We woke today at 4:30 with the sound of the local birds singing to greet the day. After a quick walk (or run by some) we visited the peacocks on the hotel property and had a nice breakfast. We split for the morning into two groups. One group went to curriculum meeting with the SNA leadership team and the other group had a chance to sample local sights.
We went first to the Horticultural Exposition of 2016. The visit began with walking across fields filled with an amazing array of rainbow colored flowers. The Expo included a series of different buildings that featured the culture and history of the region as well as different themed gardens. The dragon boat lantern and the whistling kites that make noise while they fly amazed us. The Chinese New Year dragon made us want to join the parade of characters.
We visited a series of different gardens and had great fun playing in the mirrored houses that disappeared in the reflection of the plants. We saw a garden full of sundials and posed for pictures with every new spot we encountered.
Next we traveled to visit the Humble Administrators Garden in Suzhou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most famous of the gardens of Suzhou. The garden was built first around 1131 and was rebuilt many times. The buildings included traditional Chinese architecture and we saw many amazing water features and rock gardens. The group was fascinated with silk embroidery art that looked a photograph but was made of thread. This art is unique to this region and was very beautiful.
We had time to walk along the Ping Jang Road where we shopped for silk, pearls, and other mementos. Dinner was downtown in a high-rise mall and was enjoyed by all. The group walked about 10 miles throughout and day and ended happy and tired but filled with new experiences and memories.