Early the next morning, after a quick breakfast of porridge, we walked a kilometer to Tiger Hill – a well-known landmark and nonetheless, a tourist attraction in Suzhou. We were attempting to beat the crowds, though walking a kilometer in such a hot sticky weather wasn’t easy.
When we arrived at the gate, there were but a few elderly people doing their morning workouts. Despite feeling the temperature already, it felt kinda pleasant.
Remember that I did zero research before I embarked on this trip, which I now know it was a bad idea though it was mostly because I had no clue where we were actually going with my mom changing hotels every other day. I also didn’t understand what “Huqiu” meant other than the large sign beneath it that read “Tiger Hill.” I prayed that it wouldn’t be another long day of walking. 🤞
After showing our passports and purchasing 2 admission tickets, my mom and I searched for her cousins M and T as we proceeded toward the entrance. Therefore they were, caught entering without tickets. Fortunately, in China, as long as you have a valid Chinese ID, your admission is just a quick scan of QR code away.
We walked and walked. Up and up we went. It wasn’t 5 minutes before I felt the burn in my thighs. What is this? I thought. What have I gotten myself into? Despite being only at sea level, I was out of breath by the time I reached the top.
The first stop was Sword Pond. It’s named that because the pond is in the shape of a sword. Legends had it that this pond is the entrance to an ancient tomb. With what I thought was one last look at the pond, we continued up the winding path only to end up on top of the bridge over the pond! I didn’t dare to stand too close to the edge as I’m afraid of heights.
As we saw a tour group coming up the hill, we decided we should hurry to our destination. Thankfully, our final destination wasn’t far after seeing the Sword Pond. It was but a couple of gates away.
Also known as the Leaning Tower of China, the Tiger Hill pagoda was built around the Song Dynasty (10th century), much older than the Tower of Pisa. It’s been leaning for around 400 years and has become the symbol of Suzhou. No one is allowed into the pagoda as it’s a safety hazard, so there I stood and marveled from afar.
The walk down was surprisingly easy but what was I expecting? More hills? Before I knew, we were once again by the entrance gate, except the way we came was blocked off, leaving us no choice but to use another route. Unexpectedly, we encountered a lily pond.
After walking along the path and searching for an empty pavilion to sit and rest, we finally found one. Brought from home, my mom began passing a bag of jerky to her cousins. At this point of the trip, my gums had started to ache, so I was avoiding hard foods like meat and jerky. No jerky for me. Thankfully, there was a slight breeze, which brought a tiny bit of relief to another hot day in Suzhou. While they ate, they pondered on where we should go next since it was only 11 AM. I kept quiet because I knew nothing about Suzhou and even if I did, I doubt anyone would’ve listen to anything I say.
