[Vnbiz] What should I do in Suzhou?

[Viet Tran]

Thank a.Hong-Phong_Pho for interested information.

The hairy crab is excellent. I have tasted two yesterday dinner. It worth
flying here to eat.

Suzhou has the old tale about beauty lady, fresh beef and hot wine. Except
fresh beef and hot wine that I have planned to use this dinner, I can not
find the remaining. I must say that they are much more worse than I
imagined. Nowhere to find. Maybe I will try my luck in Shanghai later (this
weekend).

Today, after the conference, I hope I will have enough time to visit some
gardens or walk in the old street. My problems is I can not understand
Chinese while the English of some people here is just enough to tell me the
direction and or the price of a good. It's really terrible if you stand in
historical garden or place, which you have read many time about it, and love
to be there. But when you actually be there, you even don't recognize.

I just have an English book about Suzhou to read. I hope that I can map
thing I know from Vietnamese book and tale before to the name and
description in English. So I can guest and mapping things together :-)

Thanks again!

Regards,
Viet

On 12/6/06, Hong-Phong_Pho at ita.doc.gov <Hong-Phong_Pho at ita.doc.gov> wrote:
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> [ Vietnam Business Forum ]
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> Part II
> I first visited in 1984.  Even then, many new buildings were going up
> around the old one.  The dress code was still much more socialist then.
>  That's definitely no longer the case.  Along with the gaudy, there are some
> really stylish folks there.  Having read about the legendary beauty of the
> girl of Suzhow from Vietnamese literature, I inquired about it (so I can
> take pictures).  One old man in a noodle shop with a recently decapitated
> water buffalo head and meat out front (remember this was 1984) told me they
> all went to Shanghai.  This information, whether or not true, served me well
> on subsequent visit to Shanghai.  In the crushing of humanity that is this
> gargantuan metropolis, it's some time difficult to notice or focus on
> individuals.  But if you have the time to sit and people watch, you will
> find among the million a porcelain-skinned, ruby-lipped beauty equal to the
> legend.  If and when you do, pay her a compliment by asking her if she hails
> from Suzhou.  If she knows enough about her own culture to know where you
> are coming from, then it's definitely worthwhile to continue the
> conversation.  If the conversation can be continue among the gardens of
> Suzhou (only an hour by train almost every hour from Shanghai into the wee
> hours) you cannot ask for more.  You will have learn things about the place
> you'll never forget.  All this cannot be done in a day, so you should plan
> more trips to Shanghai.  It doesn't sound like you'll have enough time for
> Hangzhou this time.
> You can buy anything you have money for in Shanghai.  Good Chinese food is
> a good value.  This time of year, you can get the delicious seasonal hairy
> crab that come from a lake in the region.  There is a whole legend behind
> it.  You have to buy a pait at a time.  Expensive for the pair, but much
> cheaper and fresher than in Hong Kong.  A good value in Suzhow is the
> multicolor cultured freshwater pearls there.  The thicker the pearl deposit
> over the artificial core, the more valuable and expensive.  They are fairly
> inexpensive for bling bling and can be quite classy if properly designed.
> Enjoy your visit.
> Best,  HPP
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> [ Vietnam Business Forum ]
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> The only way to see Suzhou (To^ Cha^u) is through your imagination with
> the help of books, and literature.  The City still has some of the things
> that it was famous for, the gardens and their classical designs.  You can
> still see it early in the morning or in the evening, if you will limit your
> peripheral vision and look only at a few things at a time.  Old Suzhou is
> surrounded by or buried under the trappings of modern development, much the
> same way Hanoi is.  The process started much earlier for Suzhow.  Those who
> remembers Hanoi in the early 90's and before may be disappointed that the
> place "ain't what it used to be".
> (More later...)  HPP
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