Suzhou (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Suzhou; ancient name: �) is a city with a long history on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the shores of Lake Taihu in the province of Jiangsu, China. The city is renowned for its beautiful stone bridges, pagodas, and meticulously designed gardens, which has become a great tourist attraction. Suzhou has also been an important center for China's silk industry since the Song Dynasty (960-1279), and continues to hold that prominent position today. It is part of the Golden Triangle region. The GDP per capita was �66,826 (ca. US$7649) in 2004, ranked no. 5 among 659 Chinese cities.

Landmarks

Freebies

• Soochow (Suzhou) University's Main/Original Campus Take Bus 8 from the Train Station or along North Ren Min Road (south bound) to the end of the line, get off and walk about 300-400 meters to the east. There are also many cheap and good small restaurants westward on Shizi Street (the direction the bus came) that are monitored for their cleanliness by university and health people.

• Ping Jiang Road A beautiful walk along an ancient road paved with hand-cut stones over a thousand years old and lined with shops maintaining traditional architectural styles.

• Baita East Road This isn't a tourist attraction just a street that hasn't been developed and so maintains Ming era store fronts as they have always been. Start at Renmin Road and head east. You might want to take a look a the Zoo on the east end.

Temples

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• The North Temple Pagoda

• The Twin Pagodas

• The Hanshan Temple

• The Mysterious Taoist Temple

• The North Temple Pagoda

• The Twin Pagodas

• The Hanshan Temple

• The Mysterious Taoist Temple

• Tiger Hill Pagoda and Hill (Yunyan Ta and Huqiu Shan) was built during the Song dynasty from 959 to 961. It is a 48-meter tall brick pagoda with seven stories and eight sides. It is sometimes called the Leaning Tower Pagoda because it leans to the north by 3.5 degrees. Tiger Hill, underneath the Pagoda, is the burial place of He Lu, founder of Suzhou and King of Wu who fell in battle in 496 BCE. The hill dominates the surrounding area, which contains various garden areas and buildings. Two outstanding gardens are the Verdant Mountain Villa (Yongcui Shanzhuang) and the Wan Jing Villa. Tiger Hill is also the former home of architect I. M. Pei, who was born in Suzhou.

Waterside townships

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• Tong Li

• Lu Zhi

• Mudu

Classical Gardens

• The Humble Administrator's Garden (Zhuo Zheng Yuan) said to cost a boatload of silver and taken sixteen years to build : Tours through the garden start every 5-10 minutes. Included in the tour is a "Chinese marriage", a look at carved tree roots, followed by a boat ride through the garden canals. Do not do the incense burning/fortune telling thing at the end of your guided tour unless you are really curious, or you think your wishes will be granted if you do so, or you simply enjoy being a fleeced tourist.

• The Garden of the Master of the Nets (Wang Shi Yuan) originally created in 1140, and recreated in 1770 by the bureaucrat Song Zongyuan. The enclosed complex of house and garden is one of the smallest, most beautiful, and most perfectly proportioned in Suzhou.

• The Lingering Garden (Liu Yuan) one of the largest and most important classical gardens in Suzhou and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997.

• Mountain Villa with Embracing Beauty (Huanxiu Shanzhuang) considered to be among the finest rock and water garden constructions in Suzhou.

• The Lion Grove Garden (Shi Zi Lin) one of the four great gardens of Suzhou and is admired for the incredible collection of pitted, eroded rocks that were greatly appreciated by classical Chinese scholors.

• The Surging Wave Pavilion (Canglangting) one of the oldest of Suzhou's wonderful collection of private or "scholar's" gardens.

• The Retreat and Reflection Garden

Small Classical Gardens Large classical gardens are great to see their majesty while small gardens are quite good for a quick look OR relaxing with a cup of tea in relative quiet. Often local folks are seen enjoying their tea and chatting. The small garden is a living part of the local, yet ancient, culture.

• The Former Residence of Poet and Scholar Yu Yue in the ancient Liuhuafang Block In the central part of the old city near GuanQian Street. Cross RenMin Road to the southwest corner, go south maybe 100 meters along the west side of RM Rd, turn west at the KFC and you will see it on the north side of the alley. Make sure to go all the way towards the back inside the garden to see the best part. 3 to 7rmb for tea and entrance/entrance alone 1.5RMB

• YiPu Garden - The Garden of Cultivation In the northwest corner of the old city -- inside the encircling canal. Ask local shop keepers for help since it is in an ancient block with small alleys/streets. Make sure to go all the way towards the back inside the garden to see the best part. 10RMB

• Tarrying Garden (Wufeng Xianguan) is located outside Changmen Gate in Suzhou City was established in the Ming Dynasty and many parts of it were rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty. "Wufeng Xianguan" of the garden is also called "Nanmu Hall" in which there are different kinds of rarely seen furnishings made of nanmu. Mandarin Duck Hall is divided into two parts by a meticulously carved partition.There are varieties of doors and windows in other structures. 10RMB

• The Garden of Pleasure (Pleasence) (Yi Yuan)

• The Couple's Garden Retreat

Hills

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• The East Hill

• The West Hill

• The Flat-top Hill

• The Heavenly Pond Hill

• The Commander-in-chief Deng's Hill

• The Delicate Rock Hill

Walking tours

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• 1 the Garden of Pleasure/ Pleasence/ Joy (Yi Yuan), Yu Yue's Residence (Yu Yue ), Yi Pu Garden, the North Pagoda (Bei
• 2
• 3
• 4

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Top photos chosen by u all:

P.laying Chess
Made by Yi.Lin
Le pedine degli scacchi cinesi hanno ruoli diversi dalle nostre, quindi si muovono anche diversamente. Il Generale equivale al nostro re, poi ci sono gli elefanti (cavalli), i cannoni, i guardiani, le torri ed i soldati che sarebbero i nostri pedoni. Al centro della scacchiera c'è un fiume che solo alcune pedine possono attraversare. Lungo le strade si trovano tantissime persone, di ogni età, che giocano abilmente a questo tipo di scacchi.


SūZhōu Amusement Land
Made by Yi.Lin
Il parco divertimenti di SuZhou. Come si può notare il parco era pressochè deserto, infatti stava per arrivare un forte uragano. L'idea migliore durante un uragano consiste appunto nel rifugiarsi in un parco divertimenti in cui ti può volare addosso di tutto...:-)



Made by 君子兰
本图片作品采用知识共享：署名-非商业使用-相同方式共享 2.5中国大陆授权许可协议。 This photo is licensed under a CC Attribution-NonCommercial-Sharealike 2.5 Mainland China License.


The Humble Administrator's Garden - 拙政园 (Zhuōzhèng Yuán)
Made by Yi.Lin
Located at 178 Dongbei Street, Suzhou, is one of four great Chinese gardens. At 51,950 m² it is the largest garden in Suzhou, and generally considered the finest garden in southern China.


ShānTangJie - 山塘街
Made by Yi.Lin
During the Tang Dynasty (825 AD), the great poet Bái Jūyì (白居易) constructed the Shantang Canal (called Shantang Jie or 山塘街) to connect the city with Huqiu for the tourists.


ShānTangJie - 山塘街
Made by Yi.Lin
Letteralmente la via della montagna e dello stagno, che si affaccia su un canale fatto costruire dal famoso poeta cinese Bai JuYi durante la dinastia Tang (825 A.C.)


Gelato-Montagna
Made by Yi.Lin
E' un gelato di consistenza simile alla neve, ricoperto di fagioli di soia e frutta secca bagnati da uno sciroppo dolce. Uno basta per tre o quattro persone...


Colazione dei campioni a SuZhou
Made by Yi.Lin
Maxi-ciotola di zuppa con carne di maiale, spaghettini, cipollina e gamberetti. L'ideale per iniziare la giornata...diciamo...con la giusta energia.


Nǎi Chá - 奶茶
Made by Yi.Lin
thè mischiato a latte con grani gelatinosi di zucchero rosso sul fondo. Un po' stucchevole, uno basta per circa 3 ore.


Dare
Made by Yi.Lin
I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more, is none. Macbeth, scene vii


China market
Made by allyjoy83
he thought it was funny I wanted to take his picture


ShānTangJie - 山塘街
Made by Yi.Lin
ShanTangJie = la via della montagna e dello stagno.


Shouzou
Made by littlepixer
La sombrillas a porron, para no ponerse morenas :)


china tiger hill lonely
Made by allyjoy83
I was praying she'd go away but I grew impatient


SūZhōu Amusement Land
Made by Yi.Lin
Il parco divertimenti di SuZhou


China ghost
Made by allyjoy83
double exposed digital? how?


China canal father w/baby
Made by allyjoy83
It's such a sweet picture


china $1
Made by allyjoy83
everything was a dollar!



Made by ThomasFantis
courtesy of Jin Calello



Made by 君子兰
taken by my sister