Canals in Suzhou & Zhouzhuang

I wasn't really impressed with the canals in Suzhou. They were saved for tourist business but they are not really scenic or different than what you see driving down the street. The two mice that I photographed were no comparison to the rats in Venice:-)




The canal in Zhouzhuang was again for tourists but was much more fun for me. There were singers, dancers, and staged boats of what things used to be when the canals WERE the transportation.







Mike and I enjoyed this one. The guy was in a white shirt and dress pants delivering what we guess was clean laundry in plastic tubs. The businesses that he was delivering to were all along the canal so boat was the logical way to deliver. Apparently vegetables and other foods used to be delivered to the city from the farms this way in the past and probably still are on this canal. We saw many, many real canals being used by heavy barges full of gravel and other materials. The whole area is full of waterways.