The architectural landscape of this once old town is a magnet to the booming tourist industry because the maximum height of buildings here is still limited to twenty-four meters high. Some of the parks in this city are in the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The most spectacular thing in Suzhou is a hukou of this old town, the invaluable "registered permanent residence", a certificate that Hong owns and will always keep, even if she moves elsewhere. In Germany, people do not keep hanging on to the principal residence, because even a student who is entitled to plenty of benefits, can also be convinced to change places.
Hong's parents moved into a terraced house in the North of Suzhou years back. They bought the house when prices were still affordable.
In Suzhou, property prices are rising day by day, because of the sporadic changes and development in the area, for example, the opening of a modern metro station. Hong moved here to live with her parents the time when I was busy running up and down, working hard. Being away from her parents could have been the reason for going to them. It happens when you are the only child in the family; parents tend to spoil you with whatever you wish to have. For example, Hong owns a private sleeping place in her parent's home, on the top floor of their house, distinctly separate from the standard living room and kitchen.
Her parent's house is in a quiet housing estate. Plants decorate the stairs of the house going to the terrace being guarded by "Bingjiling", the small dog, that greets guests with a joyful barking.
The living room can be reached using the front door. My in-laws named their dog "ice cream" because it licks the “cold desert " so well, especially when he wants to be allowed into the house. In China, before you enter the home, you must remove your shoes, and exchange them with slippers, because Chinese household does not welcome dirt. The house comprises of a kitchen, parental bedroom, and Hong's room, which also in some way is my room since I am
married to their daughter. Next is a visual art-related studio, which belongs to Li Gengnan, my father-in-law, a man with a passion for calligraphy.
Despite space occupied by the desk and an office chair, the room looks more of a studio, than an office which was initially a balcony and later converted into a living room. Instead of computers and other accessories, the desk has writing brushes, rod squid, friction stone and papers, typical of the Chinese tradition, that has been in place for millennia. Textbooks here and there, are part of the décor and the artistic ambience of the room. I relocated from Shanghai to Suzhou. Hong was living with her parents while teaching law at Suzhou University. The job was not paying well, she was earning only 5,000 RMB, per month, that is about six hundred and fifty Euros, at that time, including all insurance and taxes. She was working only two days a week. RMB (Renminbi) is the Chinese national currency, also known as Yuan. 5000 RMB is not much money. Civil servants earn less than private-sector employees.
Despite living on a meagre income, Hong's parents worked so hard to save for their pension. In China, pensions schemes for public servants pay well.
To support my business projects, Hong applied for an indefinite break at the university. My mother-in-law Wu Meilan was the mediator for our semi-detached house, while Li Gengnan, my father-in-law, arranged all the contacts with the real estate agent. It helped me to understand that without relations in China, it would have taken me a long time to settle, including paying dearly for such a simple thing. We live in a small but quiet condominium.
A gatekeeper is slated off the main road, and there is a small garden too. It is a relatively new house, with double-glazed windows, and modest heating system.
It is common to find homes with no heating system in the South of the Changjiang river, which is popularly known as the Yangtze in the West. Even though it is part of austerity measures, temperatures in this part of the country rarely drop below zero degrees Celsius. Rules were set up by the Chinese government in the 1950s. In order not to freeze here, you must have the underfloor heating, and in hot temperatures, you need the air conditioner.
Preparing tea in Suzhou is popular; it is famous too. Traditionally locals here make tea from infusing leaves, for example, Hong’s parents use plants parts such as buds, flowers, fruits and others. I prefer green or herbal tea; Hong loves fruit tea.
Interestingly, in China, black tea is called red tea. Yellow tea is also on the list but has not yet stormed the wholesale market, although, for some time, they have been secrectly making it in small islands.
Hong and I took advantage of a week off work to fly to Germany, at the headquarters of Schluckauf in Ingolstadt. Each morning before having our breakfast, we used to jog together, passing through the city, and illuminated pathways in parks. We found this interesting because the air in Germany was crisp and fresh, as opposed to that in China.
We later proceeded to Upper Franconia, in the northernmost tip of Bavaria. We were to stay with my father and sister for a few days and to attend Hong’s christening and the marriage ceremony in a church between Christmas and New Year.
I got married to Hong in June 2013 at the Chinese registry office in Nanjing. 6 months later, she needed to invite as many relatives as she could to our wedding party in China because it was a special day for both of us. We celebrated our marriage in Suzhou in a
spectacular ceremony. More than three hundred guests attended the ceremony. Thanks to my in-laws, for funding everything. Hong and I would never have made it.
The ceremony in Suzhou provided an opportunity to introduce myself to all relatives. I presented a speech in the Chinese language, which I had to practice for some time before the event. My American boss of Schluckauf with his wife, and a travel-loving friendly couple from Germany, were visibly impressed by my speech. Despite attending adult evening classes in Germany, still, I have not mastered the Chinese language, to be able to speak fluently. As it is in Germany, there are many dialects in China. In Suzhou, the one spoken by my kinship is incomprehensible to me.
I recalled years back when I used to work as a supplier developer for a French company in Bietigheim. There, I joined a group to be trained like a marathon runner. Even though we only meet once in a year; we all have each others’ contacts. I did not spend much time convincing Hong about the health benefits of sports; she was a good runner, too, during her school days. Sports activities help me to get away from the hustle and bustles of daily life. Therefore, Hong and me took the chance to participate in the famous yearly “New Yearś Eve” running event through the city with thousands of spectators, before we flew back to China.
Yesterday, I spared some time cleaning up my office to get prepared for the Chinese New Year. After doing all the cleaning, I turned the television on to watch programs. There was continuous buzzing sound, indicating no signals. I wondered why. I asked my wife what could have happened! “It is pointless to keep on paying television monthly bills when you are always busy travelling abroad”
She answered. What have you just said! I asked, surprisingly, trying to figure out where the logic was in her statement. Hong’s way of doing things sometimes amazes me. In Germany you would never think of cancelling or stop paying television licence, just because you are temporarily going out of the country, it is even hard to imagine such a thing. However, despite all such behavioural characteristics, which are sometimes intolerable to me, I am proud of my wife. Perhaps her aim, in this case, was to save us from paying unnecessary costs.
The television bill was still not paid yet, what we decided to do instead, was to watch a movie on DVD. We also treated ourselves to special Tata tea, a powdery blend with a natural taste of various herbs such as Tulsi (Indian basil), Brahmi (fairy