Suzhou, China, is one of Jianai Jenny Chen’s many hometowns, and the subject of a current series of photographs she has been taking, documenting a world that is unlike any I have ever seen. Combining the East and the West in an incredibly original way, Suzhou is a city near the Yangtzhe River on the central east coast of China, a half hour (very fast) train ride away from shanghai. It’s famous for it’s amazing gardens and pagodas and elaborate stoned bridges, silk commodities (and fried silk worms), pearl farms and markets and canals, deeming it the Venice of China. Besides the ancient town is a huge are of modern developments, full of malls, high rise buildings and hotels, restaurants and bars from around the world, and international schools and universities.I thank Miss Chen for sharing these incredible images with us.
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Old-fashioned fire extinguishers, for a parking lot. These are actually buckets that are flat on the other side along the wall, and quite rusty and old. They look like they haven’t been used in years. Photograph © Jianai Jenny Chen
Famous part of the canals in downtown Suzhou. Photograph © Jianai Jenny Chen
This is at the Humble Administrator’s Garden, one of China’s four greatest gardens. It’s even a UNESCO World Heritage Site! Photograph © Jianai Jenny Chen
Inside a pagoda at the Humble Administrator’s Garden. Photograph © Jianai Jenny Chen
Elaborate electric lanterns at Suzhou’s Times Square, a large outdoor shopping mall. Photograph © Jianai Jenny Chen
An IMAX theater modeled after the Beijing National Stadium built for the 2008 Summer Olympics called “The Bird’s Nest”. Photograph © Jianai Jenny Chen
A giant Ferris Wheel in Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) that lights up at night and features LCD commercials at it’s center, such as this one for Estée Lauder. Photograph © Jianai Jenny Chen