You get lessons in the unlikeliest of places. Hubby, Sam & I were in Suzhou last Sep and we enjoyed it very much. It is a laid back little town (by China’s standard, it is little; but it is bigger than JB I would think) where life took a much slower pace than Beijing. It’s a place where you felt sorry to leave… and already planning to come back for another visit before we even get on the bullet train / plane bound home.
We decided to take a 1-day tour of Suzhou just to capture all the key sites before doing our own exploration. So we signed up at the hotel and were herded from 1 site after the other. It would have been another one of the many tours we had been on had it not been the tour guide that we were given. What’s so special that warrants a mention on my blog? Well… apart from the usual explanation of the history / background of the places we visited; she threw in a lot of thought provoking societal issues / lessons and points to ponder – it’s a pity not many took notice of her words though. She made me realize that a tour guide is not just those who herd people around, chase after errant tourists and out to get your tip / commission from purchases done during her tour. A tour guide can play a far greater role in “societal education” too (belief it or not)!
Some of her memorable quips and points to ponder as follows:
1) Pls pay attention to me – it’s only going to be for today. Fate has arranged for us, strangers, to meet today. After today, you may not even recognize me on the streets of Suzhou. So why not make the most out of the time we have together? (As she was speaking in mandarin, this is a rough translation, but how poetically said!)
2) I know I’m just a lowly tour guide, but since you’ve paid for my service, you’d be maximizing your paid value if you pay attention to my explanation… (she must have got some pretty bad tourists in the past to have to give statements like this… )
3) Suzhou ladies are famed to be the fairest in the land. Emperors would visit Suzhou and Hangzhou to select their empress / concubines. So you may ask / wonder – but Ms. tour guide, you’re from Suzhou; yet you’re not beautiful… Why so? Ladies in the past are mostly women of leisure who just hid themselves in the house. They’re shunned from leaving their homes unless approved by their male guardian (i.e. father / husband) and normally only for special occasion with chaperone. Look at this house (we were touring one of the famed gardens of Suzhou called the “Humble Administrator’s Garden”), each building are connected by roofed corridors; shading the ladies from sunlight. Fast forward a few hundred years, women today have to go out to work. Especially tour guides like us are exposed to all weather conditions – be it rain / shine, dry winter wind / hot sweltering summer, we’ll still be out bringing guests. So the fact that I can maintain my current skin condition is already a miracle! (Haha…. This tour guide really has a wry sense of humour!)
4) I used to be a tour guide for international trips – bringing China’s tourists around Europe, Australia etc. Due to personal reasons, I’m now back handling local tours. What saddens me though, was not that I’m no longer handling overseas trips, but I’m saddened by the image of mainland China tourists outside of China. I’ve seen us Chinese being fined for wearing luxury-branded fake goods and I’ve seen us making such a racket, spit, have verbal-fight / abuse the sales person in high-end branded stores that some of the stores even have signs put up that no Chinese tourists allowed / welcomed into their stores. We have grown from a poor country, down-trodden and went through revolutionary change, into a country that produces so many rich people who can afford to buy armloads of luxury goods like Burberry, Prada & LV the way housewives buy “bai chai” (Chinese white cabbage) at the wet market. We have grown so rich, yet we’re not respected… We have taste for expensive goods, yet seen as having no class… We crave recognition, yet all we get are scorns… What has gone wrong? I think because we’ve been ‘poor’ for so long; now that we ‘suddenly’ got a bit richer, we want to show the world; unfortunately, more often than not, in a rowdy way. When we’re overseas, we’re ambassadors of China. It’s all in our behavior and how we’re perceived by our actions. We have to change; yet it may be too late to change for this generation. We come from illustrious ancestry steep in culture, poise and elegant politeness like the gardens of Suzhou; with history dating back to thousands of years. I’m sure we can get back to that illustrious era, but it all hinges on us educating the next generations in the right direction. I doubt we can achieve it in our time, but I’m hopeful in the generation currently in primary schools – when they grow into adulthood; and the generation after them. (Bravo! Well put! Well said! I translated maybe only half of what she said and the messages that I can still remember – but when articulated in mandarin, definitely more compelling than what I wrote here)
5) ‘I know I’ll be bringing you to factory visits later. Some of you may look at me with mocking eyes thinking “This tour guide is going to make big bucks again out of our spending”. Well let me declare right now that I’ll only be bringing you to 2 places – the silk factory and the jade factory. For each silk handkerchief you purchase, I only get yi-jiao (which means RMB0.10), for each silk blanket, I get xxx (I can’t remember how much but it’s pittance lar) – so your spending here is more for the local economy. In Suzhou you can be rest assured that all the things sold are original. No fake eggs, fake silks or fake jade. Suzhou is tourism industry based. We’ll be setting ourselves to doom if we tarnish our reputation by selling fakes. So rest assured, when we say it’s the real deal, IT IS the real deal. If it is fake, we will declare it is polyester made to look like silk etc etc. But if you ask my opinion between Jade and Silk, if I were to invest, I’d invest in a good silk blanket or silk underwear or silk sleepwear. Jade is just a rock, whether the value is indeed RMB100 or RMB10k, who knows? I can’t tell the difference between a high value stone vs. a cheap one. The other reason why Suzhou ladies are so beautiful is because they use silk for everything, including their face mask! Their beauty is not in their face / their body shape. It’s in their skin – as soft as tofu and as smooth as silk. And their secret is in wearing silk. (Wow… This lady really knows how to make a sales pitch!). So my advice, you can wear cheap jade, but pamper yourself with good quality authentic silk. Who cares if no one can see it, but if it is good for your skin, why not?’
6) We were at a famous temple in Suzhou called the Hanshanshi (not pinyin accurate; am just typing according to the sound) and there’s a huge bell hung within a ornately decorated bell tower than can be seen from miles away. You pay RMB10 to strike the bell 3 times to make a wish. She shared ‘Strike it only if you can afford it. Don’t go over-zealous by paying many RMBs / beyond your means just because you want to ensure your prayers is heard. Some people thought, “since I paid RMB10, I want to make the most of it and bang really really hard” – sending huge sound waves throughout the whole temple, not to mention ear damage to the rest of us. Let me tell you, it’s not necessary. I’m sure the Gods will listen to everyone whether you can afford to pay to strike the bell or not and whether it is soft / loud sounding. Some people are greedy and also thought they want to make the best wish they can make from the 3 strikes and said (my apologies, my mandarin wasn’t so good so I can’t really explain the 3 wishes she described, but it roughly went along the lines of) “I’m not greedy, I just wish to have no worries in the world (i.e. no need to worry about not having enough money, not enough food etc etc)”. Well let me tell you now that you better wish that prayer are not fulfilled because who would have such a life? I ask you – who do you think has such a life? Yes indeed – a monk! A monk is supposed to not have any worries in the world, be it wealth, fame, glory etc etc. Just a belly filled with enough food to keep him / her healthy will suffice. So please, be careful what you wish for and don’t try to squeeze in everything into those 3 wishes & 3 bell strikes. Everything in moderation will bring you a long way.’
She managed to keep us ‘entertained’ yet seem to mock us (for those that “termakan cili” lar… The rest, found it funny) all at the same time! Yet I don’t think any of us felt offended due to the delicate way she put it. I felt like I must take oratory lessons from her!
Oh did I also mention that she can quote economic statistics? e.g. the Country GDP vs GDP of Suzhou, the size of tourism industry in Suzhou vs the rest of China, the tourism agencies practices in Suzhou vs. e.g. Beijing and hence why Suzhou and Hangzhou are voted to have the best and most ethical tour guides cum agencies in China etc etc… She’s just a trivia of information and she somehow managed to blend all these into her tour explanation of the beautiful gardens, the majestic temples and the serene water canals of Suzhou…
Morale of the story: Never under-estimate the things you learn from a simple tour… You may be surprised.
Oh…. In case you wonder how old is she, I’d estimate her in her late 30’s. Young huh…
We decided to take a 1-day tour of Suzhou just to capture all the key sites before doing our own exploration. So we signed up at the hotel and were herded from 1 site after the other. It would have been another one of the many tours we had been on had it not been the tour guide that we were given. What’s so special that warrants a mention on my blog? Well… apart from the usual explanation of the history / background of the places we visited; she threw in a lot of thought provoking societal issues / lessons and points to ponder – it’s a pity not many took notice of her words though. She made me realize that a tour guide is not just those who herd people around, chase after errant tourists and out to get your tip / commission from purchases done during her tour. A tour guide can play a far greater role in “societal education” too (belief it or not)!
Some of her memorable quips and points to ponder as follows:
1) Pls pay attention to me – it’s only going to be for today. Fate has arranged for us, strangers, to meet today. After today, you may not even recognize me on the streets of Suzhou. So why not make the most out of the time we have together? (As she was speaking in mandarin, this is a rough translation, but how poetically said!)
2) I know I’m just a lowly tour guide, but since you’ve paid for my service, you’d be maximizing your paid value if you pay attention to my explanation… (she must have got some pretty bad tourists in the past to have to give statements like this… )
3) Suzhou ladies are famed to be the fairest in the land. Emperors would visit Suzhou and Hangzhou to select their empress / concubines. So you may ask / wonder – but Ms. tour guide, you’re from Suzhou; yet you’re not beautiful… Why so? Ladies in the past are mostly women of leisure who just hid themselves in the house. They’re shunned from leaving their homes unless approved by their male guardian (i.e. father / husband) and normally only for special occasion with chaperone. Look at this house (we were touring one of the famed gardens of Suzhou called the “Humble Administrator’s Garden”), each building are connected by roofed corridors; shading the ladies from sunlight. Fast forward a few hundred years, women today have to go out to work. Especially tour guides like us are exposed to all weather conditions – be it rain / shine, dry winter wind / hot sweltering summer, we’ll still be out bringing guests. So the fact that I can maintain my current skin condition is already a miracle! (Haha…. This tour guide really has a wry sense of humour!)
4) I used to be a tour guide for international trips – bringing China’s tourists around Europe, Australia etc. Due to personal reasons, I’m now back handling local tours. What saddens me though, was not that I’m no longer handling overseas trips, but I’m saddened by the image of mainland China tourists outside of China. I’ve seen us Chinese being fined for wearing luxury-branded fake goods and I’ve seen us making such a racket, spit, have verbal-fight / abuse the sales person in high-end branded stores that some of the stores even have signs put up that no Chinese tourists allowed / welcomed into their stores. We have grown from a poor country, down-trodden and went through revolutionary change, into a country that produces so many rich people who can afford to buy armloads of luxury goods like Burberry, Prada & LV the way housewives buy “bai chai” (Chinese white cabbage) at the wet market. We have grown so rich, yet we’re not respected… We have taste for expensive goods, yet seen as having no class… We crave recognition, yet all we get are scorns… What has gone wrong? I think because we’ve been ‘poor’ for so long; now that we ‘suddenly’ got a bit richer, we want to show the world; unfortunately, more often than not, in a rowdy way. When we’re overseas, we’re ambassadors of China. It’s all in our behavior and how we’re perceived by our actions. We have to change; yet it may be too late to change for this generation. We come from illustrious ancestry steep in culture, poise and elegant politeness like the gardens of Suzhou; with history dating back to thousands of years. I’m sure we can get back to that illustrious era, but it all hinges on us educating the next generations in the right direction. I doubt we can achieve it in our time, but I’m hopeful in the generation currently in primary schools – when they grow into adulthood; and the generation after them. (Bravo! Well put! Well said! I translated maybe only half of what she said and the messages that I can still remember – but when articulated in mandarin, definitely more compelling than what I wrote here)
5) ‘I know I’ll be bringing you to factory visits later. Some of you may look at me with mocking eyes thinking “This tour guide is going to make big bucks again out of our spending”. Well let me declare right now that I’ll only be bringing you to 2 places – the silk factory and the jade factory. For each silk handkerchief you purchase, I only get yi-jiao (which means RMB0.10), for each silk blanket, I get xxx (I can’t remember how much but it’s pittance lar) – so your spending here is more for the local economy. In Suzhou you can be rest assured that all the things sold are original. No fake eggs, fake silks or fake jade. Suzhou is tourism industry based. We’ll be setting ourselves to doom if we tarnish our reputation by selling fakes. So rest assured, when we say it’s the real deal, IT IS the real deal. If it is fake, we will declare it is polyester made to look like silk etc etc. But if you ask my opinion between Jade and Silk, if I were to invest, I’d invest in a good silk blanket or silk underwear or silk sleepwear. Jade is just a rock, whether the value is indeed RMB100 or RMB10k, who knows? I can’t tell the difference between a high value stone vs. a cheap one. The other reason why Suzhou ladies are so beautiful is because they use silk for everything, including their face mask! Their beauty is not in their face / their body shape. It’s in their skin – as soft as tofu and as smooth as silk. And their secret is in wearing silk. (Wow… This lady really knows how to make a sales pitch!). So my advice, you can wear cheap jade, but pamper yourself with good quality authentic silk. Who cares if no one can see it, but if it is good for your skin, why not?’
6) We were at a famous temple in Suzhou called the Hanshanshi (not pinyin accurate; am just typing according to the sound) and there’s a huge bell hung within a ornately decorated bell tower than can be seen from miles away. You pay RMB10 to strike the bell 3 times to make a wish. She shared ‘Strike it only if you can afford it. Don’t go over-zealous by paying many RMBs / beyond your means just because you want to ensure your prayers is heard. Some people thought, “since I paid RMB10, I want to make the most of it and bang really really hard” – sending huge sound waves throughout the whole temple, not to mention ear damage to the rest of us. Let me tell you, it’s not necessary. I’m sure the Gods will listen to everyone whether you can afford to pay to strike the bell or not and whether it is soft / loud sounding. Some people are greedy and also thought they want to make the best wish they can make from the 3 strikes and said (my apologies, my mandarin wasn’t so good so I can’t really explain the 3 wishes she described, but it roughly went along the lines of) “I’m not greedy, I just wish to have no worries in the world (i.e. no need to worry about not having enough money, not enough food etc etc)”. Well let me tell you now that you better wish that prayer are not fulfilled because who would have such a life? I ask you – who do you think has such a life? Yes indeed – a monk! A monk is supposed to not have any worries in the world, be it wealth, fame, glory etc etc. Just a belly filled with enough food to keep him / her healthy will suffice. So please, be careful what you wish for and don’t try to squeeze in everything into those 3 wishes & 3 bell strikes. Everything in moderation will bring you a long way.’
She managed to keep us ‘entertained’ yet seem to mock us (for those that “termakan cili” lar… The rest, found it funny) all at the same time! Yet I don’t think any of us felt offended due to the delicate way she put it. I felt like I must take oratory lessons from her!
Oh did I also mention that she can quote economic statistics? e.g. the Country GDP vs GDP of Suzhou, the size of tourism industry in Suzhou vs the rest of China, the tourism agencies practices in Suzhou vs. e.g. Beijing and hence why Suzhou and Hangzhou are voted to have the best and most ethical tour guides cum agencies in China etc etc… She’s just a trivia of information and she somehow managed to blend all these into her tour explanation of the beautiful gardens, the majestic temples and the serene water canals of Suzhou…
Morale of the story: Never under-estimate the things you learn from a simple tour… You may be surprised.
Oh…. In case you wonder how old is she, I’d estimate her in her late 30’s. Young huh…
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