Joy of writing - Story 10 - Discovered

She found the plant at a local flea market, reduced for a quick sale as things were closing up for the day and she decided it would be perfect for in her kitchen window. She carried it home, stopping to pick up some new potting soil and a nice green pot to put it in. 

She lovingly repotted it, noticing that it seemed to have a healthy set of roots and the new pot gave it plenty of room to grow. And she was right, it did look very nice in her kitchen window. 

The plant seems to agree with its new home and it grew rapidly, doubling in size quickly, and required a bigger pot and more soil. It’s leaves spread and it was soon blocking out the light coming in the window. She decided to move it to the patio door where it would get the full benefit of the afternoon sun. 

However it soon because a nuisance because she could not longer even open the patio door to get out to her back yard. So since the weather had turned out warm and pleasant she moved her plant out onto the back patio where she planted it in the garden and it really thrived, soon towering over the fence. 

That was when she discovered what her new plant actually was. The police officer who knocked on her door questioned her about whether she had a licence to grow marijuana for her personal use. 

The Humble Administrator?

Ok now, who ever heard of a “humble” administrator? Most of the administrators I had to work with were anything but “humble”. Now of course I'm not talking about School based administrators like principals and vice-principal, because they have no choice but to be humble, stuck between demanding teachers and demanding administrators. I guess it must be different here in China, because one of their most recommended attractions in Suzhou is this Humble Administrator's Garden. After visiting and enjoying Tiger Hill, I decided to go visit this garden while my daughter Alisha was here visiting me from Japan. She is a talented amateur photographer (Taught her all she knows), and I thought this might be a chance to go picture-taking with her.

The gardens of Suzhou vary in admission prices, and this one at 70 RMB is one of the most expensive, so you would expect it to be one of the best, and it lives up to all the expectations. We were even given a usable map with English as well as Chinese, making it much easier to find your way around. There are also signs throughout the garden telling you where you are, although I can't quite figure out why the red dots that locate your present position on the map were all rubbed out. Why do people have to actually touch the dot? It doesn't mean you are actually on the dot; you do not have to touch it to be there.

It is actually difficult to explore most of the Chinese gardens in any systematic fashion. I usually try to walk around the perimeter first to get an overall view and then explore the central areas, but as you walk around there are so many photographic opportunities that you are pulled in many directions. There is a lot packed into a small area in most of the gardens, as the original designers were careful to make the most of the space they had, carefully designing pleasurable retreats and vistas from what was there. Carefully placed pavilions, towers and halls provide restful places to contemplate and enjoy the ponds, trees and flowers on the garden. The focal point of the Humble Administrator's Garden is a central lake with many little islands, now connected by bridges and paths. There are a number of raised areas, usually occupied by “towers” to increase the viewing pleasure out across the garden.

The Humble Administrator was certain busy naming all of the building throughout the garden. You have the “House of Sweet-smelling rice”, the “Far away looking Pavilion”, the “Hall of Distant Fragrance”, the “Listening to the Sound of Rain Pavilion” and the “good for Both Families Pavilion”. Oh, and under the “Hall of 36 Pair of Mandarin Ducks” there really are ducks, but I didn't count to see if all 36 were in attendance that day. There are over 30 beautiful buildings each with fanciful names like this around the garden, and most are open to the public at least to view. In many of them you can sit and think about why they were named as they were – most are pretty obvious.

There is a lot to see in the Humble Administrator's Garden. Alisha and I spent the better part of a morning there, and we could have spent longer but we only had a day and a half to explore Suzhou, so we kept moving. Many people do exactly the opposite; they come here to sit and relax in the incredibly peaceful and serene surroundings. That was probably why the Administrator built the garden; as a retreat from the bureaucratic rat race of the Ming Dynasty 500 years ago. No wonder he was humble with this to come home to after a busy day at the office.

A week after visiting this garden I met a young man from London England who only had two days in Suzhou and he asked my advice about what to see in only a day, and I suggested that this garden was probably the one attraction he should not miss. It is very well maintained and a beautiful place to spend a day just slowly wandering around. My advice is to take your time, stop and sit, smell the sweet rice, and enjoy the distant fragrances. This is a tourist attraction that is best viewed at a leisurely pace. Alisha and I were constantly finding things to take pictures of, and we enjoyed talking about different views and perspectives on things in the garden. It always amazes me how many times we both decide to take a picture of the same thing. The really interesting thing is to watch the other tourists then try to figure out what on earth we both found so interesting in that roof-line or the shadows created by something. They see us both taking a picture of something they figure it must be significant, but they look and look without seeing what we saw.

After spending a day in The Humble Administrator's Garden, I can highly recommend it. In fact All senior administrators should have a garden like this to come home to. I don't know if they would all be “humble”, but being able to sit and relax in a place like this couldn't help but make them better Administrators. What a place to sit and contemplate the problems of your school, your city or your country.

Tiger Hill - Doing the "tourist thing"

I'm not much of a “touristy” tourist. If I read that something is THE place to visit in a city, I normally put it well down on my list of excursions. I just don't want to be go where all the other tourists go. In fact, often when telling locals about the places I have visited, I often get worried faces and expressions like “OHHHH we don't go there.”

It was like that here in China. I went shopping where the Chinese go shopping, and I wandered the same streets they did. Oh, I went to see the old historical part of Suzhou, and I went to the Bund in Shanghai, but I didn't go up in the Oriental Pearl Tower, and so far I had not visited any of Suzhou's famous gardens. Today however I gave in. The worn and very “Dog-eared” map I have been using to find my way around Suzhou, has on the cover a beautiful picture of Tiger Hill and a caption announcing “NO.1 sight of suzhou”, and a lot of the teachers I've been working with have also recommended this spot to me. I figured that on a Wednesday morning I might avoid the “tourists”, so I went to have a look. Of course in Suzhou, the “tourists” are mostly all just Chinese who are not from Suzhou. I'm not sure if the residents of Suzhou really consider me a tourist or not. I expect they just refer to me as “That crazy foreigner who takes pictures of doors.”

Tiger Hill isn't too hard to find. It is not far from the city centre, and considering that the part of Suzhou I have been living in is so flat, that the speed bumps are considered “hills”, this actual hill is pretty easy to spot. After locating it on my map, and using the excellent directions from the Teachers, I boarded the bus and was able to track my progress by watching the large leaning stone Pagoda on top of Tiger Hill grow larger out the bus window as I got closer.

It costs 60 YUAN admission, but it is worth it; there is a lot to see, and you can spend a better part of a day exploring the grounds. I do have one complaint, recommendation or observation however. Although the excellent signage around the grounds is all in English as well as Chinese, it really would have been useful to have an English brochure to follow. I was asked if I wanted an English guide, and I believe it was free, but I prefer to explore on my own, and the map on my ticket was only in Chinese. I've run into the same thing in the Tourist Information Centres – the sign over the door is in English, but do not expect to find any English information inside. I know there are not TOO many English tourists, but obviously if the signs and maps are in English, someone recognizes the need for it. It can;t be too hard to produce a few in English.

A large group of Chinese “tourists” were just entering the grounds at the same time as me, and as they all scrambled to get that perfect shot of the large Pagoda on top of the hill, I slipped quietly down a side path and started walking around the lovely paved walkways and forest paths around the base of the actual hill. I found a little pagoda hanging over the canal where I watched a woman cleaning out her mop across from the park. I walked through a lovely little Bamboo grove, and through I little tea house (I believe). I came upon a nice waterfall with a screaming little girl. I believe she was simply have a temper tantrum, because when her father pointed out that a very tall odd looking man with a beard was approaching, she shut up immediately. He probably threatened her with “The Hairy Scary Man” would get her if she didn't behave, but when I went up to her and said “Hello” and asked her why she was crying, she decided I wasn't so scary, and gladly shook my hand and posed for a lovely picture by the waterfall, giving me the obligatory “V” sign with her fingers – what is with that anyway?

After making my way all the way around the base of the hill, I started climbing up the paths and stairways to the top. As I climbed I came upon a museum of stone/rock sculptures, various houses and buildings all with interesting displays and explanations. I was fascinated by the different styles of carved wooden chairs in each building. There seemed to be a different style chair in each building. All through the park were beautiful gardens and peaceful areas to sit and just relax and contemplate life. I often saw people just sitting and reading, and some of the Teachers mentioned that they can purchase a “Garden Card” that gives then unlimited use of these attractions. I can see the value of this, as it would be a lovely place to visit just to have a peaceful place to relax.

Part way up the hill I came across a beautiful Bonsai garden with hundreds of potted trees displayed on pedestals. It was fascinating to see the many different trees trained and trimmed to beautiful shapes. You could see on many of the the wires forcing them into the desired shapes. This was probably my favourite part of Tiger Hill, and I spent an hour here all by myself wandering among the little trees admiring them. The bus load of Chinese tourists were obviously more interested in the pagoda, because I had the Bonsai garden almost completely to myself.

When I finally made it to the top of Tiger Hill, it was actually a bit anticlimactic. The large multi-storied pagoda is very spectacular, all made from stone and leaning slightly to one side, but it is closed to the public and you cannot climb it any more. The view from the top would have been speculator. I walked around taking a few shots from various angles, but it is actually quite difficult to take pictures of the pagoda because of all the trees around it. The nicest pictures are taken from other areas of the garden with the pagoda in the background. I should have realized that because that is exactly the shot displayed on the map that brought me here.

I enjoyed my visit to Tiger Hill, and now that I have seen how nice it is, I'm going to have to visit some of the other “Tourist” attractions around Suzhou to determine if Tiger Hill really is the 'No 1 sight of Suzhou”. I've heard that The Humble Administrator's Garden is lovely?