By Jialei Tang, 08/19/2016. Upon arrival in Suzhou, I went straight to the Urban Planning Centre. As I walked out of my uncle and aunt’s place (they so kindly put me up), I chanced upon this small alley and was immediately taken by its architecture.
Narrow, vaguely occupied, and the sound of motorcycles — the alley connects to The Master of Nets Garden (网师园).
The urban planning centre is beautifully designed. The guide gave us a thorough introduction to the way of the city. I was amazed by how the city balanced its new Industrial Park and the heritage architecture. The history of the city’s evolution was translated into models, while every bit of me hoped that such a comprehensive and thoughtful planning process will be given to every developing town in China. That the heritage is taken into account and not overshadowed by economics.
Then I arrived at a marketplace the following day. Some say that, if you can bargain for your best deal at a marketplace, you have aligned yourselves with the locals. The crowds of this market was roaring with gentle phonetics of the Suzhou dialect. I compared its organization to that of the city’s layout.
There was something intuitive about how the market was tucked closed to a famous tourist shopping street. In between were small streets filled with vendors selling street food.
