China: Around Wuxi

Wuxi, situated just 26 miles from Suzhou, is another ancient city boasting a written history dating back 3000 years. It is also the cradle of the Wu language, spoken by 80 million people, encompassing dialects from Suzhou and Shanghai (which incidentally happens to be my mother tongue). Our base was in the Nanchang Jie area, characterized by ancient canals and well-preserved buildings.



























We also visited Xihui Park and Huishan Ancient Town, the latter showcasing its prosperity through a multitude of well-maintained houses. Yuntouzhu, or Turtle Head Isle, a scenic peninsula on Taihu Lake, proved to be a rather kitschy, yet popular destination.

It's worth noting that throughout our visit, we never ventured into the walled part of the city center. Surprisingly, this was my very first visit to Wuxi, leaving me with a desire to return and get to know Wuxi better.

Around Shanghai

Between visiting family, relatives, and friends, we explored various parts of Shanghai, discovering new places and revisiting old favorites.

• Zhang Yuan (Zhang Garden): an urban renewal project featuring traditional Shanghai residential buildings.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Waitanyuan (Source of the Bund): another urban renewal project showcasing the oldest commercial buildings at the north end of the Bund. On the day we visited, a bustling Christmas market, which had sold out, created quite a crowd. Unfortunately, we couldn't explore as much as I had hoped.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Dishui Lake: located at the very tip of Shanghai on the East China Sea, this new urban development is centered around a man-made circular lake that spans 2.5 km in diameter. It is home to the new Shanghai Planetarium and features a branch of the popular Duoyun Bookstore. The day we visited was bitterly cold and windy.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Panlong Tiandi: a recently transformed shopping and commercial complex, reimagined from an old water village. Here, we stumbled upon our first Aldi in Asia.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Having missed M50 in 2019, we were delighted to discover that the place has expanded while maintaining its edgy vibe. No wonder it was our go-to place when we lived in Shanghai. First below, a photo by Oliver Jiang. Second below, a painting by Ning Tao.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Shanghai-Style Savory Fried Nian Gao for Lunch at M50.