Dragon Pond Scenic Park

Dragon Pond Scenic Park is an excellent one day get away and it is located right here in Suzhou in the SND Area. It has fun and games for all ages. It is considered a AAAA ecological park. The entrance fee for the park is 60 RMB ($8.76 US). Lunch can be a nice picnic lunch somewhere in the park or a variety of local food can be purchased at very reasonable prices. We really did not know about this park until our Chinese teacher invited us for a field trip in some very nice spring weather.


One of the activities my son enjoyed was the bungee jumping. Everyone had a turn at the bungee jump, but my son had the most fun. It was his first time and he really enjoyed flying in the clouds. He did this activity twice!




Also, in the park was a very nice playground with many physical activities. I think the kids could just run around for hours in this playground and never get tired. I had fun challenging myself to a few physical activities.

In the middle of the area there are two ponds. The two ponds are divided by a waterfall. One side of the water fall has water hamster balls. This activity is quite difficult and my son had a very hard time standing up, let alone getting the ball to roll in the water. He spent many minutes falling down inside the ball! The other side of the pond has paddle boats that can be used for a leisure stroll around the pond.

One of the best activities to do in this park is climb. There are areas around the park that one can climb to get a magnificent view of the city and the park. It is a truly fun experience to climb up the hills and relax while enjoying all mother nature has to offer.

We all enjoyed this activity and when we reached the top of the hill, we took a group picture. I recommend anyone looking for a nice day out in the sun visit this park. Bus 333 goes directly to the park!

两百五-Liang Bai Wu (250)

Liang Bai Wu! These three little words mean 250 in English, but in Chinese it simply means stupid. These words come from an ancient tale of a king whose friend was murdered. Well, the king did not know who to solve the murder and after many hours of thinking found a solution to his problem. To try to solve the murder he would offer a reward for the person who murdered the enemy of the state. So, he offered 1000 gold coins to the killer of his "enemy". Well, not one person arrived to claim the prize, but four people arrived. The king asked them how he should split the money. They of course said 250 each! The king replied off with the heads of these 250s. From then on, 250 became universally known as stupid.

So if you hear liang bai wu (两百五) and your name in the same sentence, beware.

A Day in Nanjing

Almost two weeks ago, a friend of mine had to make a trip to Nanjing. He would be going on business while I would take a day to be alone and wander around Nanjing. I figured wandering around the city would be a fun way to for my day visit. The round trip train would cost 134 RMB ($19.56 US). Once we both arrived in Nanjing, we would go our separate ways.

I brought my tourist map and my man purse to carry all the travel essentials from toilet paper, batteries, camera, snacks, and many other items. It is very typical to see men with these type of bags all around China. I have to admit, they do come in handy when you make trips and they are much smaller than a backpack. Also, I feel my belongings are safer when they are in front of me.

I would get onto the taxi and ask to be taken to the Purple Mountain Scenic Area. I have been to this area before and thought it would be nice to walk around and enjoy the maybe fresh air. Well, the taxi driver would tell me that the area was not available for viewing and I ended being dropped off at the Monk Peak Scenic Area. I would continue walking until I came to a sign that displayed cable cars. I would decide to take a ride on the Zijinshan Ropeway 紫金山索道门. The cable car ride would cost 60 RMB ($8.76 US) for a round trip and 35 RMB ($5.38 US)for a single way.

It was actually a pretty fun trip. It was very slow and quite long. I would pass the Astronomical Observatory Station and stop at the top of the mountain at Monk Peak Station. It was about 448 meters high. As I got closer to the top it would get much colder. I could look out over the city. I would enjoy a sausage on a stick and a tea egg for lunch.

Then, it was a long walk down. Actually, many people would walk up and down the mountain. The cable cars were mostly empty.

There were many people tired from the long walk. Many people would rest after going down alot of the stairs. Above you can see a tired female making her way down the mountain.

I would walk to the observatory station and take a taxi to the shopping mall to look around. It turned out that it was the International Day for Women and the shopping mall was very crowded with many women. Shopping definitely was not the thing to do today. I walked around the shopping center and then it was time to start heading home.

I would eat a nice beef noodle dinner inside the train station and enjoy a return trip on the D train. It was a nice day trip for under 220 RMB ($32.12 US).