We had to pack up and after an early start left our hotel heading for a Government sponsored silk factory. It was very interesting but once again at the end we were given the “hard-sell” and were even locked in the room with all the bed linen. We enjoyed shopping for some nice small silk things later on another floor of this building. From here we were taken to the “Lingering Gardens” and the waterways and canals of Suzhou. This area was known as the “Venice of the East” and dates back to 514BC. Our guide explained that her Grandma had lived on one of these canals and she did all her washing and cleaning using this water. She also said that the “pee-pee pot” was thrown into the canal! This is now banned but during our boat tour of the Grand canal we noticed people washing their clothes. The water certainly did not look the cleanest. We had some lunch at a lovely little noodle shop where we could point to pictures of the menu and then spent some time wandering the little market places and narrow lanes of this area. We returned to the coach and then drove to our next destination, Hangzhou.
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