National Day (actually a week's holiday) October 2004, and we decided to ride from Nanjing to Suzhou the long way. About 300 Kms with some wet weather thrown in for good measure. It wasn't the rain that bothered us, it was the wash from vehicles that threw dirty water on us that wore thin. We only had one day of rain though, so the rest was pretty cool.
Mabel made me pretty happy, as I wasn't going to let a little water stop a ride and wanted to ride on regardless, and she agreed! I am slowly moulding her thinking...
Fair weather riding, Jiangsu Province, China, 2004
This main street in Li Yang is actually common of what you see a lot of in China. The rest of the city has been rejuvenated (though hard to tell sometimes) and this section is getting it's turn. The pace of development is so fast and vast, it's hard to go anywhere and not see these changes taking place.
Regardless, it still sucks riding in it sometimes.
Suzhou! Can you ever get sick of this city? It really is one of our favourite places in China. Lots of waterways, houses on canals, and lots of rebuilding. This city is renowned for it's World Heritage Gardens and deserves much praise for what it's done to preserve them.
Though, like most places in China, there are many parts that are changing so quickly (and a lot of it for the good I might say) that I don't think we'll recognise it in a few years.
If you get the chance to visit China, do yourself a favour and visit this town.
Main Stree, Li Yang, October 2004
