Cloud Rock Pagoda
(Tiger Hill Scenic Spot: the leaning brick Pagoda)
Tiger Hill is the big tourist draw of Suzhou, and the famed leaning pagoda features on every ticket, poster and book on the city – it is the symbol of Suzhou. I decided to show you these two wee pictures of the pagoda from a distance, as this photo doesn’t really do it justice. It’s odd because it’s either far away, or suddenly it’s right in front of you! The top one is modern, but the one below is from the turn of the century and the hill looks to have changed a lot.
The man who assists us with any problems in the flat, Bono (who loves U2 as you might have guessed) kindly brought me a map of Suzhou so I could see all the tourist spots. I have the feeling he is Suzhounese; like Shanghainese in Shanghai, this is the name for someone who grew up in Suzhou. Each time he visits, he asks where I have been in Suzhou, and promotes its attraction mercilessly. It was on his firm recommendation that we paid a visit to Tiger Hill. He assured me that the Cloud Rock pagoda is like the leaning tower of Pisa, and he was right. The pagoda doesn’t lean as much, but it is as tall as and slightly older than the Italian marvel – I read that it is a thousand years old and it is special because of it’s huge size and that it is made of brick. Apparently this was built just when brick was becoming de rigueur in China.
The day we went to Tiger Hill, it was amazingly hot and bright. Even our arms and legs were sweating, it was exhausting just being in the sun. Tiger Hill is a perfect place to visit, it is immensely beautiful (pictures will follow), covers a lot of pleasant shady walks, forests of bamboo, waterfalls, streams, picnic tables and some small touristy shops. I imagine it is even better in the Autumn or Spring when you can walk around without perspiring at every exertion! We arrived in the morning with a few other local tourists, but by the time afternoon came and we left, it was heaving with people snapping photos or large tour groups following a lady with an umbrella.
