We’ve spent the last two days in Suzhou, also known as the Silicon Valley of China, or at least it’s one of the areas here often compared to Silicon Valley. Lots of major tech brands have large operations here, like AMD, Logitech, Phillips, Samsung, etc.

Looking at the types of businesses here, the shops, restaurants, etc., the city of Suzhou feels like it could be the Chinese counterpart of Mountain View or Sunnyvale. At first glance I was once again surprised how western this area felt. Lots of DINKS - dual income no kids - working in the tech industry, saving their money so they can send their future children to college.

The people of Suzhou are very proud of their city. It’s known for being a very comfortable place to live. Because it’s surrounded by water (similar to Venice), fish and vegetables are abundant in the local markets We spent about an hour walking through one of the local markets today. Not your typical trip to Draeger’s or Nob Hill. Think live hens, crabs, eels, frogs. Lots of Bok Choy but also really bizarre fruits and vegetables I’ve never seen before.

While today’s market stop was classic old China - there are many new things going on in this region of the country. We’ve seen major manufacturing operations, the equivalent of Costco, lots of traffic - and way too much pollution. Everywhere you turn there are signs that this is a country on the move, and their movement is quite rapid. So much has changed in the 25 years since I’ve been here, I can’t even imagine the kind of change that will occur in the next 25. A few photos to share -

barbara bates, china, Eastwick Communications, International Culture, Silicon Valley, suzhou, Technology

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