Laura Griffin Designs

After visiting the pearl factory, we headed to Hanshan Temple (also known as Cold Mountain Temple) in Suzhou.

Here is a view of the main pagoda from outside the temple gates

When you walk through the front gates you are met by this fierce guy & his friends. Check out their eyes!

Not sure if the lute is supposed to be a weapon?! *LOL*

(Click on more for another 13 pics & journaling) [...]

Although I enjoyed the Turtle Head Gardens – they were nothing compared to what we saw next. The Liyuan Garden is one of the most famous gardens for lake scenery in Southern China.

Here is our local tour guide leading us through the front gate…

The garden sits on Liyu lake and was formerly the residence of ancient minister Fan Li. There is a very famous love story about him and one of the four ancient beauties, Xishi, that originated here between 770-476 BC. The below image is from a wonderful mural in the garden that tells their story. You can read about them here.

As we began walking through the gardens, we saw an open-doored garden house that had the most beautiful windows…

This bonzai tree was outside the front door. Notice the parquet-style stone tiling on the walkway as well…

As we neared the water gardens…we saw these cute characters welcoming us…I think they were there for a spring festival as we had seen some similar style butterflies up front.

The thing about Chinese water garden design is that every pathway leads you to even more beatiful views. There is no such thing as a bad angle…which makes it such a peaceful & serene place to be. (Click on more for 20 additional pics of the gardens.) [...]

After visiting Turtle Head Isle, we headed towards a nearby freshwater pearl farm on Lake Taihu. When we walked inside, we were ushered into a small room with a long table to sit down. Each seat had a cup of tea in front of it.

A pearl farm representative began to explain the uses of freshwater pearls. To our surprise, pearls are not only used for adornment, but actually have proven medical benefits. They can be ground into powder which is later placed in topical skin creams or beverages for ingestion. In fact, the tea that was sitting in front of us contained pearl powder in it! (We promptly drank it up.)

Apparently, the Chinese have been using pearls for medicinal purposes for over 2000 years. Used internally, pearl powder is believed to detoxify the system, clean and clear the skin, remove age and liver spots, give skin a younger appearance, adjust your body energy, calm the liver, relieve stress, treat sore throat, adjust the nervous system, regulate metabolism, improve eyesight, treat insomnia, and energize the body. Sounds like the miracle drug, eh?

When used topically, pearl cream is famous for keeping skin smooth, soft, & lustrous. It is also used in the treatment of open sores, burns, & cuts. Here are boxes of the magical day & night “pearl cream”.

According to Chinese history, artists in the Tang Dynasty began using pearl powder on their faces when putting on stage makeup. This practice spread to women in high society until Empress Dowage of the Ching Dynasty began taking Pearl Powder internally as well as applying it to her face. She found that it resulted in improved complexion, softer skin, and a more youthful appearance. Supposedly at age 74 she appeared to be in her 40s. Hmmm…not sure if any kind of powder can provide that miracle?

We then discussed how to judge the value of a pearl. Pearls are judged on 4 main characteristics: Size, Shape, Lustre & Color. Obviously the larger the size and the rounder the shape…the more valuable the pearl. The lustre is simply the shine of the pearl…and the shinier, the better. Certain colors of pearls also have inherently more value because they are more expensive to make. Pearl farmers discovered over the years that they can control the temperature & lighting of a mussel’s environment, and the mussel will naturally produce pearls of different colors. Currently, the most valuable freshwater pearls are gold-colored.

Next we watched a demo of how to open up a mussel & find the pearl inside. Click on more for these images. If you’re not a fan of gooey innards…I’d suggest you skip this part. *LOL* [...]

Ok – Another bicycle observation… I had to share these two blurry pics I took from the bus window of things people were actually transporting by bicycle or small motorbike in China. Ok – so they do have carts attached…but this is crazy!!!

#1) A refrigerator… ‘nough said. *LOL*

#2) A gigantic mound of what appears to be trash…and this was not an unusual sight during the trip.

I may be the only person thinking this… but I found it really interesting the way children are transported around China. Because most individuals cannot afford cars, they use bicycles or mopeds to get around. Everywhere we went, be it in the city or countryside, I saw little children holding on to their parents for dear life as they were taken around on these vehicles.

In some cases they were on the backs of the bike holding on to their parents (with no apparent safety devices). In other cases, they were sitting or standing just in front of their parents on mopeds or sandwiched inbetween a mother or father. Any way you look at it, though, they appeared like they could tumble off the vehicle at any second! *LOL* Here are some of the blurry photos I was able to take from my bus window. Hard to see … but you’ll get the idea… [...]