Canal-side homes Suzhou 1996. [Photo by Bruce Connolly/chinadaily.com.cn]
The North Temple Pagoda close to Renmin Road was a good place to start my explorations, particularly after purchasing a city map. With then few tall buildings and Suzhou's mostly level topography, the nine-story and 76-meter-tall Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) tower provided panoramic views across a maze of low-rise rooftops to distant hills. Directly below were some of the exquisite gardens that continue to make Suzhou a prize tourist draw. Of course I visited several, for no visit to the city would be complete without such lovely experiences. They reflected a unique skill in perfecting gardens incorporating water, stone, trees and flowers along with walkways and pavilions overlooking ponds teeming with golden fish, all within tight spaces. But they were also testimony to the wealth of historic Suzhou, for some were once the residences of merchants and officials overseeing the waterborne commerce of this "Venice of the East".
Even within the early 20th century, much of Suzhou's geography consisted of islands connected by a maze of canals and creeks of varying importance that also linked with both the surrounding countryside and the water towns scattered across this vast alluvial basin. So much barge traffic converged on the city, potentially creating a forerunner of today's highway traffic jams!
