Introduction to Jiangsu Province
Traditional Culture
Jiangsu is rich in cultural traditions. Two of these, Kunqu, (pronounced koonchew) originating in Kunshan, not far from our base, is one of the most renowned and prestigious forms of Chinese opera. Pingtan, a form of storytelling accompanied by music, is also very popular here. Since ancient times, south Jiangsu has been famed for its prosperity and opulence, and simply inserting south Jiangsu place names such as Suzhou (pronounced Sue Joe) into poetry gave an effect of dreaminess, as was indeed done by many famous poets. In particular, the fame of Suzhou (as well as Hangzhou in neighboring Zhejiang province) has led to the popular saying: above there is heaven; below there is Suzhou and Hangzhou, a saying that continues to be a source of pride for the people of these two still prosperous cities. Suzhou is less than one hour from our base at Qiong Long and is a contrast of a modern Chinese environment and a charming city of ancient canals, temples and gardens. Hangzhou with it's traditional buidings and West Lake is around 3 hours by bus and is quite fantastic.
Climate
The climate in Jiangsu is semi-humid and subtropical. There are four distinct seasons with coldish winters and hot summers. So the most pleasant times to visit are Spring and Autumn/The Fall
Language
Two main subdivisions of the Chinese language, Mandarin (not Putonghua, the national standard speech based on the Beijing dialect, also commonly called Mandarin) and Wu, are spoken in different parts of Jiangsu. Dialects of Mandarin are spoken over the traditional North Jiangsu, Nanjing and Zhenjiang, while Dialects of Wu are used in South Jiangsu. Mandarin and Wu are not mutually intelligible and the dividing line is sharp and well-defined. Furthermore, there are many other dialects spoken in the province including Nanjing dialect, Xuzhou dialect, Yangzhou dialect, Suzhou dialect, Wuxi dialect, Changzhou dialect. In addition, standard Chinese Putonghua-Mandarin is also spoken by most people.
All this can make life a tad confusing. And that is just one province! It is a similar situation in other Chinese provinces.
But don't you worry! Your necessary communication challenges will be taken care of by us.
Go to the next page to find out what could be in store for you at our Qiong Long Getaway in Jiangsu
