Our first stop was in Nanjing where we visited a 14th century City Wall. 
It was one of the biggest city gates in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The wall was built from 1366 to 1386 and was made from huge rocks and was held together with a special "environmental" cement made from lime, tung oil and sticky rice juice. 
It's still the world's longest capital city wall with a length of 21.35 km ( it was originally 33.686 km)
It was one of the biggest city gates in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The wall was built from 1366 to 1386 and was made from huge rocks and was held together with a special "environmental" cement made from lime, tung oil and sticky rice juice. It's still the world's longest capital city wall with a length of 21.35 km ( it was originally 33.686 km)The delicately designed gate has two archways that are wide enough for 15 people to walk abreast. When you are on the top of the wall, you can have a towering view over Xuan Wu Lake
When we left this intriguing place we went to Suzhou which is called the Venice of the East because of it's canals and water system. 
We toured a private garden, the Garden of the Master Nets, which was one of the most exquisite and smallest of Suzhou's residential gardens. 
It was designed during the Song Dynasty as a gift from an Emperor to his mistress. It later became the residence of a government official after whom the garden was named. 
It was perfectly beautiful and so serene. There were Koi in all the ponds and small waterfalls.
I even had the good fortune to spot a herd of turtles playing with the Koi! 
It was a perfect place to spend some quality quiet time just sitting and thinking
or resting by the stream and reading a good book. When we left this intriguing place we went to Suzhou which is called the Venice of the East because of it's canals and water system. We toured a private garden, the Garden of the Master Nets, which was one of the most exquisite and smallest of Suzhou's residential gardens. It was designed during the Song Dynasty as a gift from an Emperor to his mistress. It later became the residence of a government official after whom the garden was named. It was perfectly beautiful and so serene. There were Koi in all the ponds and small waterfalls. I even had the good fortune to spot a herd of turtles playing with the Koi! It was a perfect place to spend some quality quiet time just sitting and thinking
Frank decided to be the official sentinel of the garden, 
so we were all supposed to salute him before we went inside to look at some of the living quarters that had been preserved and kept as they were when the government official lived there. 
There were hidden corridors and treasures around every corner
and even beautiful little secret gardens to explore.
The sidewalks all had designs in them that had been made from rocks and pebbles centuries ago. 
There was natural art everywhere. It was lovely and has been so well kept over time.We then went to the Holiday Inn for lunch and it was not the best meal we have had on the whole trip. They even gave us forks! (I guess we looked like tourists )
We had lots more things to do today, so we really didn't need to eat much anyway. I'd rather be looking, photographing and learning than eating. You can eat anytime when you're home!
We had lots more things to do today, so we really didn't need to eat much anyway. I'd rather be looking, photographing and learning than eating. You can eat anytime when you're home! From there we left for our next stop of the day and I saw two things that you don't see in the states. Their touring buses have beds in them so the passengers can rest if they need to (they don't look too comfortable) 
and then we saw a truck with some hogs in it and we all started saying, "This Little Piggie Went to Market".
Poor things. They were having a nap as well but I'm sure they didn't know what their last stop would be :-( 
After lunch we toured a silk factory and I bought several things there including 2 silk quilts. 
They ship them in a vacuum type packaging so they are easier to get home that way. We had ours shipped since we would have too much luggage on the return trip to carry them. We won't be limited with luggage weight on the final flight, thank goodness!!! 
They had an area there that was as large as a department store with beautiful silk items.
We first took a tour of the factory before we went into the shopping area. It was fascinating learning about the silk worms 
and watching the workers take a tiny silk cocoon and turn it into something larger than a shower cap. 
The silkworm is the larva of Bombyx mori i.e., the "silkworm of the mulberry tree"), the domesticated silk moth. A moth in the family Bombycidae, it is very important economically as the producer of silk. It is entirely dependent on humans for its reproduction and no longer occurs naturally in the wild. Silk culture has been practised for at least 5,000 years in China. A silkworm's preferred food is White Mulberry leaves.Eggs take about ten days to hatch. Silkworms have a strong appetite, as do all lepidopteran larvae. They eat day and night, preferring White Mulberry. When the color of their heads turns darker, it means that it is time for them to molt. After they have moulted four times their bodies turn slightly yellow and their skin becomes tighter. The larvae enclose themselves in a cocoon of raw silk produced in the salivary glands that provides protection during the vulnerable, almost motionless pupal state.
and the library is very quite and comfortable if you want to get away from it all.
I forgot to mention that our guide told us that all the laundry you see hanging out of windows and on clothes lines in front of the houses everywhere is due to the fact that most people have washers but they don't have dryers. In fact, she said that the laundry flapping in the breeze has become the National Flag of China :-) 
Well, once again I've made a liar out of myself. When I start talking about our travels I never know when to stop. You're probably ready to sweep me under the carpet by now, 
but I've been having such a great time re-living our adventures through this virtual journal that I don't want to stop. I only hope that you want to stay with me for a few more days. It's late and I'm ready for bed. Happy travel dreams!
and then we saw a truck with some hogs in it and we all started saying, "This Little Piggie Went to Market". Poor things. They were having a nap as well but I'm sure they didn't know what their last stop would be :-( After lunch we toured a silk factory and I bought several things there including 2 silk quilts. They ship them in a vacuum type packaging so they are easier to get home that way. We had ours shipped since we would have too much luggage on the return trip to carry them. We won't be limited with luggage weight on the final flight, thank goodness!!! They had an area there that was as large as a department store with beautiful silk items. We first took a tour of the factory before we went into the shopping area. It was fascinating learning about the silk worms and watching the workers take a tiny silk cocoon and turn it into something larger than a shower cap. The silkworm is the larva of Bombyx mori i.e., the "silkworm of the mulberry tree"), the domesticated silk moth. A moth in the family Bombycidae, it is very important economically as the producer of silk. It is entirely dependent on humans for its reproduction and no longer occurs naturally in the wild. Silk culture has been practised for at least 5,000 years in China. A silkworm's preferred food is White Mulberry leaves.Eggs take about ten days to hatch. Silkworms have a strong appetite, as do all lepidopteran larvae. They eat day and night, preferring White Mulberry. When the color of their heads turns darker, it means that it is time for them to molt. After they have moulted four times their bodies turn slightly yellow and their skin becomes tighter. The larvae enclose themselves in a cocoon of raw silk produced in the salivary glands that provides protection during the vulnerable, almost motionless pupal state.
In China, there is a legend that the discovery of the silkworm's silk was by an ancient empress called Xi Ling-Shi. She was drinking tea under a tree when a cocoon fell into her tea. She picked it out and as it started to wrap around her finger, she slowly felt a warm sensation. When the silk ran out, she saw a small cocoon. In an instant, she realized that this cocoon was the source of the silk. She taught this to the people and it became widespread. There are many more legends about the silkworm.
The cocoon is made of a single continuous thread of raw silk from 1000 to 3000 feet long. 
The fibers are very fine and lustrous, about 1/2500th of an inch in diameter. About 2,000 to 3,000 cocoons are required to make a pound of silk. Based on about 1100 yards per cocoon, ten unravelled cocoons could theoretically extend vertically to the height of Mt Everest. 
At least 70 million pounds of raw silk are produced each year, requiring nearly 10 billion pounds of mulberry leaves. One pound of silk represents about 1,000 miles of filament. The annual world production represents 70 billion miles of silk filament, a distance well over 300 round trips to the sun
The Chinese guarded their knowledge of silk. It is said that a Chinese woman smuggled eggs to Japan, hidden in her hair. The Japanese thus began their love affair with silk. A single kimono requires the silk from 2100 silkworm moths to produce and Lucky me .... Frank bought me one! Hopefully these photographs will give you a better visual explanation than I have done verbally. It's a complicated process.
The fibers are very fine and lustrous, about 1/2500th of an inch in diameter. About 2,000 to 3,000 cocoons are required to make a pound of silk. Based on about 1100 yards per cocoon, ten unravelled cocoons could theoretically extend vertically to the height of Mt Everest. At least 70 million pounds of raw silk are produced each year, requiring nearly 10 billion pounds of mulberry leaves. One pound of silk represents about 1,000 miles of filament. The annual world production represents 70 billion miles of silk filament, a distance well over 300 round trips to the sunThe Chinese guarded their knowledge of silk. It is said that a Chinese woman smuggled eggs to Japan, hidden in her hair. The Japanese thus began their love affair with silk. A single kimono requires the silk from 2100 silkworm moths to produce and Lucky me .... Frank bought me one! Hopefully these photographs will give you a better visual explanation than I have done verbally. It's a complicated process.
When we left there we continued on to Shanghai. We arrived around 6:00 p.m. and had an early dinner in our room, unpacked and went to bed. It's been a very long and full day. 
We're staying at the Portman Ritz Carlton which is a lovely hotel. Viking takes really good care of you. Our room is on the 39th floor and we have a great view of the city.
The public rooms are all very nice as well. I especially like the large piece of jade in the bar area. It's very impressive,We're staying at the Portman Ritz Carlton which is a lovely hotel. Viking takes really good care of you. Our room is on the 39th floor and we have a great view of the city.and the library is very quite and comfortable if you want to get away from it all.I forgot to mention that our guide told us that all the laundry you see hanging out of windows and on clothes lines in front of the houses everywhere is due to the fact that most people have washers but they don't have dryers. In fact, she said that the laundry flapping in the breeze has become the National Flag of China :-) Well, once again I've made a liar out of myself. When I start talking about our travels I never know when to stop. You're probably ready to sweep me under the carpet by now, but I've been having such a great time re-living our adventures through this virtual journal that I don't want to stop. I only hope that you want to stay with me for a few more days. It's late and I'm ready for bed. Happy travel dreams!Pcasso
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