{"id":3815,"date":"2023-08-31T17:10:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-31T16:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/mandarinchinese\/?p=3815"},"modified":"2023-09-08T02:32:19","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T01:32:19","slug":"my-first-visit-to-suzhou","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/mandarinchinese\/2023\/08\/31\/my-first-visit-to-suzhou\/","title":{"rendered":"My first visit to Suzhou"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As the Chinese proverb goes, ‘What Paradise is to the Heaven, Suzhou and Hangzhou are to the earthly urban (\u4e0a\u6709\u5929\u5802\uff0c\u4e0b\u6709\u82cf\u676d sh\u00e0n\u0261 y\u01d2u ti\u0101nt\u00e1n\u0261, xi\u00e0 y\u01d2u S\u016b-H\u00e1n\u0261)’. This blog post will give you a glance over Suzhou city (\u82cf\u5dde) in Jiangsu province, following Jiangyue CHEN (\u9648\u6c5f\u6708), a QUB graduate in TESOL, who recently relocated to Shanghai (\u4e0a\u6d77) for her new job and paid her first visit to its neighbouring city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I set off from Shanghai at 9:00 in the morning and arrived in Suzhou in just half an hour by high-speed train (\u9ad8\u94c1 g\u0101oti\u011b).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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The screenshot of the e-ticket from Jiangyue’s mobile app.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Suzhou is a charming city in the southeast of China, famous for its long history, rich culture and exquisite ancient gardens. Suzhou has many attractions worth visiting, among which Hanshan Temple (\u5bd2\u5c71\u5bfa H\u00e1nsh\u0101n S\u00ec), Pingjiang Road (\u5e73\u6c5f\u8def P\u00edngji\u0101ng L\u00f9) and Couple’s Garden (\u8026\u56ed \u01d1u Yu\u00e1n) are three must-sees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hanshan Temple<\/em><\/strong> \u5bd2\u5c71\u5bfa<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hanshan Temple is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in China, dating back to the 6th century. It is named after a legendary monk and poet named Hanshan, who lived here with his friend Shide. Their poems are full of Zen wisdom and life humor, and are collected in the book “Cold Mountain Poems”. Hanshan Temple has a tranquil and elegant atmosphere, with various buildings such as the Mahavira Hall (\u5927\u96c4\u5b9d\u6bbf D\u00e0 Xi\u00f3ng B\u01ceo Di\u00e0n), the Bell Tower and the Puming Pagoda. It also houses many precious relics and artworks, such as the Tang dynasty bronze Buddha, the Song dynasty stone carving of the Diamond Sutra, and the Ming dynasty wood carving of the Eighteen Arhats (\u5341\u516b\u7f57\u6c49 Sh\u00edb\u0101 Lu\u00f3h\u00e0n). Hanshan Temple is famous for its bell ringing ceremony on New Year’s Eve, which attracts thousands of visitors every year to listen to the 108 strokes of the giant bell and pray for blessings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n