The Kumkuat Korner

In Suzhou, around 496 B.C. a Emperor by the name  He Lu, King of the Wu State was killed during the war fought against the Yue State.  His son buried him on the hill and three days after the funeral a white tiger came and sat upon the grave as though guarding it. From that time on it has been known as Tiger Hill.  A few hundred years later, the octagonal Pagota of Tiger hill was built, the Hu Qiu Tower. Standing at 158 feet (47m) high and 7 stories high, is completely made of stone, with a masonry structure meant to imitate wood structured  pagotas of that era. Over the many, many years, it began leaning to its current state of 10 feet (2.32m) to the right, making this ancient almost 2500 year old pagoda, the Leaning Tower of China. This one of my favorite place that I went to go visit in Suzhou. Everywhere you turned you felt at peace by the beautiful lush greenery and the soul calming architecture.  And somewhere hidden in these mountains were a coup...

I know it's been a while since I've last posted something of my adventures. I have been busy with work and trying to really relax after I come from work. There is always something to do! Anyways, in the beginning of the month of May, I made another solo excursion to see the beautiful  Venice of China, Suzhou. It took me a little over three hours by a train that went nearly 300kph. The first thing I noticed about the ENTIRE city, is the way newer architecture mimicked its traditional Chinese tiled building to look like the older, historical buildings that are in abundance in the city. Everywhere you go, you are reminded of the city's rich history and its interconnecting canals. Along the way I learned many things. For example, the canals that run like veins in the city, mostly come from the Yanze River. It was interesting to see that I was not the only foreigner in Suzhou. Suzhou is among one of the top 10 places tourist visit when they're in China. I didn't exact...