Kunshan & Zhouzhuang, Jiangsu, China

After Haerbin it was time to go to work, and we returned on an overnight train to Beijing where I conducted the first of my week-long classes.  70 students from Beijing and surrounds attended, with the class held at the Peking University Hospital.  We stayed at the nearby Vision Plaza Hotel built for the 2008 Olympics, and little more distant than a gold medallist’s javelin throw to the “Bird’s Nest” Olympic Stadium. 

When the week was over we travelled 1,100 km further south to Kunshan on the Yangtze River delta in Jiangsu province, midway between Shanghai and Suzhou, where my second class was held.  Kunshan is a major manufacturing centre and the most prosperous city in China.  Companies from 60 countries have set up over 4,000 offices and factories in Kunshan, churning out electronic goods, solar cells, automotive manufactures and a host of other products.  40% of the world’s laptop computers, 20% of its digital cameras, and a significant percentage of its mobile phones are made in Kunshan.  And with over 180 research and development centres located in the city, its future seems bright too.

But this is not why my class was held in Kunshan – hairy crabs are the reason for that.  Nearby Yangcheng Lake, lit up at night like a mini Las Vegas, is famous for its hairy-legged crab, a delicious crustacean that brings thousands of gourmands to Kunshan each Autumn.  This is why my class was held in Kunshan and not in Nanjing as would normally be the case.  And judging from the incredible nightly banquets we enjoyed, it seems that my students are every bit as keen gourmands as they are committed doctors.

An hour’s drive from Kunshan are several small ancient “water towns”, complete with cobblestone walkways and arched stone bridges winding along and crossing the canals that flow through.  We took the opportunity before the class began to visit one of these, Zhouzhuang.  So too did hordes of other visitors on day bus trips from Shanghai.