Zhu family garden

We headed off walking to the old city, first to the Confucius temple, set behind lovely gardens with a lake and a bridge going to a little island. At the entrance were people doing different forms of exercise - small groups of women, each group with a teacher, doing dances with fans, or small flags, or large ribbons. Some old men had a stick with which they hit a spinning metal cylinder to keep in spinning.

We had a guide Su who was very knowledgeable. This temple is the second largest in China, built in the Yuan dynasty. (13th century). It was so peaceful, with birds singing and few other tourists. On leaving the complex I found a shop selling souvenirs and bought each of the daughters’ families a mahjong set in a pretty box, £15 for two. We used to play mahjong a lot when they lived with us.

We then walked to the Zhu family garden. It is a huge residential complex which was built in the late 19th century by a very rich family. Now it is state-owned and open to the public. We were able to enjoy the intricate artwork, and the elaborate rooms which led off from elegant courtyards. The gardens at the back had been transformed into a child’s park complete with huge plastic blow up creatures floating on the water in front of a man made rocky waterfall. Quite incongruous with the Feng Shui of the rest of the complex. This is the stage for opera to be performed over the water. The family and guests would sit on carved wooden chairs with marble backs and seats inside, opposite the stage with the doors open,

We walked back to the hotel, after having done 10,000 steps, and had a tasty lunch, so we’ll have a short rest before walking back into the old town to potter round.