As our leisure activities focus on swimming due to the weather, I want to fill our literary summer slump with a report on my way to work.
So, unless it's a vacation, I say goodbye to my dear family around 7.20 am at the elevator. Philipp the 1st is then escorted to the bus by his female entourage.
I immediately set off on my way. Passing the tennis court and the playground, I head to the north gate of the compound, which serves more as a servant entrance.
One of the friendly guards opens the door for me with a push of a button and I can enter the world of electric scooters, cars, and honking buses. During the first few weeks, I had to walk two intersections further to get on the bus at the bus stop. This was interesting because I always had to cross an intersection that was being driven on from all sides at the same time and the right of way was enforced by honking.
Now, my new friend, the bus driver, and I have somehow agreed that he simply picks me up exclusively in the parking lot opposite the gate (keyword guanxi).
Before I board the bus, I kindly say 'zǎo' to the ever-tired street sweeper and then I can choose a seat on the bus.
The bus then drives from the west side of the JinJi Lake to the north, then to the east and onto the highway towards Shanghai. Kunshan is halfway there.
We start with a short passage along the Jinji Hu (Lake) to the west side of the Suzhou Center.
Just like at the 'Xinghan Jie' station, we pick up colleagues at around 10 stops.
We continue north of the lake on 'Xian Da Dao'. We pass by the 'Crown Plaza' and then have a nice view of the 'Gateway to the East' in the west and the Culture and Expo Center in the east.
On 'Jou An Jie', we go east of the lake for a short distance, passing by the cultural center, hotels, shopping centers, and the Olympic rowing monument. The 'Ferris Wheelpark' is also very distinctive. Then, on 'Xinghu Jie', my favorite street sign comes up. I would love to take it and hold it up in front of all the traffic participants when they are faster than their shadow and honk their horns. Passing the Olympic Center, the 'SSIS', Philipps Kindergarten, is soon to come. We are slowly leaving the 'Suzhou Industrial Park' and driving onto the G312 expressway. On the right-hand side, you can see an example of the effort to green and reforest areas. Overall, Suzhou is very green and well-maintained day and night (not an exaggeration). On the right side of the road, you quickly get an impression of what it looked like here, probably 15-20 years ago. The small district 'Weitingcun' still shows old-style houses. Some of the houses are partially abandoned but apparently still half-inhabited. In the background, however, you can already see the advancing industrial area. We switch to the G2 and continue past breeding ponds. I don't know what is being bred here and maybe I don't want to know. Then we enter the Kunshan Industrial Zone. We are greeted enthusiastically with motivating slogans. When someone asks me where I work, I always answer 'at the Kone Tower' on the left. Elevators are being tested here. The tower is visible and quite impressive, even from the highway. It measures 235m and has 36 floors. As I said, turn left and continue with a combination of right, left, right, and then 2 intersections further is Voith. Here in Kunshan, half of the world's mechanical engineers produce. The guard salutes upon arrival and we can get to work. We have 16 buses commuting to and from Kunshan, Shanghai, and Suzhou every day.
