Suzhou: Total Letdown. No, Really.
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Not exactly. This strong feeling wasn't so much about the tourist spots. My hotel wasn't near them, so just walking on ordinary streets, it felt very much like being in northern China – the shops lining the roads, people busy cycling to work.
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You must be talking about the kind of alleyways (longtang) from my childhood... The Shilu area has changed so much in recent years with road widening, relocations, and redevelopment. It's just not the same.
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Yeah, I was just hoping to see those charming little streets and bridges.
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Sounds so beautiful! I'll keep that in mind.
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What you can't accept, what disappoints you, are the scenes of local people's everyday lives. In a modern city, outside of the designated scenic areas, people have no obligation to live up to some idealized, 'untouched by the mundane world' image that tourists might have in their minds.
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Exactly.
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I completely understand you. Honestly, many northerners don't really connect with this kind of southern scenery. I've visited many ancient towns in Zhejiang and Jiangsu. Overall, Zhejiang's towns felt more like the 'misty, rainy Jiangnan' ideal than Jiangsu's, but I still found them pretty ordinary, nothing special. Anyway, as a northerner, I just can't seem to appreciate it. And I'm not even from the super far north. I truly don't have any bias against these places; these are just my genuine feelings.
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That's exactly it. Plus, I'm from Tianjin and had never been to the south. I'd been dreaming of visiting since I was little, but when I finally went, I realized it wasn't all that different from the north.
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I probably shouldn't say this, but the 'esteemed' people of Suzhou might get defensive. If you want to experience the essence of Jiangnan combined with a modern metropolis, I'd recommend Hangzhou, or Nanjing is a good alternative too.
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Oh, I visited Nanjing too while I was at it.
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Shaoxing! Shaoxing! It fulfilled all this northerner's fantasies about the South!
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Loved it! Planning to go for a second time during summer vacation!
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Girl, where is this? It's gorgeous!
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Just got back from Suzhou, and I'm honestly at a loss for words (and not in a good way). Of all the tourist cities I've visited, Suzhou is the only one where the scenic areas have practically no subway access. The city roads are congested, and the taxi drivers are incredibly rude, always losing their temper. Forget about getting a taxi or taking the subway; there weren't even any share bikes. They say the scenic spots are close to each other, but 'close' means one or two kilometers. You're already doing a ton of walking within the attractions, and after you finish one, there's no transportation to get to the next. For a girl, walking that much is truly, truly draining.
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@摆烂咸鱼也翻身