苏州 – 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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Hannah朋友圈奇葩说

四月 30, 2018Hannah 5 Comments

第一篇最好的礼物不是最贵的而是用得起的

近期碰到奇葩事了，友人圈子里的事情。
压抑不住我一颗八卦的心，赶紧动手写出来，大家一起发表感想。

去年，因为工作的原因，我接触到了政府在北京的外设单位，从总经理到总监再到我这位朋友，经过一年的时间基本都熟悉，都成为朋友，有的还经常相约。

先介绍下故事的主人公背景:

X君是这家单位的总监，负责的项目跟我有关，但一直处于对接，朋友圈点点赞的样子，所以印象中觉得此人只是还行。
Q姐是这个项目里，联系我的助教，年轻但社会，中层社会家庭的女孩子，有些叛逆，不拘小节，爱夜生活，玩得大。
Z君，小年轻，从外形到谈吐，只有一个词可以形容——屌丝青年。
G姐，海龟。中层知识分子家庭，独居，无所畏惧。
T姐，已婚小少妇。身材倍儿好，家庭普通。

故事还要从前段时间Q姐辞职说起。 Continue Reading →

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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Self-made Frog Meat Fish Head Hotpot 好吃不上火，自制美蛙鱼头火锅

三月 31, 2018Hannah 11 Comments

There’s something a little magical when cooking for your loved ones at the weekends. The Frog Meat Fish Head Hotpot is quite popular, and my favorite restaurant is too far way, and there is no place to park my car. Last weekend, I am trying how to make frog head hot pot at home? The main material is Frog and fish head. The frog tastes tender and smooth, with fish soup. The soup is delicious, quite spicy but not dry. High-temperature boiled fish head mixed with the frog, they make each other become more delicious.

苏城最近刮起了一阵美蛙鱼头风，不过老天桥蛙炉火锅真心难停车，资深吃货周末在家琢磨怎么自制美蛙鱼头火锅，有没有人要来拜师学艺？美蛙鱼头火锅的主要材料是花鲢鱼头跟牛蛙，牛蛙入口细嫩爽滑，加上鱼汤，锅底鲜香，辣而不燥。高温火煮后的鱼头去除腥味，味道恰好能与美蛙的鲜味融合在一起，鱼头的鲜味也可以让美蛙变得更加鲜美。蛙肉和鱼肉都属于性味偏凉的食物，真正的好吃不上火。

Raw Materials:

原材料：

Fish head, bullfrog, mushrooms, and potatoes

鱼头，去皮牛蛙，香菇，土豆

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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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食为天天已霾

三月 22, 2018Hannah 4 Comments

工作日的用餐对于大多数中小型民企的员工来说，一直很头疼。前台小姑娘恨不得早上一到座位上，就在为午饭吃什么而发愁了。

政府机关、学校不用为此过多考虑，有机关食堂；国有企业和上市公司有企业员工餐厅，好一点的还能提供下午茶。

所以，朋友圈交际广的一些小朋友，在找工作的时候会在这个问题上斟酌一番，而大多数人往往会忽略这一问题。

很多人，尤其是年轻人不在意早饭和午饭，认为上班期间，吃饭就混混吧。加上现在手机点餐也方便，周末和假期都懒得出门，更别提烧饭。 Continue Reading →

有些东西在那里就在那里了

三月 20, 2018Hannah 4 Comments

到现在，参加了大大小小的培训班、总裁班、乱七八糟的BA和PA，反正没主动掏过钱，所以名字都记不住。

(总裁班学习中)有一样我记住了，就是培训老师的口音都很怪异。没有标准的字正腔圆，从来没有出现过。
更多反而是“寄几”以及“酱紫”这类的口音，有的朋友会瞬间秒懂当中的意思。有时候听着听着就会让人联想到以前电视购物里，疯狂的导购讲解员的那种口音，而且分分钟会跳上桌。
早期，我还会感叹，为何我们都要听这些地方来的人来给我们“讲课”。因为，在传统意义上，能给人上课，那都是一种荣耀，老师要比学生高一等，也就是在课堂里，他是老师，你是学生，那就说明这一点上他行而你不行。 Continue Reading →