.

O-H!!!!!