The billion dollar view from the hotel room, capturing the tops of the immensely high buildings and the Oriental Pearl tower. The vast span of the skyline and the endless continuity of these high rise developments exceed one’s eye span as the windows wrap around this breathtaking scene.

The realisation that it is nearly physically impossible to take a shot from the 68^th floor and not falling over the edge with the camera. I really admired their thresholds and the circulation of the hotel which was very different to the typical hotel down the long corridor, in which interaction between levels was not possible. However, the wide entrances created through these entrance niches as they circulate around the void with protruding small balconies in a twisting down form and the lights from the lift as they travel up the lift well make the corridors/ circulation of the hotel a uniquely pleasant place to be in.

At our first arrival to the Grand Hyatt I was surprised to find the entrance to the hotel was rather a small info lobby, it was the realisation that the actual main reception lobby which was on the 54^th floor and that the floors below were more for commercial purposes that made us appreciate the quality of the building and its ability to serve for so many purposes with such a strong threshold. Later that night, when we were wandering back to the hotel, we tried pushing through the circular entrance doors- but they wouldn’t move. The security guy came over and pointed to the other side.. which was the entrance to the hotel.. it looked exactly the same.. so that each face looked like the main grand entrance, which made it a bit confusing, yet it was a pleasant surprise as it became another part of our understanding of the design of the Jinmao.

Trying to make the most out of the time spend at the Grand Hyatt Room, spending many hours fiddling with all the various controls, pulling all the draws and cabinets open to discover what goodies lurk inside. But one of the most surprising secrets was the wardrobe connection from the private corridor to the oversized mirrored bathroom. The detail from the angle of the water which sprays from the shower so that it just meets the edge of the spa to the positioning of the furniture of a office desk space with its own view out of the Shanghai Skyline, with the other side of the room dedicated to the female partners dressing table is just well thought of unlike many of the other more economical hotels. Their thoughtfulness continues to having travel kits and extra embossed Hyatt paper bags for visitors to use at the end of their stay. I also paid attention to the floor and wall covering tiles of their bathrooms, especially at the Breakfast Buffet Cafe. The patterning of the stone tiles, each individual with darker stripes were assembled together in an attempt to blend the visual transfer of the faces between the tiles, this shows the quality of the craftsmanship in designing for grand five star hotels, the attention to minute details.

The interaction between domestic life in public spaces in Suzhou in close proximity to the edges of gardens emphasises the shared function of public space on the streets of Suzhou, a culture which is different ot that of Australia, where public space is seen as a place for concealing the display of personal life, rather in Suzhou the residents leave their front doors open allowing the sharing of their life into the public domain. The domestic act of the locals and their unconscious framing of the sky through their suspension of bamboo posts clinging onto drying fabrics within the public realm, mimics the framing of the sky in the Chinese gardens through the white washed walls of the pavilions in gardens. This close interaction between the elements of the garden and the civilians domestic life separated by a bounding wall of gardens characterises the physical existence of the varying realities between the public garden and public realm of domestic life which occupies the street, as we see a blurring of the boundaries in the occupation of public space as an open air lounge room, dining room and laundry.

Bamboo posts aren’t the only method for hanging your clothes in public. Our Hills Hoist that we find in our Aussie Backyard is not seen here, but the makeshift tree does just as good a job.

Trees are not only just good for hanging clothes, they are good for drying Chinese Vegetables in the winter sun.

One of the many amusing sights of Suzhou. The parking of a stuffed deer on the street, being one of the new more eco friendly ways of transport to reduce the pollution covering the sky of the city. However this is not the case... walking down the street with vehicle exhaust becoming a dominant smell on the smoggy grey street. On the last few day of our stay construction of the front road was being finalized and the intense smell of tar was making breathing seriously intolerable as we were trying to cross the street with all the cars jotting by.

Normally this large bronze pot bside the Pagoda is filled with water and visitors would throw in coins for goodluck( and the cigarette butts) However, today the water was gone and many of our visitors were tempted to take back luck with us.

At the Panmen Auspicious Light Pagoda which originally built in 1004AD. However, like many monuments in China, the pagoda was rebuilt many times. Linking to the DuBose’s realisation of there being no ancient ruins in the city, unlike those of the Western tradition. As the Chinese rebuilding challenges our understanding from the western perspective as we have differing view to achieving the enduring monument. It reminded Motes comments on the value in which the Chinese placed on the literati of stories, poems and art works of their past, in which if history and monuments were recorded in words then nothing is lost when monuments collapsed as this could all be replaced as it will continue to carry the memories through the human documentation as their past was in words and human experience.

My human experience with the Pagoda, which was one of the most memorable, was my fall down 4 steps of the steep staircase (pretty much a ladder) as I attempted to take photos. However, second to that was the view that one would get from each level and the thick openings to the octagonal Pagoda.

The journey around IM PEI’s museum garden follows the path of movement which flows around bridges which span across the water. Through the touring of the shifts in water, from initial emergence of the pool to the limpid reflections of the surrounds enabled the visitors to become part of the garden itself, within the pristine reflections.

The mode of shifting between the points of stationary limpid waters flowing below bridges follows the and the moving reflections mimics the changing patterns and rhythms of the natural cycles, the viewers’ journey in the garden is endlessly repeated as a symbol of self transcendence and self knowledge. The obscurity of the notion of the reflection and reality and this continuity is blurred though the merging of the water and the flat faced rockery which leads through the upturned modernised whitewashed walls and openings continuing the endless circularities of life as we ambulate across these floating bridges.
The influence of IM PEI from the endless flat rhythms of the mountain rockery created through the emphasis of the veins on the rocks and the verticality of the edge.

Stores around houses of Suzhou serve for the needs of the residents in repairing their technological devices. However, no LCD screens or modern appliances are seen, old cathode rays which were long phased out a decade ago are still seen as a treasure to many in the small houses of low income residents of Suzhou. There is a big contrast from the life on the main roads of Suzhou and the international brand shops of Designer fashion Labels to the less fortunate life of many of the locals. To the tourist many of these scenes are hidden from sight, until one goes wandering in the small residential streets. This truly does make you realise the quality of life that we have in Australia, and the amiability of their patience to still repair such old goods in which we dump on the street. The occupation of residents and shop owners as they mingle on the streets in the summer sun, playing chess, eating, and cleaning are all displayed on the very public social streets.

The old vintage green washing machine, creating a museum on the street

The importance of waterways and the accessibility to water in Suzhou in facilitating the tasks of domestic life, to transporting goods and trade, to the protection of the City itself leads to the appreciation to the function of these water systems of varying scales.

Water Wells are seen within gardens and are dispersed around the public areas of domestic life. The communal wells function as a social ground in which the community gathers to share their private life within the public grounds.

This changing flow of the containment of water directs the use of occupation of the spaces around, creating a continuity of the connective flow of water and their reflections upon the surrounding spaces which link the twisting channels below hovering houses of white washed walls- leading to the path to grand reservoirs and rivers.

Yi Yuan (My Garden)

Setting off from the Hotel in Suzhou to our first garden - Yi Yuan, we were all dreading the anticipated long walk to the garden – imagining the long hike to visit scenes of an “old” Chinese garden presented by the stereotypical photos in tourist brochures. However, within minutes we arrived at the garden to be astonished at its close proximity to the town centre. The edge of the boundary walls of Suzhou gardens encloses the tranquillity of the garden from the congested busy road. Tucked away behind its garden boundary walls was a cozy invitation to its winding paths around ponds and whilst being guided by the corridors of perforated windows to a mirrored frame.

Being the first garden of our visit the group was in much fascination with the front sign of the garden along this busy road. This was the time of release for the long awaited display of cameras, with everyone clicking non-stop to capture the front signage. Our first experience of the gardens, (now reflecting back) was a very tourist, unconscious reception of the scenes and spaces presented to us, as we bombarded by the immense amount of detailing from the patterns of the stones on the floor, to the roof tiles, and the various ornamental perforations in window and door openings.

The layering of openings fused in picturesque spaces filters into a repertoire of memories and unlimited possibilities, forming a layering of thresholds into yet deeper spaces.

However this was also part of our first realisation of the changes in which tourism has had on the experience of gardens, to the discovery of security cameras tucked in roof structures. And the various translations of signage into English in an attempt to communicate the essence of the gardens to us foreign visitors.

The abundance of artworks are seen all over the streets of Suzhou, from the cardboard collector piling up his movable artwork across the street. The seriousness of recycling makes the city seem really keen on being environmentally friendly.. however the collector is more keen on just collecting for the money that can be gained..

The peeling paint of walls reveals the new insertions to the building and the alterations and closures of windows, changing the streetscape and the social scene of the street, creating an artwork of its own right on the street which changes daily with the different shadows cast on it, interacting with the pedestrians of the street.

One of the most engaging cross cultural experiences between the different backgrounds of the students and their reaction to local tastes occurs at the dining table. Preferences and responses to the array of food served and the curiosity behind the hidden origins of what is presented on the plate from Bamboo shoots to eating A kilo of Pork Fat, to Lotus Pods and Spicy Broths have to all be translated and described for our foreign tastebuds.

So red and greasy- the remainders from our kilo of cholesterol filled blocks of Pork fat- the layer of fat gained after this consumption is meant to keep us warm for the rest of our trip for those who still fit in their down jackets.

Our fascination with their methods of preparing food and the foods that the Presentation of the food they eat was a topic in which engrossed the dinner table. Many of our non Asian students were utterly disturbed at the sight of these salted drying geese which ranged in all deteriorating sizes. Yet this was not the most distrubing of all to their tastebuds. The smell of stinky tofu which drifted across the street was enough to turn them away from their search for local street snacks.

The reading of Alison Hardie’s text the Biography of Zhang Nanyuan

Rather than previous garden designs prior to the late 16^th Century and their use of the monumental style of large scale rockery , which proved impractical for the shipping and transport of large scale rocks to represent high mountains with hovering buildings and bridges, the style of a lighter style was created which became the realisation of there being no point to recreate nature in building tall mountains, rather by the careful positioning of less imposing pavilions and bridges and rockery which peered over the tops of lowered walls suggested an immensity of scale to suggest large mountains in the distance, with the utilisation of scaled bridges and buildings to recreate an atmosphere of a large scaled landscape on the small sight. This was the sight in which were appreciated in the first few gardens of our visit, such as Yi Yuan compared the large scale at Huanxiu ShanZhuang which utilised an immensity of scale.

Yi yuan, miniaturised small pavilion, magnifying the scale of the rockery mountains.

Despite the large scale of the rockery the boundary walls of the garden juxtapose this significance of scale .

The building scene in Suzhou differs immensely compared to Australia. Many of the processes really questions as to whether there was much planning and drafting involved in the design or if it was just an on the spur of the moment, to change to design and locate doors and windows. Modern insertions onto old buildings and the moves of the government in an attempt to conceal them have also a certain unique quality to it like the timber boxing of air conditioning units. From the constructions depicted the apparent move for the subtraction of bricks from a wall to create openings is an interesting way of creating doors, following an almost build and think as you go approach.

This hole we made if the new garage door... but there is no driveway for you
We'll just make a hole here for the door
Air conditioning units mindlessly tacked on regardless of its visual appearance

The secret life of the students. During the day documenting gardens and travelling through the local street scenes- but by night we are garbage removalists. (Actually we just savaged through a scarf shop selling ridiculously cheap scarfs. From Left to Right: James = 2 scarves, Victor= 4 scarfs, Niki = 6 scarves, Jenny=11 Scarves, Will = 8 Scarves. The Scarf shop owner says that they export to Australia every year as well... so we were just helping him fly his scarves over.