苏州和杭州
新年快来了，我决定尝尝中国文化最普遍，最陈词滥调的方面之一：旅游团。我趁北京大学的大量补贴来订票去风景美丽的南方城市苏州和杭州。并且，南方的温和气候比北京的凄冷冬天顺意得多。
我们坐子弹火车所以5个小时以后我们达到苏州。 我们的引导员自己对我们介绍， 他叫李叔叔。李叔叔和热情老师十分相似，全旅行和小学旅行十分相似。我们吃饭，睡觉和如厕的时候都在时刻表。我们不能偏离李叔叔用红旗帜表明的路线。更好的是李叔叔介绍每个旅游景点，从早到晚我不操心安排自己旅游。
最有意思景点之一是朱家角 —有几百年历史，为运河著称的集镇 ， 有人叫这个城市‘中国的威尼斯。’虽然朱家角的风景很漂亮，虽然杂技表示 ， 一位‘蚕男’爬上被风摇晃的高竹子，很好玩儿，拥挤在接到的大量人是最扣人心弦的方面。我一辈子只经验这么多人圣诞前夕那天在伦敦购物。对我来说， 最好玩儿的景点是在千岛湖包一只小船以参观几个小岛。在这个大湖上是一前多小岛，那个湖的面积约为573平方公里。居然， 千岛湖完全人造， 建立在水坝后面。
在我的看法，在旅行团观光比看苏州和杭州的景点本身有趣。虽然景点很古色古香，挤挤插插地观光在历史性城市的街道刻骨铭心。这个经验完美地表示现代中国的重要方面之一：人口增长。
Zhujiajiao (Venice of China)
ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
Suzhou and Hangzhou
With Chinese New Year just around the corner, I decided to try another common (and much stereotyped) aspect of modern Chinese culture: the group tour. Taking advantage of Peking University’s generous subsidies, I booked a place on an organised trip to the scenic southern cities of Suzhou and Hangzhou. Furthermore, the mild weather in the south gave me a much needed break from Beijing’s bitterly cold winter.
After a 5 hour journey on the bullet train, we reached Suzhou and were introduced to our guide, ‘Uncle Li.’ Uncle Li was reminiscent of an enthusiastic teacher and the whole tour was reminiscent of being on a school trip, all our meals, bedtimes and even bathroom breaks were timetabled and deviating from the route marked by Uncle Li’s red flag was frowned upon. On the upside, we were given a full introduction and historical tour of every attraction and I barely had to think for myself for the duration of the trip.
One of the main attractions was Zhujiajiao – an historic water town nicknamed the Venice of China. While the water town was very pretty, and the organised show – an acrobatic ‘silk worm man’ climbing up an enormous bamboo pole swaying in the wind – very entertaining, it was the sheer number of people lining the streets that was breath-taking. I’ve only ever experienced the same level of crowding on a misguided trip to Oxford Street on Christmas Eve. For me, the best attraction was a boat trip on the Thousand Island Lake (Qiandaohu). Aptly named, this lake has over 1000 islands, and covers an area of 573 km². Remarkably, it is completely man-made, built as part of a dam project for hydroelectric power.
In many ways, the experience of going on a group tour was more interesting than the sightseeing itself. While the attractions were good, the experience of shuffling through the streets of an historic town packed in like a sardine is unforgettable. This was the perfect illustration of an important element of modern China: population boom and overcrowding.