摄影展示Photography – Life is an adventure

“A City A Story” photo weekly contest #25 : FREESTYLE 截然不同的欧洲风情 Shopping village

五月 24, 2018Hannah 1 Comment

I went to the Suzhou shopping village to buy new bags and skirts for the coming summer last weekend. Bicester shopping village is translated to “奕欧来” in Chinese. “奕” refers to a brilliant, radiant, affluent, rich, and wealthy in Chinese; “欧” literally means “Europe”, that is to say, the brand, service, and shopping environment are inspired from Europe; “奕” and “欧来” are used together to represent “elegant and luxury styles from Europe”. The word “来” also means “come with me.” It is a welcome and invitation among friends.

The Bicester shopping villages are carefully built by a great company named “Value Retail”. And this company has invited 11 distinctive shopping destinations in Europe and China. I loving shopping there because I am attracted by its luxurious and beautiful shopping environment, but also get discount, and extraordinary customer services. It has body guide at every corner to keep us feel safe and help the guest to find the right brand location as the whole shopping center is quite large.

The shopping village brings together the world’s most famous fashion and lifestyle brands to attract visitors in Suzhou.

This shopping village is highly integrated with the local history, culture, and environment. Lets take Suzhou village for an example. It is located beside the beautiful Yangcheng Lake peninsula. From the photos I taken, you could see that the Outlet blends original Venetian elements and distinctive Chinese elements in its design. The architectural style is basically inspired by the features of the Marco Polo era. It has a traditional water garden,which is peaceful and at ease.

The shopping village is ultimate destination for more than 100 international fashion and lifestyle brand boutiques. It takes place interactive art exhibitions throughout the year so that guests can enjoy different pleasures every time they shop.

Besides the Outlets in Suzhou, The company opened 9 large shopping villages in Europe. To trace back to the first shopping village, it begins in London, and this quickly spreads to Barcelona, Paris, Frankfurt… Continue Reading →

Magnificent Night Views of An idyllic County House 旺山夜色，春风沉醉的夜晚

五月 10, 2018Hannah 2 Comments

旺山夜景绮丽迷人，
千家灯火不夜村，
天上星、水中月、人间灯，天地一色，恍如梦境。
灯火洒溪水，把溪水照耀得恍如白昼，分辨不清何处是水，何处是岸？

April has always been one of my favorite months of the year, not only because it is Spring here and everything is so fresh and clean, but also the delicious food from the farmhouse. When I was little girl, my cousin and I spent countless days with my grandma at the countryside, playing in the rural field, and having fun when catching bees, dragonflies, and butterflies. When I was on vacation from School, we didn’t own cars, only bicycles. I tried every way possible to ask someone’s else to carry me to my grandma’s house. It was so nice!

四月一直是一年中我最喜欢的月份之一，不仅因为四月是春天，一切都是那么清新和干净，而且还有很多农家的美味。当我还是个小女孩的时候，我和表弟表妹会乡下奶奶家玩好多天天，和一帮熊孩子们一起在捉蜜蜂、蜻蜓和蝴蝶，爬树划船无所不能。当我们学校放假时，我想尽一切办法蹭别人的车带我到外婆家去。那会我们没有汽车，只有自行车，也没有太多的污染，一切都很纯净美好。

I spent my last Valentine’s day at Wangshan with Ethan. And now we were here to spend a quiet and peaceful night together, watching the moon, stars, and listening to the sound from nature like the the croaking of frogs. I have been with Ethan for 14 years. We fall in love when I was sophomore. We have met each other at high school. At the time, we are forbidden to think about dating, only study harder and harder. But Ethan always bring me his favourite sweeties and milk. I remember one day, he gave me a bag of pure milk.Then I opened the bag with my month, and asked him for a straw. He said there’s no straw, and picked up that milk bag and drink directly. I thought he was intended to do that.

今天跟Ethan一起自驾到了旺山，准备在这里度过一个宁静的夜晚，赏月亮，看星星，听着蛙鸣蝉叫。我俩上次过来是去年的情人节。话说我和Ethan相恋到结婚已经第14个年头。大二的时候，开始谈恋爱，毕业之后相约到同一个城市工作，然后结婚。我们在高中相识。当时，我们明令禁止谈恋爱，父母和老师只会让我们更加努力地学习。但Ethan总是给我带来他最喜欢的糖果和牛奶。我记得有一天，他给了我一袋纯牛奶，然后我用我的牙齿咬开了袋子，向他要吸管。他老神在在的直接拿起牛奶袋喝，这算不算第一次间接kiss。我一直觉得他是故意那样做的！

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一叶知春 Pretty Pictures of Flowers that Bloom in Late Winter and Early Spring

四月 24, 2018Hannah 3 Comments

十年可见春去秋来，
百年可证生老病死，
千年可叹王朝更替，
万年可见斗转星移。

凡人如果用一天的视野，去窥探百万年的天地，是否就如同井底之蛙。

Ten years can see the changes of four seasons,
One hundred years can see the birth, old, illness and death of one’s life,
The millennium year can see the prosperity and defeat of a dynasty,
Ten thousand years can see the whole world moving around from A to Z.

If mortals use the vision of a day to snoop into the world for millions of years, it is like a frog in the bottom of the well.

昨天看《天行九歌》，这一段反复看了三遍，面对千古一帝嬴政，韩非子不卑不亢地说出这么一番“知春秋，晓古今，悉生死”的辩证法，果然很韩非子。

Yesterday I watched “The Skywalking Nine Songs”. I watched this part over and over again. When Han Feizi faced the questions from the eternal king of his era, he uttered the truth of life. “Knowing the Spring and Autumn, Divining the Ancient, Seeing the Present, Observing Birth and Death”. I was attracted by his great thoughts.

When I was taking photos of the green leaves at the tree branches, the soft wind was whipping my cheeks. I realized that Spring has arrived, though the weather is still quite cold in Suzhou. I think Spring is the most beautiful season here.

当我在狂拍树梢上的红花绿叶时，柔软的风在拂动我的脸颊。尽管天气还是很寒冷，春姑娘原来已经早早到来了，春天是四季里最美的季节。

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“A City A Story” photo weekly contest #22: Green COLOR 江南春光，最美人间四月天

四月 14, 2018Hannah 3 Comments

Fair Southern shore with scenes I adore.
At sunrise riverside flowers redder than fire, In spring green waves grow as blue as sapphire.
Which I can’t but admire.

江南好，风景旧曾谙。
日出江花红胜火，春来江水绿如蓝。
能不忆江南？

Good morning lovelies! It is Spring here in Suzhou, and summer is in the corner. So happy to be back in Suzhou after spending a 3-day holiday in my hometown during the Qingming Festival. My holiday was full of love hat feeling of hope when we think about the days spent with the passed ones. Today I am showing my entry for “A City A Story” photo weekly contest #22 COLOR hosted by @aaronli. I planned this green theme photo series to show the beautiful spring time in our city.

早安，各位！现在的苏州是最美的春季，夏天即将到来。在清明节期间，在家乡度过3天的假期，Ethan他家缅怀亲人的仪式感很足，一家人有着共同的回忆，一起追忆亲人，回忆过去，很有爱。今天这篇文章写来参加@aaronli主办的“A City A Story”照片每周比赛＃22 COLOR的作品。我计划这个绿色的主题照片系列，展现江南美丽的春天。

Small bridges and flowing waters , white walls and dark grey roof tiles match one another in tranquil elegance

苏州的街巷临河，小桥流水，粉墙黛瓦，简静雅洁。

When I saw the theme of this contest: COLOR, what comes to my mind is: wow, our city definitely has NO colors for its architecture, ONLY white wall and black tiles. Yes, our city looks like a painting of ink and wash. Old street and deep lane, Water bridge, sheltered in the rain, like the watch of missing 1,000 years.

看到这一期的主题是色彩的时候，我第一反应的是“MD，我们大苏州的建筑没有色彩！”为了保持古城的风貌，苏州政府会统一建筑色彩，都是粉墙黛瓦。记得平江路一家潮店很时尚的翻新成了红色的墙面，我去拍照的时候发现，一片粉墙黛瓦中，一面复古的砖红色，好看的紧。可惜第二天就被勒令整改，给刷白回来。我们大苏州必须是那道白月光，隐在烟雨迷蒙中，恍若千年一叹的守望。

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Running with my Best friends at Shantang Ancient Town 日月交换，光影渐暗

三月 30, 2018Hannah 4 Comments

The new year holiday is over, which left me a lot of work to do. I am crazy busy this week. But when I am thinking about what I have been up to, there is nothing. I only found 1000+ photos in my camera.That is a truth that I have spent time visiting around and taking pictures during the holiday.

新年假期结束了，假期给我留下了很多很多没有做完的工作，所以这周超级超级忙。但是回头想想自己大概做了哪些，似乎什么都没有。庆幸的是，假期里我拍了很多照片。

Until I work my way to sort out and pick some pictures to post, I’ll just post a few from the last few days. We just got back from my hometown, where we spent 7 days to celebrating the Chinese new year. Lots of fun with our family & friends! It was also fun seeing a few relatives and eating delicious food. If you are from some places nearby, my hometown is a good place to visit.

在我把这些照片归类整理之前，我只会在最近几天游玩的一些照片。我刚从家乡回来，在那里度过了7天，庆祝中国新年。与我们的家人和老朋友一起庆祝新年，有很多乐趣，最起码拿到了很多大红包！也拍了一些老家的风光，蓝天白云，草儿青青，牛儿哞哞。

We had a super fun when we were running around the Shantang Street. I have went through a few pictures and I a, excited to share today. The city I live is so beautiful. The pictures surprised us all.

我们在绕着美丽的山塘街上跑了一圈。小家碧玉的苏城真心太美丽了。

I went on a girls trip with @veronicazhu and @sunnyjolly. They are my two besties that I worked with. Now it’s hard to find a time where we can all get together since now we are not work at the same place anymore. So we are aiming for at least once a month. I love them. I feel the time with them is super quick. I wish the time could slow up.

我与@veronicazhu和@sunnyjolly一起的不带老公参加的聚会。她们俩都是我的中国好闺蜜。现在很难找到一个时间聚会，因为现在我们不在同一个地方工作。所以我们计划每个月至少要聚会一次。

I have taken more pictures at the sunset I want to share then tomorrow. Hope you will like them.

我还拍了很多山塘街夕阳西下的照片，明天会分享。希望你会喜欢他们。

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“A City A Story” photo weekly contest #15 FLOWER 春风和煦，美如壁画

三月 27, 2018Hannah 2 Comments

“The osmanthus is the ultimate beauty of the things.” The city flower of Suzhou is sweet-scented osmanthus, which is a symbol of friendship, good fortune and happiness. Suzhou is known as “Garden City”, as the old saying goes, “Chinese garden is unparelled under heaven; Suzhou garden is unparelled in Jiangnan(south of the lower reaches of the Yangze River)”. There are many scenes named after osmanthus in Lingering Garden, Wang Shi Yuan, and Ou Garden. That is so called “rebuild heaven and earth within several meters”.

“物之美者，招摇之桂。”
苏州的市花是桂花，苏州人称之为木樨花，是友好、吉祥和幸福的象征。苏州素有“园林之城”之称，俗话说“江南园林甲天下，苏州园林甲江南”，留园的”闻木樨香轩”，网师园的”小山丛桂轩”，耦园的”樨廊”，以桂点景，咫尺之内再造乾坤。

Unfortunately, there is no osmanthus in Suzhou city this the cold winter. But the plum trees begin to blossom. In Chinese tradition, plum flower is a spiritual symbol of strong and noble characters, which encourages our generations go through difficulty, and create a better life and civilization. Our ancestors are bearing up well against all misfortunes like the plum flowers blossom in the freezing winter.

不幸的是，这个寒冷的冬天苏州市没有桂花。但梅树开始盛开。在中国传统中，梅花是强壮高尚人物的精神象征，鼓励我们的后代走出困境，创造美好的生活和文明。国人就像冬天盛开的梅花，抵御一切不幸，一步步走出绝境。

Plum Blossom’s Fragrance Comes from the Bitter Cold Three Parts

梅花香自苦寒来

There are two versions of Plum Blossom God in our Folk legend. One is poet Lin Kui in the Northern Song Dynasty, who secluded in a lonely mountain beside the West Lake. The other one is said to be Liu Mengmei in the Peony Pavilion of Ming Dynasty. In his dream, he met Du Liniang under the plum tree.

梅花花神有两种说法，一说是北宋诗人林逋，他隐居于西湖孤山，终生不仕。一说是明代戏曲牡丹亭中柳梦梅，在梦中，他在梅花树下遇见为情而死的杜丽娘，其后杜丽娘还魂与柳梦相结合，成就一段曲折姻缘。

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Images of Loumen City Walls in Chinese New Year 姑苏风光-娄门城墙 | Suzhou Scenery

三月 26, 2018Hannah 4 Comments

“娄门，本号疁门，东南，秦时有古疁县，至汉王莽改为娄县。 “《吴地记》载。
门遂改称娄门。城门分外城、中城、内城三重。
内城筑有城楼，三重陆城门之间有空地和闸门装置，十分坚固。

I went back to work since last Thursday! It feels super great to return to work, and I’m loving having a team of people to work with. I’ve been drinking and eating too much during the winter holiday, and I realize that I may need go out and enjoy some sunshine. Happily, the weather is quite good today.

上周四，休假结束，回到工作岗位。春节假期我一直在吃喝喝，今天天气晴好，有机会出去转转，消消食。

Last night, I read a post shared by @justyy saying that some people are living a happy and easy life, while life is very difficult to others. It is lucky for me to travel and enjoy life at weekends. And the place I visited is Loumen City Walls. As my workweeks are full, I am trying to be a master of the weekend adventure.

昨天晚上，看了一篇 @justyy 分享的帖子，说有些人岁月静好，有些人负重前行。能到处散心旅游度假是一件幸运的事情，今天转悠到了娄门。

My son is getting bigger. It’s hard to believe that Ivan are turning to 5! I even didn’t get married when I started to write a blog. And tomorrow would be his first day of school this year.

Ivan越来越大，过完节就已经5岁了！当我开始写博客时，我甚至还没有结婚。小盆友说，他好可怜，明天就要开学了。我的内心是幸福的，终于开学啦，我要解放了。

Before i arrived there, I’d heard the rebuilt project for the old city walls. Suzhou is a city that holds onto its past history. After the rebuilt and repair is finished, the city walls stand unchanged, and open to everyone. It really is like being transported to the ancient history.

古城墙几年前被翻新跟重建，现在看来应该变化不大，不过少了些许的沧桑感。苏州是一座保护过去历史的城市，城墙边的粉墙黛瓦真像是回到古时候。

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Suzhou City at Sunset: Where China’s Past Meets Its Future 莫叹迟暮，大放异彩

三月 23, 2018Hannah Leave a Comment

Life got busy and I was trying to find a balance between steemit and life. But there would never be a perfect balance, which has actually made things a lot less stressful.I updated my personal blog life is an adventure to vps for a better user experience.

自从爱上steemit，生活变得忙碌起来，我试图找到steemit和生活之间的平衡点。但是永远不会有一个完美的平衡，上班，带娃，写博，感觉自己一天打了三份工。昨天没有发帖，因为更新了我的独立博客：hannahwu.com，搬迁到了vps，升级了https，这样用户体验应该会更好。

Suzhou is a luxury travel destination where China’s glorious past perfectly combined with its modern civilization. To live here is like taking a magic trip between China’s powerful past and prosperous tomorrow. I took some photos while running around my home this weekend. The whole city at the sunset looks really authentic and fascinating.

因为政府对古建筑古文化的不断扶持，对苏州城市规划的限高限色，苏州，作为一个旅游城市，可以称作是中国辉煌的过去与现代文明完美结合体。有幸生活在这座城市，出去跑个步也感觉自己中国过去和将来之间来了个穿越之旅。周末我在家附近跑步时拍了一些照片，夕阳下的整个城市看起来真实而迷人。

Many visitors come to our city to see cultural and historical to see the ancient temples, palaces, gardens, canals, and city walls. And when I was running, some visitors ask me where to buy silk production and Su embroidery.

许多游客来我们的城市看文化和历史，看看古庙，宫殿，花园，运河和城墙。在我跑步的时候，有些游客问我在哪里买丝绸和苏绣。其实我也不知道，这些只有游客会有。

Somehow Winter is already over and Spring just started. Time is flying, per usual. We had a busy, but great winter! And I am looking forward to meetups with my pretty, pretty friends @sunnyjolly and @veronicazhu. We celebrate everything possible every month. Continue Reading →

Images of the Snow-covered Landscape in Zhuozheng Yuan 姑苏雪痕，犹如梦境 | SteemitPhotoChallenge Entry

三月 14, 2018Hannah Leave a Comment

北国早已飘过不知多少场雪后，苏城迎来了属于自己的第一场雪，雪姑娘扬扬洒洒地飘了三天三夜。周日一大早，迫不及待的打开窗户，看到窗外熟悉的风景一片白茫茫，再看看发现自己的车车又被埋了，心情无比雀跃，穿起雪地靴，相约 @herlife 一起飞奔去园林，生怕明天一场冬雨，雪就会融化了。

Luckily, we had a great amount of snow last weekend. As far back as I can remember, there is no heavy snow in recent five years. It is so nice to see the snow from my window this morning. I drove to the Humble Administrator’s Garden (or zhuozheng yuan), one of the four great gardens in China, to see the snow-covered landscape. So, I have chance to take pretty photos of snow and share them with you here.

苏州的雪景如水墨丹青一般美丽，虽没有“千里冰封，万里雪飘”的豪迈，但总能给人一种梦回姑苏的感觉。

I dreamed to live and work in northern cities, where would be covered by thick snow in the winter. That would be a total different lifestyle compared to life in watery towns of Southern China. Now when I stand there to all the trees covered with white snow, my dream has come true, and all these memories when I was a little girl come to life again. I have countless memories of running in all the gardens. And this time, I am glad that I can take Ivan here showing him old memories, and of course, making new ones.

This is my entry for 📷 Steemit Photo Challenge organised by @jamtaylor. For those who are not familiar with it, please read the details here. We are suggested to submit no more than 3 entries. That is why I put three images in this post.

这三张图用来提交 @jamtaylor 组织的摄影比赛 #steemitphotochallenge，想参加的可以点击这里，每人可以提交至多三张照片。 Continue Reading →

Enjoy Best Moment of Plum Blossom Scenery 梅海之约：乍暖还寒时，春意料峭中

三月 13, 2018Hannah Leave a Comment

乍暖还寒时，
春意料峭中，
相约十里梅林，
繁花如海荡漾，若雪满地；
层层叠叠，犹如风吹麦浪。

Hope everyone is doing great. Workdays are going by fast! Sometimes, I need to work overnight to get everything done. I try to relax on weekend. My parents came to Suzhou for a visit. I am so fortunate to live not too far away from my parents. We could get together every month to travel or have dinner. It is great to enjoy good food and good company with my parents. The weather at Suzhou is more spring-like this month.

首先祝大家工作日愉快。这周的工作日过得超快，我一直在通宵加班。周末必须放松一下。这周，苏州的天气更像春天，或者说春天已经来了。老爸老妈周末来了苏州看梅花。很幸运，老爸老妈住的地方离我不远，两小时的车程，我们可以经常一起周末周边游，有父母陪伴的周末时光，是我这周的一大乐事。

My mum and son. I really enjoy taking photos for them.

很喜欢给我家女王大人跟小盆友拍合照，他们俩都是超配合。

I used to get back to my hometown to visit my parents every month. Since I had my little son, life is getting busy. I have probably the busiest life EVER right now, and we don’t have time to visit them every month. Instead, my parents drove to Suzhou and spent time with me.

我以前每个月都会回老家，不管多大，老爸老妈都是我永远的依靠。自从我有了我的小Ethan以后，生活就变得忙碌起来。而现在可能是最忙碌的生活，我没有时间每个月都去看他们。相反，我的父母自己开车来到苏州，和我一起欢度周末。

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