OK, so that`s it. It started. After one year of teaching English to all ages (1.5 to 30 years old) of Chinese people I`m finally back on the road, making myself an easy start with the rich Eastern coast of China.

Arriving to Hangzhou on train from Guangzhou, December 10 in the morning and going strait to my amazing CouchSurfing host named Tomek. If you haven`t heard of CouchSurfing yet it`s huge lack of education, google now and save your money on hotels..... Tomek was just an amazing host, he simply let me sleep in his tiny room in a university dormitory and went to sleep somewhere else!

Hangzhou is all about the amazing West lake. Surprisingly for such a big city, the lakeside is very realized, full of parks and gardens most of which have no entrance fee (which is very seldom in China). Among the most amazing views of harmony between man-made and natural you can see in Hangzhou, with it`s beautiful architecture and very green streets, all around the lake.

With no special adventures saying goodbye to my dear host and his friend Haruko, early in the morning I started moving towards Suzhou - what was supposed to be a short way of 2.5 hours turned to be a total waste of day - first waiting for one bus, then for another bus,  and so on. My host in Suzhou was a German guy named Christian - a totally nd absolutely amazing person, with great sense of humor and a lot of knowledge that he happily shared with me.

Being famous mostly for its gardens, Suzhou itself appears to be very pleasant and unusual in its old town. The heart of the city is a few streets of pure shopping area, but when you get just a bit out of the hustle and bustle, you find yourself walking through narrow street and crossing one canal after another. Yeah, most of the "old" buildings are actually new fakes, like everywhere in China, but the city still possesses very unique atmosphere. On my last day Christian took me and our friend Jacklin to some of the most beautiful gardens in Suzhou. For sure, one of the best cities in China.

Shanghai was next - the funny thing is that the train ticket from Suzhou was 7 yuan (a bit more than $US 1), while the taxi to the train station in Suzhou was 30 yuan (make the calculations by yourselves). Nothing can`t be said about Shanghai that hasn`t been said already. The super modern, ultra luxurious city only proves, again, how unequally the growing wealth of China is spread. Shanghai looks much more like a very developed European city then any possible place in China. For those coming to China for the first time I recommend to take a flight from Shanghai straight to Guilin and then take a bus to Sanjiang. You`ll understand what I`m talking about. Unfortunately, most visitors tend to limit their trip to China only in Beijing and Shanghai, well, maybe also Xian, and go back home with a very wrong impression tat China is rich and developed. It`s not. Ladies and gentlemen, Shanghai is just one city.

On the 16th by plane to Urumqi, which opens up a new page in this journey.