Traditional Chinese Way of Leisure Life

The very word “ leisure “ frequently shows in our daily life， which comes proportionally with the overwhelmingly accelerated pace of life.Though in contrast， these issues are really intriguing. “It is the ultimate test for a civilization when it comes to the way people chose to relax.” Albeit Russell ‘s words had been referred for so much times， people who really get the point of leisure and enjoy it in a charming way can be extremely hard to find.

Though contradictory it may seems， killing private time and pursuing for carefree mood once kept great harmony with the development of economy， science and technology prog- ress and the traffic updates.This is something really happened before in the southern regions of the Yangtze River.Leisure life， the appendage of luxury lifestyle， comes into the scene of mainstream life only when the society witnesses great material prosperity.Southern part of Yangtze River is well known for the rich and populous since ancient times. While the rest part in China are busy in get rid of poverty， southern part of Yangtze River has shed light of focus on fashion and art.

Long being Chinas top leisure travel destination， southern part of Yangtze River now stands for Chinas top leisure life。It gave birth to the most brilliant culture and art in Chi-na， and also enriched the color and taste of life. Elegant way of life made southern part of Yangtze River an outstanding one. Once upon a time， it served as wonderland for the whole Chinese people and the spiritual homeland for the men of letters.

Private garden， traditional free-style construction

The gardens in the southern yangtze river region which are access-able for the public nowadays， may be private residence， or the salt merchants own house in the past. It is easy to see that the garden in this area hold on tight to the principle of absolute freedom from the architectural distributions. These gardens are artificially original. We may be amazed by its perfect design， when enough attention has been paid to them. Despite the splendid design and the magnificent decorations at the superficial level， garden owners intimate communication with the celebrity squads can be all the more fascinating to the tourists. A pair of antithetical couplet written by writer Liu Yong which hung in the bedroom for the garden host reads：”Books can be the ideal partner for you when you are seeking for one to spend the leisure time； longing for nothing can be the best remedy for insomnia.”The host is gone and the garden remains deserted， however， this may be the best outcome for Yuyuan garden to function as it is designed to be： it calls for no more luxury suits or shoes， spend time here can be as casual as you like. You can read something you want and then take a rest， leisure life should be like this but can find nowhere else.

Fading away， or never ending

Compared to Suzhou， gardens in Yangzhou have their feet on the ground. Since the gardens here are often built by the salt merchants， practicality prevails other factors in distribution and constructional style； On the other hand， considerable part of them are still served as pubic houses for local residents to spend their leisure time.

Yangzhou Changle Inn that located in Dongguan Street is accomplished in the Ming or Qing dynasty.The combination of the historical elegance and the modern design elements made this inn an popular one among the travelers. Stepping into the hotel， the structural ingenuity left by the ancient carpenters and designers can be find everywhere. For the sick of preventing fire and thief， the outside walls are commonly very thick and high without windows on them； meanwhile the lobbies in between two gardens are often narrow and long. Inside the garden， pavilions， terraces and small hills are kept in great unit， whereas the shape of those windows can always be the eye-catching spot for their innovative designs. All of these constitute a free and casual atmosphere for the visitors. In some Yangzhou gardens of profound history， the native Huai yang cuisine are offered as well. Lots of people choose to enjoy breakfast here every morning， all the listed dishes are highly praised

Despite the traditional garden， the Yangzhou way of life has been passed down by now as the same.Walk along the Dongguan Street， you can get to the ancient canal wharf. It can be desperately different in the night， because the crowds are no longer there. If you step forward to the narrow alley alongside the street， the original lifestyle of this old city will surrounding you without reservation

The local Pingtan Wandering between art and daily life

Pingtan、Kunqu Opera and Qingqu has become the cultural scholars targets for research.In the past， these are countrymen ways for relaxation， based on the situation now， it is inevitable for people to wander whether the principle of art goes that “born in the wilderness may died official rules” turn out to be true in the future？Walking in the streets of Suzhou， you can see the advertisement of Kung opera and Pingtan everywhere. Many tea-houses provide such performance as their attracting point as well. Suzhou Pingtan is actually the name of storytelling and ballad singing， storytelling is literally the meaning it shows， and it stresses the narrative techniques； whereas the ballad singing lies much more in singing issues. Pingtan is popular in Jiangsu， Zhejiang and Shanghai， but basically performed by the Suzhou dialect. As it is known to all that Suzhou dialect is tender and touching. However， when it is being used in storytelling， rhythmic and forceful can also be carried through. Even if you may get no idea about what the actors are saying， the sentiment can be completely communicated through voices and figures.

Really attract local residents is Pinghua， just like a TV show， every day speak two “set”， each “set” a hour， speaking is half a month. The voice falls， the actor took over the incumbent， narrated a return to “previously”， is the official opening of the pinghua. Sometimes full of joy， sometimes whispering...... Modern drama， quite a bit of taste， when it comes to the key， but also played a musical instrument playing and singing.

Sentiment on the tongue

Guang qian street in Suzhou worths your visit， since your can visit the Taijian lane， a street that is filled with famous Huaiyang cuisine restaurants and local snacks.

The fine killing craft is a major feature of Huaiyang cuisine and the local Suzhou dishes. It is said that the well known dish-- squirrel shaped mandarin fish has extremely complicated preparing processes： first of all， the chef has to use a knife to cut out 108 chrysanthemum petals in the fish；and then the cut fish need to be pickled with sauces for a while； coming down， the egg yolk paste should be spread on the surface of the fish； finally the fish will be fried in a big pot. In a rather short time the killed patterns on the surface of the fish will immediately vertical up， looks just like a frightened squirrel whose hair are all straighten up.This dish is crisp outside and tender inside， eat with sour sweet sauces you will know what the unforgettable delicious really mean. When this dish served to the table， many people may totally indulge in its exquisite outlook and want to take memorial photos for themselves， instead of waving their chopsticks.

Collection in Southern Regions of Yangtze River

The folk arts and crafts here have reached a considerable height that left other regions by long shot.It can be a great pity if you go back without buying any pieces of handcraft souvenirs home.

The level of embroidery skills in Suzhou and Yang zhou go neck and neck with each other， thus the impressive price gap is contributed by the specific acupuncture skill， size and pattern of different works. The prices can be as cheap as one or two hundred yuan， or as expensive as hundreds of thousands or even millions yuan. Double-sided embroidery enjoys high performance-price ratio， it is the original innovative of this region， and can be easily used as home decoration or a gift for friends.Our recommendation for you is the settlement for embroidery workshops in Pingjiang Road， Shantangjie Street of Suzhou city and the North Garden Crafts workshop in Yangzhou city.As for scarves， silk quilt， silk pajamas， silk tie and other silk products， unless you are an expert who have well knowledge of silkproducts， or you would better buy your souvenir in the historical and famous shops.Because the Suzhou embroidery products are enjoying good reputation worldwide and has a long history， fake goods are easy to find in the market.

Different from silk crafts， lacquer， lacquer painting or paper-cut decorations dont have so much counterfeit in the market for fewer people will choose to buy them.