Suzhou by day

17^th - 20^th February 2007

	Soochow Hotel. I didn't stay here, but it was the only place where I saw the original Soochow university crest still in use.








	While in Soochow, I couldn't resist taking a look at the 'original' Soochow University. Most of the universities in Taiwan were founded by academics from institutes in mainland China who fled there together with the Nationalists during the civil war, and Soochow University where I am studying now is no exception. Confusingly both universities continue to be called 'Soochow University' in English, although the Taiwanese one has changed its Chinese name.
	In comparison to the cramped campus and Legoland architecture of the Taiwanese Soochow, the Chinese one has an enormous campus (going by the map of Suzhou it could easily be in the order of 100 times the area), encompassing the original European buildings.




	On the other hand, the presence of what appears to be a prison directly accross the road from the Chinese Soochow would be a bit of a downer!