Walking through Suzhou, North Canal

Lingyan

The other day I visited a mountain on the west side of Suzhou in an area called Mudu.  It is very beautiful, but sadly the air pollution makes some photos a little hazy.  To be honest, today's air pollution was really not bad, it can be so much worse; but it is not always like you hear on the news-just a few weeks a year.

Shopping in Style:

I always thought Americans loved their shopping, but the Chinese put us to shame.  Seriously!  This city has so many department stores, and while I think this is more upscale, it is not the top-of-the-line, I won't even go into that store.  This store is called Jiu Guang and is located in an Eastern suburb of Suzhou called SIP (Suzhou Industrial Park); I think everyone calls it SIP because it sounds better than mentioning 'industrial' while talking about where one lives.

P.S.  I just drink coffee and eat here. I can't afford the clothes.  Coffee is $5-6 USD, a baked good is about $1 (basically the same), interestingly, a nice meal costs about $6 USD.  But a nice Ralph Lauren shirt runs about $300 USD.  Too much for my budget.