Wow! During the May Day holiday, I was in Dongshan, Suzhou. The weather was perfect — not too cold and not too hot, really comfortable!

I often say that Suzhou is always bustling with people, regardless of the season — there really isn’t a less busy period! But guess what? The scenery before me was hardly crowded and incredibly soothing! Dongshan is, in fact, a treasure peninsula on Lake Taihu, China's third-largest freshwater lake. It boasts the charm of a Southern Jiangnan water town with its small bridges over flowing waters and quaint villages, as well as picturesque lake views that rival those near Dali in Yunnan. Absolutely perfect for daydreaming and relaxing. I sincerely recommend everyone to come explore!

How to Get There:

• Drive yourself from downtown Suzhou. It will take about an hour.
• Use navigation to search for Dai Xin Wan Bus Station.
• ️ Parking:
  • There are numerous free parking spots along the lakeside road, which is quite convenient.

️ Important Notice:

• The sunlight reflecting off the lake has particularly strong UV rays, so do remember to apply sunscreen to avoid sunburn easily!

Here are some beautiful spots to take pictures:

• ️ Dai Xin Wan Bridge
  • This is called "Suzhou Little Kamakura". Why? Because the winding lakeside road, with the blue sky and white clouds in the background, the green mountains and a rainbow of houses spread across the hillside makes it feel like a Japanese anime scene. (Kamakura is a Japanese coastal city famous in anime.)
• ️ Feng Qi Bridge
  • Adjacent to Dai Xin Wan Bridge, this road has an S-shaped bend, and you can often see birds flying close by, making it ultra gorgeous!
• ️ Lu Hang Ancient Village
  • This is the ancestral home of an important official (prime minister) during the Ming dynasty (roughly between Anno Domini 1368-1644). The lanes twist and wind through this village, creating a unique atmosphere. Many ancient buildings dating back to the Ming and Qing dynasties have been preserved and restored beautifully.
• ️ Qi Yuan Garden
  • This is the only Suzhou garden nestled against a mountain and looking out onto a lake! Three must-see places here include: the pier where Emperor Kangxi (a famous Chinese emperor) once used to land, a very old loquat tree, and an ancient well called "Liu Yi Well."

Local Delicious Food Recommendations:

• Try Diao Hua Lou Old Soup Noodles, sweet and sticky White Jade Square Cake
• And don't miss the three signature white-colored local delicacies from Lake Taihu—white fish, white shrimp, and silver fish. Local family-run restaurants beside the lake serve fresh-caught cuisine directly.

Beautiful.

The comments section mostly mentions hole-in-the-wall snack spots in the Gusu District. For proper restaurants, it's better to search for highly-rated ones on platforms like Dianping (though be aware that many reviews might be inflated). Usually, you won't go far wrong with those. Feel free to add more suggestions in the comments! Also, I find that many 'nongjiale' (farm-to-table style eateries) in areas like Shushan, Dongshan, Xishan, and around Taihu Lake are delicious. I'm working on compiling a separate guide for those.

Haha, I even thought I must have misread it.

This is really good.

Alright, no problem! I'll definitely go as soon as I get the chance.

Yes, it will. And Chimelong doesn't have many places to shelter from the rain.

Going to concerts is really expensive.

Don't even get me started! I'm a local, and I was stunned when they asked for my ID while I was taking a friend to Tiananmen. I didn't have it with me, so we ended up just trying our best to avoid the Tiananmen area after that.

Memorizing the tour guide script, passing the review, and getting assigned tours – that's not the main issue. What really matters is the number of tours, how quickly expenses are reimbursed, and whether they delay payments...

Why not consider moving to Fuyang, Lin'an, or Tonglu?

Yuzui Park (Fish Mouth Park) has beautiful sunsets.

As a Suzhou local, I think your clickbait title is quite misleading. Pingjiang Road is much better for exploring than Shantang Street! When you explore Pingjiang Road, you're not just walking down one main street, but the entire block (from Dongbei Street in the north, Cang Street in the east, Pingjiang Road itself in the west, to Shiquan Street in the south). It's full of countless small streets and alleys perfect for a city walk. The scenery is definitely no less impressive than Shantang Street's, and it's much chicer and more relaxed.

Well, I enjoyed my trip to Guangzhou this time, but compared to Shenzhen, I still have a preference for the latter. During these few days, Guangzhou's traffic really put me into a dilemma of how to interpret it.

The traffic really gets on my nerves!

• Calling a car requires an extremely long wait: Every time I used apps like Didi or AutoNavi to call a taxi, I had to wait over fifteen minutes before a driver arrived. This was not just a simple matter of a shortage of cars during busy hours.
• Warning: Street motorcycles and e-vans are major traffic blockers
  • Motorcycles and electric vehicles (which are very popular locals known as "motorcycles" in Guangzhou) will dart around, which would make it difficult for cars to drive and get stuck in traffic. Therefore, if you're constrained by time, reserve more time for booking a taxi.
  • I'm not really fond of walking, especially with the weather being so hot, and even though my destination might be close according to Google maps, I still chose to take a taxi.
• Drivers cancelling orders: Several times when a driver picked me up, he asked me to cancel my order. However, this issue did not arise from my ordering inexpensive fares.
• Warning: Street conditions in old town areas: some roads are very narrow, while coupled with the large number of street motorcycles and e-vans, driving becomes even slower.
• Heavy Crowds at Line 3 Subway Station: One of Guangzhou's main subway lines. According to AutoNavi APP, the first time I saw the passengers queuing up outside the subway and waiting with barrier enclosures, it was extremely crowded at the station.
• Warning: Commuting recommendation: if the destination can be reached by Line 3 Subways, try to avoid peak-time trips, or consider taking the public bus instead.

Experience and Navigation in the City

• It feels like the city lacks unified management compared to Shanghai, which despite being very populous, has excellent organization and a romantic feel while walking around the old town districts.
  • (I know some people might say that as someone from Jiangsu or Zhejiang provinces, praising Shanghai is our tendency. However, when comparing cities, it has to be relative. Comparing Guangzhou with small cities won't make sense; while on the other hand, comparing it with large cities may give the impression that I am overly flattering them with compliments.)
• GPS Navigation is unreliable:
  • The GPS used in Guangzhou often led me to incorrect directions, taking me around pointless rounds. I had no choice but to ask for help, only to find out that those who could help were also strangers in the town.
  • These people confessed they had equally been lost and wasted time going around the city.
  • Recommendations: Using the navigation in old districts, head towards landmarks or check-in with local stores/shopkeepers once near enough.
• Walking around the old town has disappointed me at certain points: Some narrow streets and districts with longer histories feel a little disorderly and are rather untidy. I was not interested in their ambiance.

Food - Pros and Cons

• Guangzhou is fairly accommodating towards different consumption patterns: There are many inexpensive street stalls selling popular local dishes, as well as Michelin starred restaurants.
• Since I am from Jiangsu province with a refined palate, I often felt that some of Huaiyang cuisine featured in many of Guandong local restaurants were not very distinguishable from the same type back in my hometown cities.
• However, baked pigeon is definitely worth a try: It was really delicious as well as quite affordable, and I ended up ordering quite a few.
• Sweet treats are just a little ordinary: I visited many dessert shops during my trip, some due to the recommendations in social media, like Xiaohongshu app, and others based on my impulse. Most sweets felt and looked mundane.
  • This must be because we have too many competitors in sweet shops in our cities, where even the complimentary free buffet desserts offered in hotpot restaurants, such as mango-scented sago pudding (a kind of fruit pudding made with water chestnut sago), jasmine tofu jelly or Chinese waxberry ice slushes (a dish made out of waxberry, sugar, and water) are so much more innovative and tasty than those sweet shops.

In summary

• Every city has its own strengths and drawbacks. Also, it is rather common for tourist populations to increase during summer holidays.
• I hope Guangzhou will also improve urban management, which brings convenience to local citizens as well as enhances visitors' trips.

Traffic jams.

Tianmu Li?

Xiaohongshu is full of Chinese people, yet I don't see you using it any less.

Please, all you 'hustle kings,' just don't stay here, I'm begging you!

Sure thing! Here's what I've got:

When it comes to Taiwan, it's actually an island surrounded by the sea, not exactly a huge piece of land. That led me to ponder whether such a geographically isolated setting could make it harder for bad apples (like human traffickers) to hide or operate there.

Intuitively, isn't it likely to be a bit safer than those inland places with many transportation routes? At least that's how it sounds in theory.

Across Taiwan, any rude people you encounter are mostly just online. Most folks in real life are perfectly normal.