It was a sunny day but I felt lazy. I’ve been lounging on my bed all day and I was feeling tired of not doing anything. I had planned to go to Hangzhou with my friends but our plans were spoiled when we couldn’t get reservations at a hotel.
Wuxi is a city that is found near Suzhou. You can reach there in 15-20 mins by bullet train. Wuxi has many famous attractions, one of which is the Three Kingdoms City.
The title, Three Kingdoms, refer to Wei (220-265), Shu (221-263) and Wu (229-280) which were the three rival powers during the period of Three Kingdoms. The Three Kingdom City was built as background by the CCTV for shooting the TV series of Romance of Three Kingdoms. It is a recreation of the panorama of the chaotic Three Kingdoms Period in Chinese history.
We then decided to go to Wuxi on the day that we were supposed to go to Hangzhou, but upon checking the weather forecast, we had to postpone our plans to the weekend due to forecast rain.
On the D-day, it was a bit cloudy, though the sky was supposed to be clear and the sun was supposed to warm our cold and frail bodies..
My friends and I took the bullet train to Wuxi train station and then the bus to the Three Kingdoms City. I was already pumped up for the visit during the bus ride as I realised that this tourist attraction was on an elevated area, with serpentine roads, and surrounded partly by the Taihu Lake.
Upon arriving at our destination, I felt as if I was going into a castle. There were statues of guards and soo many people were milling around the entrance to take pictures with the guards.
Actually, I was feeling deceived by Suzhou’s weather because it did not snow here this year, but the landscape and scenery here made up for all the disappointment.. The white clouds made the atmosphere a bit gloomy but in a good way.
Other interesting artefacts were the statues made of stones.
My friends and I were pleasantly surprised to see roller coasters and other attractions inside. And, it was a trip down the memory lane from there, from the swing to the see-saw, from the slide and to the roller-coasters and the water games, and cotton candy.
There is also the Arena,where performances(of Han Dynasty) such as bullfighting and equestrianism are held. Visitors are also able to wear the uniforms and enjoy themselves by participating in the performance.
We cannot talk about a Chinese site and not mention the Buddha temples. Buddhism is quite popular here in China, and especially in Wuxi, because of the Mt Lingshan Grand Buddha Scenic Area. However, even here in Three Kingdoms City, there were quite a few sculptures and statues.
There is also a stunt performing area where awestrucking performances such as throwing knives were held.
As we went deeper and deeper into “city”, we discovered more of its wonders.
Also I visited the buildings without really knowing which one it was. We(My friends and I) had decided to visit the place without a guide, and this experience gave me an opportunity to get to know myself better. We always learn something when we visit new places, try new activities and get out of our comfort zone.
Words cannot describe the feeling of wonderment on seeing the beautiful layout and buildings.This place made me feel lonely when I had company and made me feel secure even when I was alone.
Being a citizen of a country of only 500 years of history, I am constantly feeling in awe with the country with one of the oldest and richest histories in the world.
Deepika Pydatalli 