Plum Blossoms (梅花)

We left Jessie's wedding feast at about 2:00 in the afternoon to go to see the plum blossoms.   The drive took about 45 minutes, and most folks couldn't help but nap due to the after-effects of all the "gan bei".  The weather was kind of crummy - cloudy and misty.  Which was too bad because the areas around the lake and its islands are dotted with mountains (or more truthfully, big hills).  The municipal area Suzhou is as flat as Iowa.  It would have been good to see the mountains without the shroud of mist and fog.

The plum garden is on an island in Taihu Lake.  (The "lake" part of that is actually redundant...since the "hu" part of "Taihu" means "lake".  "Tai" roughly translates to "great" or "grand" or "really big" or something like that.)  Our destination was the largest of three islands.  It is home to a number of parks and temples and has always been a popular spot.  Until recently, it took a ferryboat ride to get there.  Now, all are linked to the shore by a causeway, with the big island marking the end of the road into the lake. 

The plum blossoms are to the Chinese much like the cherry blossoms are to the Japanese...and then again not.   And like everything in China, there are layers of deeper meaning.  They say the plum tree is the one that blooms in winter.  The flower is a symbol of inner strengh and character, because the plum tree is able to show its beauty despite the harsh and oppressive climate that surrounds it.  The plum blossom is one of the four gentlemen, the primary flowers of Chinese art.  Along with the orchid, the bamboo, and the chrysanthemum it gets a star role on the flowered tiles in a Mah Jong set.

The plum garden covers about 20 acres or so on the side of a big hill in the middle of the island.   It was packed with people on the day we visited.  The point of the visit is to walk the pathways and absorb the sites and smells of the blooming trees.   The pathways eventually go up the side of the hill to shelterhouse that looks down over the garden and the island.

We spent about two hours in the plum garden and then took the bus back to Suzhou.  The photo below shows my friends Alex, Sherry, and Jacky.   Just in case you were wondering what they look like.