From Paris* to Venice*

I'm departing Shanghai for Suzhou, described by visitors all the way
back to Marco Polo as the "Venice of the East" for the canals
encircling and criss-crossing it. (Historically speaking, Suzhou is
one of the oldest settlements on the Yangtze, so perhaps we should
instead call Venice the "Suzhou of the West.")

I'm planning to stay just one night before continuing by boat on to
Hangzhou, thought by many to be the most beautiful city in China, on
the edge of West Lake. There's a saying in China about these twin
cities: "In heaven there is paradise, on earth Suzhou and Hangzhou."

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*of the East