Suggestions and alternatives for Nanjing/Suzhou itinerary

Greetings.

I%26#39;d appreciate suggestions for our trip. My wife is working in China at the end of March and early April; I%26#39;ll accompany her. We will be in Fangshan District March 25-28 (I%26#39;ll explore that area and Beijing), then, on the 29th, we travel to Nanjing where she works on the 30th.

After Nanjing, we are free until April 3, when she works in Suzhou for one day. We fly home from Shanghai on April 7.

I%26#39;m particularly interested in the time we have from March 31 (Nanjing) til April 3 (Suzhou). Some advise us to go to Hangzhou and see the lake; some say spend more time in Suzhou (and some say don%26#39;t).

Our preferences: We%26#39;re both 60 (but we don%26#39;t act like it). We live in the redwoods in California, and our preference is for ';experiencing'; more than for ';sightseeing.'; We%26#39;re not city people; we%26#39;d rather be in the mountains, or on an island, and enjoy experiencing the people and culture more than looking at buildings. We like a few comforts (comfortable bed, hot shower), but we%26#39;re fairly flexible.

After Suzhou, we%26#39;ll go to Shanghai. Our hotels (Nanjing, Suzhou, Shanghai) will be arranged and paid for by my wife%26#39;s client. I suspect that we%26#39;ll fill most of our ';sightseeing'; (places of historical interest) in Beijing. While my wife works in Nanjing, I will pay my respects at the Nanjing Massacre Memorial.

I%26#39;d like to know if there are any really unique experiences we can take in: meeting people in the countryside, staying in a unique place, experiencing something extraordinary, etc.

If you have any unique recommendations, I%26#39;d appreciate it.

Suggestions and alternatives for Nanjing/Suzhou itinerary

The countryside in the area you are going to is pretty developed.

In Nanjing, I recommend visiting Jiming Temple. It might turn out just to be another temple when you go, but it is a pretty active place, so something interesting might be going on there.

Suzhou is not my favorite place, unless you go to visit the gardens.

Tea Houses, like the one in the middle of the lake at Yuyuan in Shanghai is a nice place to soak in the atmosphere.

Parks are good places to have interesting experiences. It is good to visit early in the morning as well as other times of day.

Suggestions and alternatives for Nanjing/Suzhou itinerary

I think you%26#39;ve emailed me, but I haven%26#39;t gotten a chance to give you a well-thought-out reply yet. If not (and if you want my opinions/suggestions/recommendations) then drop me an email.

Short and sweet: the Nanjing Massacre Memorial is closed at the moment and would only reopen in December this year. So you%26#39;ll have to cross that off your sightseeing list. No fun getting there and then realising it%26#39;s closed, as it%26#39;s quite far from the rest of town.

Which duvet cover should i get