Fuddland
The part of (苏州) where I live goes by two names: to English-speakers it’s called SIP — Industrial Park — which, for me, conjures bleak images of factories, vast warehouses and smoke-spilling chimneys. Contrarily, the Chinese name is (园区) — Garden District — which sounds altogether much lovelier, with lush green parks, skipping children and tweeting birds.
The reality is somewhere in between: there is certainly a large number of factories and office blocks littering the area, but in the residential parts, amongst the apartment complexes, are little pockets of green, constantly maintained by a small army of workers continually weeding, planting non-weeds, picking up litter and sweeping all things sweepable. In the last few weeks spring has sprung right over itself and almost become summer temperature-wise, but the blossom is out in full force.
Question: have I just never noticed it before now, or is it quite unusual for one tree to have two very different shades of blossom?
