Suzhou to Shanghai

We visited the Master of Nets Garden, also called the Fisherman's Garden, in Suzhou. The garden was started about 1140 A.D. A portion of this garden has been reproduced in the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
 

A unique round doorway in the garden. Note the beautiful woodwork on the wall behind the doorway.
 

A shelter at a bus stop in Suzhou; a rather nice design fitting in with the Chinese architecture.

 

Our next stop was a factory where silk thread was produced. This display contains silk worms at different stages of development, with the adult worm on the left.
 

Live silk worms that we could touch. They are very smooth, almost silky.
 

A machine removing the silk filament from the cocoons.
 

A close-up of the silk filament being removed from the cocoons.
 

Meet Silvia, an art student from Miami International Univ.
 

Whenever we had a free moment, Silvia would take out her notebook and work on her drawings. She is a good artist.
 

Of course the factory had a fashion show of clothing made from silk and a store where you could buy it. It was pretty slick marketing.
 

China has done a lot to develop a modern highway system. Wherever we went,  we traveled on high speed, limited access toll roads between cities. The major cities have expressways that make it easier to get around, but rush hour traffic is still a problem because of the rapid increase in the number of automobiles.
 

On the way back to Shanghai we stopped in Tongli for a ride on gondola. Like Suzhou, Tongli has an extensive canal system and has been designated a World Heritage site. You might call it Venice with a Chinese flavor.
 

A couple of gondolas in Tongli.
 

When it rains, they cover the gondolas with tarps, but they are still open at the ends. It was raining hard when we started our boat ride, so our boat was covered like these. People sitting in the middle get a tunnel like view of the scenery.
 

 I was fortunate to get to sit in the front and had a better view, but got very wet from the rain. I guess that is the price you pay for the best seat.
 

Upon arrival in Shanghai we went to a restaurant for dinner. Since it was Sylvia's birthday, our tour guide had arranged a surprise birthday cake for her, complete with birthday candles. No, they didn't load it with a candle for each year of her age; that would have left no room for the decoration on the cake. Sylvia made a symbolic cut of the cake and then the waitresses finished the job.
 

The birthday girl with her piece of cake. Happy birthday, Sylvia!