Where in the World are Dave and Elizabeth?

Dajia Hao! Yesterday was our second and last day in Shanghai. Dave and I took a long shuttle ride to near the Bund River Walkway.  Shanghai is magnificent, but overwhelmingly large and there is no way we could do more than scratch the surface of this great city in just two days.  Being in the Bund Area let us see and interact with one piece of Shanghai's heart. One place we visited was the beautiful Fairmount Peace Hotel, which was built in 1929.  I noticed that near the Hotel, there were some women who dressed in styles from the 1960's to the 1940's.  How fun it has been to see the care that so many Japanese, Korean, and Chinese young people put into their dress. For us as tourists, it's kind of like visiting not only a place, but a time, as well. Our plan had been to go to the Yu Gardens for some of Shanghai's famous Xiaolongbao, but our trip to the Bund took longer than we anticipated, and our time was limited. I am sure we were surrounded by authentic restaurant...

Move over Buck ee’s.  You have nothing on the quick stop we went to in our way to the city of Suzhou.  Ceilings painted with blue sky and white clouds. An artificial stream running down the center.  Places that sell things like duck on a stick.  Fresh fruit and veggies on display.  The Chinese traveler’s convenience store is something to see.  This was just a pit stop on our tour group’s nearly 2 hour trip from Shanghai to Suzhou. Known as the Venice of China, Suzhou has a population of 10 million. (Shanghai is 26 million.). At the heart of the city is an ancient canal system.  The main one is part of a canal that linked the city with Beijing and was built beginning in  500-600 AD.We loaded into boats to tour the area.  Following that, we had a lovely lunch in a local hotel and then headed to the Suzhou Embroidery Research Institute.  We met women who create the most intricate, exquisite embroidery with silk thread.   The detailing ...