周末 – 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 →

画皮画骨难画心

五月 16, 2018Hannah 5 Comments

今年的青年节不可谓是红红火火恍恍惚惚啊。那个被人拿着李冰冰照片索要签名的范冰冰的弟弟范丞丞，在节日凌晨发布了一个付费照片，付费60元就后就可以看到清晰照片，结果等他早上睡醒的时候，已经有呜呜泱泱八万人点击了购买，也就是说这一觉睡醒就有了480万元的“睡后”收入。

是喜羊羊提不动刀了？还是你小猪佩奇飘啦？
请给我一个合理的解释？

这说到底，长滴好看就是好啊。

之前，炒个股啥的，要想玩大，那就要杠杆。现在时代不同了，“移动让世界更美好了”，动动手指就能和全世界人做朋友了。只要有资本，不论你是美啊或者漂亮啊或者可爱啦，以及前凸后翘啦，你就能换成钱，而且是几亿级的人口基数之上变现。

吓银不？你说吓银不?

这事儿出来之前，还没怎么觉着，毕竟生活中网红的收入总是那么令人完全信服。这条新闻过后，不禁唏嘘多么令人惶恐的规模效应啊。
感叹归感叹，其他也不说啥了，人家是现实的靠脸吃饭，三个字：
“没毛病！”

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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Happy Farmhouse 太湖边，漫山岛的农家乐

四月 20, 2018Hannah 2 Comments

I went to see the 漫山岛 to have a dinner beside the beautiful Taihu Lake last weekend. It was by far the best restaurant I visited in 2018. If you ever have the chance to visit Suzhou, I highly recommend this place. All the dishes are so fresh and delicious, though they may not look that good on photos. Now I prefer to eat at the farmhouse. All the restaurants in the city is so boring. Their dishes look so good on photos, but all these taste the same to me. I am in love with the fresh cooking style in the countryside.

上周末我去看漫山岛吃农家乐，坐落于美丽的太湖边。这是迄今为止我在2018年访问过的最好的餐厅。如果你有机会参观苏州，我强烈推荐这个地方。所有的菜都非常新鲜和美味，虽然他们在照片上看起来不太好。现在我更喜欢在农家吃饭。感觉城市里所以的彩色都很单调。他们的菜肴在照片上看起来不错，但所有这些对我来说味道都一样。我更偏爱农家菜新鲜的烹饪风格。

Marinated shrimp with Wine

醉虾

When this dish is brought on our table, the shrimps are still alive and kicking. It tastes good.

虾子上桌的时候是活蹦乱跳的，看得超级有食欲。

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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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择其长技而师莫事事而师夷

三月 25, 2018Hannah Leave a Comment

近期读得 @crowflew的《谁来守护公正》一文。

“师夷长技以自强”，自打洋务运动风风火火之期，国人就深深明白这道理。

若能学得老美的制衡立国之术也是循循善诱的良苦用心。不过纵观中西历史，民主之先进我不谈论，课本中早已万字千文，就着 @crowflew这篇文，我们来单论学美国这事儿。

本次，不说他在朝鲜和中国南海的所做作为，也不论其在阿富汗、叙利亚的种种战略意图。只觉其，算是一个怀揣梦幻童话的美好少年，憧憬着一切的美好和纯洁，就像迪士尼一样去得一个处平等、团结的共和之国，以民主的方式。不管先前如何凶险和坎坷，王子、公主最后总能过上没羞没臊的温馨生活——开句玩笑。

说美国“美”者，意何如？国富、兵强、科技领先、潮流前线。论“三权分立”也好，选举投票也罢，皆不为其富国强兵，科技领先之根源。

说到底，美国也没有“民主”到根儿上，政府、国会、法院就能决策美国和美国在全球的战略？谁说了算，早已不是什么秘密。

民主，作为一种政治信仰，它的诉求和初处类似一些其他的终极主义，不是一盘热腾腾的摆在你面前的披萨，而在遥不可视的某处。因此，在经济发展为第一要务的当下，也莫把西方政治、意识形态神话，其之所以为强，和历史机遇进程及历史选择有大关联。 Continue Reading →

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 →

一味追求纯粹也会害人

三月 16, 2018Hannah Leave a Comment

曾经在很多人的心目当中，写文章，甚至是一切和文档有关系的事情，都应当是文科应该干的事情。理、工科的人往往就会觉得，我只要学好数理化，有一门自己的专业技术，基本就无敌了。

这种思想在脑海中一住就是二三十年，当从一个小技术员慢慢成长起来的时候，老板开始让你熟悉管理，还要你把技术包装成牛气轰轰的产品，你词穷了。

也有在专业领域研发出了领先的专利，想要以此创业当老板，可是问题是，MD，我说的话投资人根本听不懂，而自己脑海中是一片的碧海蓝天和金山银山，可怎么就说不出来，就做不出一份像样BP。 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 →