Suzhou, China's paradise on Earth

by Matt Dela Peña

Not a lot of Portlandians (myself included) know that the city of Suzhou in Jiangsu Province is one of the nine sister cities of Portland (as listed by the ever so factful Wikipedia). Heck, why would we? We are, after all, Americans. We quiver at the sight of a map.

Yet, Portlandians would be pleased to know that the city they share some sort of citified sorority with is actually the fastest growing industrial center in the fastest growing province in all of China. Talk about having connections.

This sisterly bond with Suzhou is actually the very reason why our group decided to pay a visit to this place known only to foreigners by its UNESCO World Heritage Site-designated classical gardens. To the local Chinese, this city is nicknamed "paradise on earth". Hmm...

Suzhou is a two hour drive from Nanjing via G-42 (Hurong Expy) without accounting for traffic because we didn't experience any. The plan was for us to go on a weekend. When we arrived at the city, we checked-in at a four-star hotel which we all thought only deserved two because they made one of the girls pay a fee for leaving make up stains on a towel, and Jeff and Taylor got stuck in one of their elevators...

Anyway, after we met our tour guide, we made our way to the Humble Administrator's Garden, Suzhou's largest and most popular garden, and the only one we got to visit during our stay.

From learning about the gardens of Suzhou, most of us got the impression that these so-called "sanctuaries" from the hustle and bustle of the city were going to be peaceful and relaxing. You know, like how gardens are supposed to be. But, to our utter disappointment, we learned that going on the first weekend following the end of China's graduation season might not have been the best idea.

There must be a secret dance club entrance somewhere...

Don't get me wrong. The garden itself looked nice—lake, trees, and all. You could definitely distinguish the meticulous attention to detail employed by those involved in its construction. But you have to wonder, has the water always been this murky?

And what's with the locals' fascination with trees? I mean, they're wonderful, life-nourishing organisms that I probably take for granted being from Oregon and all, but it's bewildering to see so many people take photos of and with such average looking trees.

There are lots of koi in this picture.

But none of these were the actual problem. And that last part wasn't an issue, it was just kind of weird. You see, when our teachers, the local students we met, and without a doubt the Chinese tourism agency conspired to sell us these gardens, they spoke of private residences of retired government officials from China's dynastic past.

And from their stories, these gardens did seem like they were once indeed oases; this one in particular for Wang Xiancheng, an imperial inspector during the Ming Dynasty. But, after his death and after the property was handed over to the city, the garden became accessible to the public. On the day we went, it was more crowded than Nanjing's city center.

But perhaps the thing that killed it the most still wasn't the elbow room-less, not-so-leisurely stroll around a garden that has likely seen better days. No, that's just the way things are with popular tourist sites. It was more the tourists' chronic disregard for the garden's environment. To them, this place seems to be more like a public city park than a haven for peace and requiescence. But with so many of them in it at once, who can blame them? The bigger a crowd gets, the louder and dirtier people typically become.

That's because this place was never meant to be for the public. Again, it was built as a private garden. But more likely than not, these crowds are the product of a city trying to cash in on all of its resources in order to maintain that coveted number one spot. And believe me, I'm a pretty strong advocate for economic growth, but not when it comes at the expense of tradition and culture. But sadly, this is the case for many other developing cities around the world, Suzhou being one of them.