I was originally hoping to be in St Petersburg for my birthday. But considering it took two weeks to get a Russian visa and around a month to travel through Mongolia and Siberia to get there, the timing didn’t quite work. So with my passport in the hands of the Russian embassy in Beijing we took a side trip to Suzhou, Haungshan and Shanghai for the week.
The big pagoda near Suzhou train is marvelous. Dont forget to check out the teahouse in the back with a small pond and tasty menu of different dishes alongside hot tea. Wonderful way to relax after a long journey on a train.
There’s a tea house on the lake too and from there you can see the big pagoda across the lake. This tea house was once someone’s mansion but was converted into a tourist attraction. I have photos of it somewhere–maybe on my Website.