Kunshan City Walk: Yushan Square - Tinglin Road

Saturday, with the high sky and crisp autumn air, I took the Suzhou Metro Line 11 to walk around Kunshan city. I boarded the train at Huaqiao Metro Station after nine o'clock, and it took thirty-five minutes to reach Yushan Square Station. The station hall is designed in a modern style with elements of Kunqu opera art, even the benches are characters of Sheng, Dan, Jing, Mo, and Chou. Exiting from Exit 2 (Exit 3 is closed), I strolled along Tinglin Road. Passing through Xianhou Street and Dongxitang Street, I experienced the typical small bridges and flowing water of the Jiangnan style. Not far away, I passed by the old Kunshan brand, Aozao Restaurant. At a quarter past ten in the morning, it was already bustling with people inside. Not feeling hungry, I decided to visit the park first. I arrived at Tinglin Park and found the scenery outside to be quite nice, so I didn't enter through the East Gate but walked along Ma'anshan Road instead. Lotus ponds, lawns, streams, stone bridges, pavilions, and even a closed temple, Huazang Temple. Even the Starbucks on the roadside had the ancient charm of Jiangnan style. I reached the West Gate of Tinglin Park and spent over three hours touring. The garden is very nice (big enough to warrant a separate note). After one o'clock in the afternoon, I exited from the East Gate and managed to get into Aozao Restaurant half an hour before it closed at two, to enjoy a bowl of Aozao noodles. The taste was very good, and I also avoided the long queue during peak hours. After the meal, I strolled along Chaiwang Road and was turned away at the Kunshan Calligraphy and Painting Institute near the Hutong Building. I turned onto Congming Alley to give myself a bit of enlightenment 😂. On the way back to Yushan Square Metro Station, I made a special trip to queue up for a small bag of freshly fried chestnuts. The price was very affordable, 14 yuan per jin, while another store across the street was charging 31, making me wonder why there was a queue here. Sweet and glutinous, the taste was fantastic! A perfect autumn weekend city walk.