Suzhou
The three-day Suzhou tour is entirely self-driven, mainly to play with the dog, so we avoid crowded scenic spots and off-limits gardens, focusing on leisurely strolling~ 👍
For accommodation, we chose Suzhou Mudu Wanda Yuehua Resort Hotel. The room is quite large, but there's no elevator. If you have a lot of luggage, it's recommended to stay on the first floor. The hotel has parking and 🔋 charging stations 🔋, which is a plus! But the electric bikes outside the hotel are parked in a mess, making it a bit 😞 difficult to get in. By the way, pet cleaning costs 100 yuan per pet per night, so getting a Wanda Hotel membership is much more cost-effective.
On the first morning, we first went to Mudu Ancient Town behind the hotel, and the stroller was smooth throughout! Compared to the Humble Administrator's Garden, this place is less popular and not crowded. Inside, there are Ancient Pine Garden, Hongyin Mountain House, Yan Family Garden, and Mingyue Ancient Temple, but these indoor attractions don't allow dogs, so we took turns going in to see them. After leaving, we took the dog on the Xiangxi rowing boat. You can board the cart directly, and the boat-pulling aunties are especially friendly ❤️ with the dogs.
In the afternoon, we went to Jinji Lake, navigated to the InterContinental Suzhou Hotel, and stepped out to the lakeside. We met lots of cute puppies along the way. The lawn was very clean, and pushing the cart was convenient. Walking along the lakeside was super comfortable! After walking along the lake for about ten minutes, we arrived at the Ferris Wheel Park. Dad Dog really wanted to take his dog to try the Ferris wheel 🎡, but unexpectedly, there was a dedicated pet carriage 🚇, and it happened to be at sunset 🌄—what a pleasant surprise!
The next day, we went to a pet park by Taihu Lake. The place is huge, divided into a big dog area and a puppy area. The venue is very clean, and the dog owners are very well-mannered. You can also rent bicycles and take your dog for a ride around the lake for a while—it's super fun!
Before leaving, I took a trip to Bicester and took the opportunity to test drive an Airbuggy pet stroller at Petizen. Luckily, I wasn't passionate about ordering before. My two dogs weigh 20 jin and 11 jin — they were completely unfit and couldn't fit 😂 them all.
As for food, I'm not really into Suzhou cuisine, so I haven't tried 😂 it until now. I only recommend two places I've tried: the lobster at Matou Lane is amazing, especially the oil-fried crayfish; The Korean barbecue at Qinghe Valley is amazing, and it's by the lake with a great view.
