01 Dec 2019
We were pleased to have an opportunity to tour Suzhou our own way. We had limited time and were very clear about what we wanted to see. Our guide set a course in which we had an opportunity to see all that we desired and in an optimal arrangement in terms of time of the day. We were at the Humble Administrators garden first and although it was crowded saw it in a very personal way. The history and context was exactly at the level we desired and as we are very interested in local handicrafts we had plenty time to find exactly what we wanted. Our guide never pressured us to buy anything anywhere and instead guided us if we were potentially missing better options. We ended up purchasing a teapot carved from a single block of stone, an embroidered cat screen (very fine work) that it seen on both sides and also some fans. At the end of the tour, we were at the canal at night. We finished with a quick visit to the new zone where we visited the elegant very modern lakefront. Our guide was thoughtful, unobtrusive and very knowledgable.