Day 1 Suzhou → Yixing → Suzhou
All day
From 07:00 to 07:10, we met at the yellow China-TravelNote flag at the intersection of Jintang Street and Zongguantang Road (near Exit 6 of Pinghe Road Station on Metro Line 2 and Yaosheng Building) and signed in. We boarded the bus promptly at 07:10, enjoying interactive games and laughter along the way until we arrived at our destination.
Estimated arrival time: 09:30.
09:30-11:30 Dunhuang Fengdajue Temple
Arrive at Dajue Temple and visit the courtyard of Master Hsing Yun, the founder of Fo Guang. Inside the main hall is a 10-meter-tall jade statue of seated Sakyamuni Buddha, flanked by colored stone and jade carvings of the Eastern Lapis Lazuli World and the Western Paradise. At the entrance, you can pray for instructions in French, wishing everyone inner peace.
The temple is filled with adorable little monk sculptures waiting to be discovered. Opposite Dajue Temple is the Yunhu Scenic Area, where gazing at the distant, dark mountains and nearby, rippling water is a delight.
12:00-14:00 Yangxian Xishan Town
"I will buy land in Yangxian when I am old, all for the beauty of its mountains and rivers." Su Shi's poem demonstrates the nearly millennium-long beauty of Yangxian's mountains and rivers. Such a beautiful scenery, so close at hand, is too good to miss. Yangxian Xishan Town is brimming with the charm of a Jiangnan water town, with quaint buildings, clear streams, and bustling streets, making you feel like you've traveled back in time. Here, you can browse unique shops and sample local snacks like crabapple cakes, plum blossom cakes, and black rice, immersing yourself in the charm of Jiangnan.
15:00-16:30 Internet celebrity pottery factory No. 2
East China's own "Jingdezhen" came to Yixing Pottery Factory No. 2, its predecessor was Yixing Zisha Craft Factory No. 2. Here are the secrets and skills hidden in the kiln fire for thousands of years, and the photos are very photogenic.
16:30-17:30 Shushan Gunan Street
If you've come to Yixing, you can't miss the birthplace of purple clay teapots—Gu Nan Street in Shushan. Not only is this the birthplace of Yixing purple clay teapots, but it was also the production and sales center from the mid-late Ming Dynasty to the 1960s, and the cradle of many purple clay teapot masters.
Come join us as we journey back in time and stroll through Shushan's ancient South Street. Shushan Old Street, encompassing South Street, North Street, West Street, North Field, Outer Oil Cart, Inner Oil Cart, and Dangfang Lane, dates back to the Ming Dynasty. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was a major distribution center for Yixing ceramics, a prosperous independent town with numerous shops lining both sides of the street.
The event is expected to end around 17:30 in the afternoon and arrive in Suzhou around 20:00. Everyone is reluctant to leave and looks forward to gathering again at the next event.
