2 Days' Yangzhou Tour

If we could have more days, we would better enjoy ourselves in Yangzhou, while we can only spend our weekends here, so there are still some scenic spots we didn't touch upon. There are quite a lot famous tourist attractions in Yangzhou, including Slender West Lake, Da Ming temple, Flat Hills (Ping Shan) Hall, Pavilion of Flourishing Culture, Stone Pagoda, Tomb of Puhaddin, Ge Garden, He Garden, Yechun Garden, Yangzhou Museum & Yangzhou Block Printing Museum, Jiangdu Hydro Project, Yangzhou's three knives. Due to our limited time, we choose three most famous ones: Slender West Lake, He Garden and Ge Garden.

Yangzhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, it borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the southwest, 318 km away from Suzhou and 589 km away from Hangzhou, transportation to these cities is quite convenient.

Compared to some bold cities in North China, like Beijing, Tianjin, Yangzhou is more a gentle girl, not occupying quite a large area, but it is clean, moist, warm and fine all the year round. Yangzhou architecture preserves traditional Jiangnan style: built in white wall and black roof, somewhat similar to the gardens in Suzhou and Hangzhou.

We arrived Yangzhou the Friday night, we have dinner at a small restaurant, by the way, Huaiyang cuisine is somewhat different from other 7 major Chinese cuisines. It applies more vinegar, and taste a little bit sweeter and almost never spicy, different from Sichuan or Hunan food, and also bearing less "brash" eating styles of northern China.

After dinner, we went to 1912, a street of bars, the sign of "1912" is interesting and particular. We stood on the plaza to enjoy the open-door performance rather entering any bars. The lights around the Jing-Hang Canal is also beautiful. He Garden is situated not far from "1912", we planned to go there the next morning, and Ge Garden the next after, the Slender West Lake is much bigger, so the day after the next day was left to the lake.

He Garden, I didn't clear up these photos immediately, so I don't know whether I remember correctly, I indefinitely recognize it is the front yard of He Garden

He Garden was built by He Zhidao, a Qing government official in the  19th century. He Garden is famous for a 430 m. (1,377 ft) two storied winding corridor, the walls of which are lined with stone tablets carved with lines of classical poetry, In the garden is also an open air theater set on an island in the middle of a fish pond.

one of the rooms in the garden, though it was still under the reign of the Qing government, it can be clearly found that western culture has already permeated in this house, the bed, the curtain, and the table near the window are all not in the traditional Chinese style.

our journey make you so happy?

Ge Garden: actually, it is a high rockery, while due to my poor skills in photography, it is not so obvious to notice its height.

finally, we arrived at the Slendar West Lake,though it is much smaller than the West Lake in Hangzhou, it preserves its own peculiarities. To see those colourful boats through dense willow leaves is interesting.

Hiring a boat and tour around the lake is certainly a good idea, but we are in a group of more than 20 members, and we want to see the beautiful scenery together, there is no boat can take all of us in, so we decided to visit the lake on foot.

sweeping willows are too common here, esp, around the lake

White Pagoda and Lotus Flower Pagoda

Guess what it is? It is the roof of the Lotus Flower, red-crowned crane is a symbol of longevity in China

Only when we stand at the foot of the pagoda, can we truely find how high it is. According to a guard standing nearby,  the tower is a little bit leaning, but we cannot see by our naked eyes

"24 bridge", it is famous for its appearance in Du Mu's poem(Du Mu, a famous Chinese poet in the Tang Dynasty). But it remains a mystery that whether it is the name of only one bridge or a collection name of 24 bridges as the original bridge(s) is already damaged.

Mao Zedong's calligraphy of Tang dynasty poet Du Mu poem

have a rest among so many beautiful and verdant flowers is so enjoyable 

where is the road heading for? so unwillingly to leave

Graduation Photos

June and July are the graduating seasons in China, no matter in the first-class universities, like Beijing University, Tsinghua University, Renmin University of China, Zhongshan University, or second-class universities, such as Dalian University, Anhui Agricultural University (my mother university, though in my mind, it is quite a beautiful university, enjoying a history of more than 80 years--much longer than some well-known universities, I have to admit that it is not ranked as one of those best universities in China. Still, I want to say, I love her, thanks for her in these four years, I've learned much in these years and made many friends here), all the students wear academic dresses to take photoes, to draw a full stop to one's university life.

Beijing University



Beijing Film Academy, in such kind of universities, you can always find some beauties, which one do you think is the most beautiful?

Heilongjiang University: this pose is too common to make any comments, it seems all graduators have a photo in this pose, isn't it?

OK,the above several pictures are all in common poses, while don't you think they are too ordinary? Want to learn more interesting poses? The following photoes may satisfy your desire:

Dalian University: I think they are intended to imitate the pose in the One Thousand Hands Bodhisattva, while it is definitely they are failed

Anhui Agricultural University, can you make out where I am?



well, you are already graduated from university, why do you still wear red scarf? To commemorate the losing time?

well, if you know any Chinese words, you can read the humor of these students.



The other three are all English words, the third one reads"牛B", in Chinese, these two words mean sb. is quite excellent, while it is not always used by gentlemen or gentle girls



through special dealing, these two pictures give us interesting images, while the first one is more real, his face depicting a sense of being afraid, and the second one seems happy, is it your role to laugh?

hanging on the tree, similar to gosts? Pay attention to the second picture, she wears high-heeled shoes, how does she climb on the tree?



Guangzhou University: Chinese cheongsam, the boy sitting on the stair must be very happy to be surrounded by so many cheongsam dressed beauties, will it be interesting to dress cheongsam in the graduating ceremony and shake hands with the supervisor?



Zhongshan University: the one who takes this photo must be carefully selected, or it is too hard to shoot this moment. They are imitating Chinese Kungfu, I think



Zhongshan University: this suite and girls' dresses are the clothes in the the Republic of China （1912-1949）



Renmin University of China: I don't think you can grasp your hats when they falling down, can you?



Zhejiang Normal University: What do u want to do with that poor guy?

students in West Point, cheering for graduating

University of Michigan, who is the most outstanding in your eyes?

students in University of Arizona, they are more open than we Chinese students, to some extent, right?

Well, all in all, graduation photo is only a form to help you remember this period of time and call the end of your university life, no matter what poses you take and where you stand to take photos doesn't matter at all, just leave your beatiful smile to your school mates and your mother school, that's enough, agree?