This is the sixth in a series of articles and images from NDH correspondent, David Sand, on the road in China with John-Roger, John Morton and 108 traveling peacemakers.
August 20
We split into 2 groups, and my group is up and out at 6:15am for a boat tour of the Suzhou canals. We take a bus ride through the streets of Suzhou, ending at a lavatory stop before we board the boats.
It turns out that the men’s urinal is outdoors and fully exposed, to the utter delight of the female tour participants. These moments waiting around are often a lot of fun–we know how to take it with us wherever we go.
We board the small covered motorboats that take us on a tour of the Suzhou canals. The locals have fully integrated the canal into their lives–we see them brushing their teeth in it, washing their clothes in it, using it for cooking, living in boats on it, etc. House doors often open out directly into the canal. There is a warm, relaxed feeling about the people who live here. I saw a nice sofa that some people placed under a bridge so that they could hang out by the water. Houses are poor, but again it’s that clean, orderly poverty that is more a lack of material goods than a poverty of consciousness. There is a loving, aware presence in people’s eyes as they wave to us from the banks, and as always the children are adorable, and obviously very loved by their families. The photos will give you a good feel for what it’s like there.
As we debark, the second group arrives, and I find Skipper John Morton champing at the bit, ready to take to the boats. Our group is going on to the “Lingering Garden”, another masterpiece of oriental garden design similar to yesterday’s. I’m enthralled by these gardens. There’s a calm, sensual delight to these places. We get totally lost in them–literally. There are mazes of walkways, ponds, paths, and buildings that separate different sections, so that after 15 minutes of walking you get so turned around that it’s difficult to remember where you came from. The result is a sense of entering another world–serene and slightly separated from the “real” world, and each turn in the path reveals another facet of beauty.
The path through these ethereal landscapes ends, of course, with shopping. The exits funnel you into a shopping area, where we see some of our crew negotiating over some silks.
From there it’s on to the Buddhist “Western Temple”–a typical Chinese Buddhist temple, with a courtyard and inner buildings housing huge wooden statues of Buddha, bodhisattvas, arhats, etc. (Usually, no photography is allowed inside, so there are only outdoor shots.)
This time, our group gets a special treat: the monks have agreed to open up their quarters and show us the extensive library that they’ve developed. Two monks lead us on a guided tour. They have complete collections of many Buddhist scriptures, including the Tripitaka, and although they specialize in Chinese Buddhist literature, there are works from many other forms of Buddhism as well. The vibe there is clean, quiet, and peaceful–a welcome respite from our running around out in the world.
While some of us are waiting for our turn to see the library, John helps Zane (his son) throw coins into an outdoor urn for good luck.
We have a few free hours before dinner, and then an unexpected treat: Our scheduled visit to a traditional Chinese restaurant has been cancelled, and we’ve special-ordered a meal from the Italian restaurant! I’ve never seen such gratitude and delight at a meal. At my table the dishes are applauded as they arrive–plates of steamed vegetables, salmon, steaks, spaghetti with marinara sauce. Nothing is swimming in oil as it is in the Chinese places we’ve been to. It’s not as though our folks dislike Chinese food; it’s that the quality of ingredients and preparation has been so far below what we’re used to in the States, no matter what kind of cuisine it is. People eat as if they haven’t eaten in weeks.
After dinner it’s time for a 15-minute walk to one of the gardens we visited yesterday. (I, along with many others, decide to take a cab instead of walking. The walk is easy, but it’s the level of car exhaust and pollution in the city streets that’s so taxing. So far the only clear sky I’ve seen was when we went out into the countryside to see the Great Wall. In both Beijing and Suzhou it’s been hazy, humid, and very polluted. )
The garden is beautifully illuminated in the evening, and various rooms in the complex are used for performances of Chinese traditional arts: theater, music, dance. We walk from room to room guided by a woman in traditional Chinese dress, and in each room we’re treated to a different performance. The performances are very sensitive and professional. I take back whatever I said about Chinese music. There were some very sweet vocal pieces. It’s been an easy, relaxing day, a feast for they eyes and heart.
It’s 10:00 pm and I’m ready for bed. Tomorrow’s activities don’t start until 9 am–what a luxury. Please send Light to China and the areas of China that the participants are traveling in, to the trip participants, to John-Roger and John Morton and the staff.
Click here to view Children of China Special Feature
Click here to view Day 6 of the China Trip
Click here to view Day 5 of the China Trip
Click here to view Day 4 of the China Trip
