We heard quite a commotion as we left Tiger Hill, and were surprised to come upon a huge market.  It was located just outside the gate so that travelers wouldn't miss it, and we immediately decided to investigate.   

          Booths had been constructed at random, and as we strolled among them we found a craft display that really caught my interest.  Most of the things for sale were very delicate and partly covered with silk.  I liked the looks of a mirror that folded up into a shell covered in golden silk, and I held it up to the clerk and said, "How much are you asking?"

          "5 Yuan", he replied enthusiastically.

          "Hmmm...What about 10 Yuan for three of them?  That would be the most I could pay."

          "Well, if you like, 10 Yuan is all right."  He nodded with a smile and  handed them to me.  Then he turned to my brother and asked, "What can I do for you?"

          "I want this Chinese fan.  How much is it?"  My brother was pointing at one made of bamboo.

         “Your brother has good taste”, the man answered as he picked it up.  “It’s very delicate, and the words on the front of it tell me it’s handmade. Twenty yuan is my best price.”  He handed it back to my brother.

          “Come on…15 yuan…please”.  My brother was pleading.

          “No!” The owner was inflexible. He insisted on 20 yuan and held out his hand to take it back.

          “Wait just a minute”, I said – getting myself involved - “I’ll add 10 yuan to the 15, if you include a straw hat with the fan.”

          “Okay”, said the man

          We had gotten both of them for 25 yuan.

          The salesman seemed happy, and I told him we wanted to visit the area known as Maple Bridge so that we could see not only the bridge but the Temple of Hanshan.  He directed us to the #1 bus and said warmly, “It will take you directly where you want to go.”

          “Thanks!”

          With the straw hat on my head, we got on the bus, and soon arrived.  I had wanted to visit that area since reading a poem by Zhang Ji of the Tang Dynasty in which he described a night scene from a boat there. He had referred to the crowing of birds under a falling moon and fishermen worriedly lighting their lamps as they stopped their boats on the water that flows under the Maple Bridge.  It’s not far from Suzhou and a temple named Hanshan.  On the night that he wrote, the wind had carried the sound of bells at midnight from the temple to a boat in which he sat.

          After writing the poem, his mood had been very low. He blamed bad luck on his failure to pass an imperial examination after having studied for many long years, and in the poem he implied that the sadness he felt was much like that of fishermen. His words became so famous that Maple Bridge because the best known sight in Suzhou.

          We were still recalling the poem when we got off the bus and saw the many branches of the Jinghang canal.  That waterway provides an important route for the shipment of goods, and as we walked we came upon traditional boats that we could have used to ride up the canal, but we were also conscious of the heavily loaded boats that cruised along and the air was filled with their hooting as they signaled to each other.

          We left the canal and as we walked along one of the branches, we finally got a glimpse of a bridge with stone arches that had “Feng Ziao” carved on one side.  Although it was very small, it was apparent that we had found the bridge we were looking for.

          As we moved toward it, someone called out, "Zhang Ji is here".  We searched for the origin of the voice and were amazed to see a man standing by a large bronze statue that had to be Zhang Ji.  Just behind was a boat like the one he had described in his poem.

          We took a photo and walked onto the bridge.  As I stared at the bronze statue just a few meters away, I had a strong feeling that I could hear Zhang Ji reciting his "Fen Qiao Ye Bo".  What a strange sensation. 

                             Maple Bridge Night Mooring

                Moon set, crow cry, frost fill sky,

                River maples, fisherman light, oppose anxious sleep,

    Suzhou city outside, Cold Mountain temple,

    Night-middle bell sound to visitor boat.

I shook my head to bring myself back into the present, and as I shook my head to bring myself back into the present, I looked around, and saw a temple.  It had to be theTemple of Hanshan, a place that we would visit next.