China 2007 (20) - Suzhou V (虎丘)

Day 13 continue
Tiger Hill, one of the most popular tourist destination in Suzhou, has a number of historical sites that date back hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Among them, Yunyan Pagoda and Sword Pond are the most famous sites. As a result, it is guaranteed to find massive tour groups there. They move like a swarm of locusts that don't care about anything in their path. It's nuts. We went in off season and didn't even see the worst of it.

1. Stone tiger on a bridge near Tiger Hill south entrance.


2. Approaching Sword Pond. The four big red Chinese characters are Tiger Hill Sword Pond.


3. Sword Pond. According to Wikipedia: Sword Pond is "a small rectangular pond, beneath which a treasure of some 3000 swords are believed to have been buried; this site is not excavated because the Leaning Pagoda's foundations rest on the site"


4. Yunyan Pagoda. From Internet: The pagoda is "a symbol of the city and has the distinction of being China's Leaning Tower. Built during the Northern Song Dynasty (959-961) it is a seven-story octahedron after the style of the timber pagodas built during the early Tang period. It is 48 meters high (158 feet) and for the past four hundred years has leant 359' to the northwest."


5.


6. In the back of the park, we found a path that went through a bamboo forest. Hardly anyone took that path, so we were able to sit alone by the bamboo forest. The sun was setting. A huge number of birds were in the bamboo forest. The noise from the birds were deafening, yet peaceful at the same time.


7. Ginkgo trees.


(To be continued)