The sun was out and it’s also a long weekend because of the Chinese Qingming Festival, which is tomb sweeping day here in China. The Asian cultures seem to know how to deal with death compared to us in the west, well the UK at least. I always feel that we mourn the dead is somehow flawed. My mother died 15 years ago and when she did I planted a tree in her memory and would often talk to her and yes I miss here but I don’t feel the need to publicise this on social media, and in fact I would never do so because I am a very private individual and I also have no need. I will often recant the words of wisdom that my Mother gave me over the years, such as ” She would rather have her dog than kids because they are less trouble” I have taken her advice and feel all the better for it.

Anyway I digress, so this weekend in Suzhou has been very busy. Everywhere you go there are thousands of people and the traffic has been horrendous but if you take a turn off the beaten track and go to part of town that is not on the tourist trail then you can escape the crowds and this is what I did. Yesterday I went to Dongshan which was very quiet compared to what I expected. When I went here a few weeks ago it was raining and it was absolutely miserable but today the sky was blue and the weather was perfect, maybe 28C.

I bought the obligatory Baozi, which are small buns and the ones I got today were pork buns. I also got some very large “Ugly Oranges” 丑橘 Chǒu jú which are very tasty at the moment. A bottle of water and then I was set to climb the mountain. As usual I head along the bank of the canal and then through Dongshan village and there are no people anywhere, it’s just great. I maybe pass 3 or 4 people by the time I arrive at the foot of the tea plantation. From here the concrete path begins to get steeper until we finally reach the stone and gravel path. By this time the gradient is becoming quite steep. I’m heading for the 24 steps which are a series of flights of steps that zig zag up the hillside to another road. Before I reach there I hear a lot of voices shouting. When I reach the bottom of the stairs I see that there are maybe 40 Chinese in front of me at different stages of accent. Everyone is decked out in the latest climbing gear; it’s like an advert for some hiking store. I walk up to about the half way mark and pass several of them on the way. They stare at the old foreigner and are frankly surprised when I power on passed. I stop about a third of the way up for a quick breather and some water. Two girls come up to me doing some sign language rather than ask me “can we have our picture taken with you” I say to them in Chinese “you want to take a picture with me?” and they are so surprised.

After this I push on and stop only briefly a few flights from the top and after a minute I head to the top. There are about 20 people sitting here and they are all looking rather shagged out. I stop for a few mins before I continue up the next very steep part of the trail. I want to get away from them as soon as possible, too much noise and too many questions. At the top of the hill you come to a T junction. I normally go left and head further up the hill and over to the village on the other side but me thinks that today every man and their dog will be there and I do not want that and so I turn right. I have walked this road once before and I remember it being really really hot but today it’s a lot more pleasant. It’s maybe about 5kms back to the town centre from here and it’s up hill and down dale all the way as the road follows the contours of Dongshan. The road follows the spine of the mountain and so you are rewarded with glimpses of Taihu Lake on one side and Dongshan town on the other. The road seems to be popular with many bikers. I haven’t seen so many road bikes in a long time. There are Ducati’s, Gullwings and other bikes that are large but I have no idea what they were. I must admit it would make a great rally stage and I hope one day I can get a chance to drive it. The road is challenging because it has many very tight hairpins and they are also steep. It’s also giving my thighs and calf muscles a good work out as I negotiate them too. I’m surprised to meet a few folk along the way.

I stop at a small Pagoda that overlooks Taihu and I stop to eat lunch and refuel while listening to “Wish You Were Here” Feeling refreshed I head off on the last leg of the journey. After a few more climbs I finally begin my descent which I find sometimes find more difficult than the climb. It’s nice to have gravity on your side but sometime my knees ain’t so happy about that. As I reach the bottom of the hill I wander through the back streets of Dongshan and the place is deserted, it’s great. I get back to the bus station and I only have to wait 5 mins and then bus is ready to depart but it does take around nearly two hours to get home and when I make it home I collapse into the chair and I’m ready for bed. My body is beginning to complain about the workout it has today and I’m not looking forward to the morning.