Suzhou, China - 5/5/2023

Grand Canal and bells

The temple is huge so we have to walk around quite a bit.   We are now headed to see the Grand canal.

Maple bridge in the background.

The grand canal is about 1,200 miles long and is the longest man made waterway in ancient China.

Maple bridge is made famous by the famous poet Zhang Ji entitled a "Night Mooring by Maple Bridge".

The poet talks about the anguish and homesickness of a man who is far from home and has just failed an important exam.. The heartbroken poet is lying awake, unable to sleep. He’s on a boat next to Maple Bridge. Then suddenly, he hears the ringing of Hanshan Temple’s giant bell reverberate throughout the midnight air.

Hanshan Temple sits along the bank of China’s ancient Grand Canal, which has been a conduit of trade for over a thousand years.

A tourist boat passing through the canal.

I think the cost is about 30 Yuan ($4) for a boat ride.

taking pictures....

This type of gate with a key hole is very typical in Chinese architecture.

 The ancient city of Suzhou was the paradise for all merchants owing to the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal; even to this day, about half of the volume of goods is transported by waterway through the Grand Canal.

Moving along the way...

Huge wooden hall

There are two bells in Hanshan temple both dating from the late Qing dynasty.

 In traditional Chinese culture the stroke of midnight is celebrated by ringing the great bells of Buddhist temples.

This is the bell tower where the 2nd giant bell is located inside.

Another beautiful tower.

The tower is huge.

Inside is a huge bell

The biggest event in Hanshan temple is on New year' Eve where people gather around to listen to the monks strike the bell 108 times.

Why 108 times? There are two explanations: 1-it is the sum of these numbers:  12 months, 24 solar terms and 72 periods (five days as a period) every year = 108

Ringing 108 times means getting rid of the old and ushering in the new.

2-The other explantion is that in Buddhist legend, human beings have 108 kinds of troubles in a year. If the bell rings 108 times, all the troubles can be eliminated.

Cute little girls in traditional outfits.

Part of the grand canal running through Hanshan temple.

Ending of visit by reaching the exit gate.