Suzhou Old City [Suzhou]

"One of Top Five Most Beautiful City Districts in China"
Ranked by China National Geography Magazine

Suzhou Old City in Suzhou City of Jiangsu Province: Antiquity in the midst modernity

One of the key cities in the Yangtze River Delta, Suzhou is a renowned cultural, historic and tourist city. The city is located in the southeast of Jiangsu Province, bordering Shanghai on the east, Zhejiang Province on the south, the Taihu Lake in the west and the Yangtze River in the north. Suzhou covers an area of 8,488 square kilometer, of which the city proper covers 1,650 square kilometer. Total population is 5.91 million, of which 2.17 million are in the city proper.

Situated at the temperate zone and with subtropical oceanic monsoon climate, Suzhou enjoys four distinct seasons, a mild temperature and abundant rainfall. The city spreads on a low terrain, with the plain covering 55% of the total area. With a network of rivers and canals as well as a fertile land, the city is rich in a variety of agricultural products. Major crops vary from rice to wheat, rape, cotton, mulberry, and fruit. Its specialties include Biluochun Tea, Dao Fish from Yangtze River, and Silver Fish from Taihu Lake and Hairy Crabs from Yangchenhu Lake. As a well known "Land of Fish and Rice" as well as a "Silk Capital", Suzhou enjoys a fame of "Paradise on Earth".

For thousands of years Suzhou has been a cradle of talented people. In ancient times Suzhou gave birth to many remarkable politicians, philosophers, strategists, scientists and artists, represented by Sun Wu, an Zhongyan, Shen Kuo, Tang Ying, Gu Yanwu, Kuai Xiang. In modern times, prominent people from Suzhou emerge in large numbers in various fields. Suzhou's painting, calligraphy, seal cutting, opera, medicine and architecture all have different schools and achievements. Its traditional handicrafts such as embroidery and Taohuawu woodcut picture enjoy a high reputation at home and abroad.

Built in 514B.C. with a history of more than 2,500 years, the city still stands at its original location in the Spring and Autumn Period. Well preserved are its double chessboard layout of "water and land in parallel, canal and street in neighbor", its network of rivers and canals composing three vertical, three horizontal and one ring, and its unique landscape of "small bridge, flowing water, white wall, black tile, cultural relics and classic gardens". In today's Suzhou, there are 487 cultural relics under municipal-and-upper level protection, of which 15 are under state-level protection and 101 are under provincial protection. Over 60 classical gardens are well preserved and 9 of them are listed in the Catalog of World Cultural Heritage, namely, Humble Administrator's Garden, Lingering Garden , Master-of-nets Garden, Mountain Villa of Embracing Beauty, Surging Wave Pavilion, Lion Grove Garden , Garden of Cultivation , Garden of Couple's Retreat, Garden of Retreat and Reflection. Other famous tourist attractions include Tiger Hill, Panmen Scenic Area, Shihu Lake, Lingyan Hill, Tianping Hill and Yushan Hill. Most scenic spots around the Taihu Lake are also in the city's administrative areas. In addition, thousand-year-old towns like Zhou Zhuang, Tongli and Luzhi feature the waterside sceneries in the Yangtze River Delta. In 1998 Suzhou was awarded "Excellent Tourist City of China ".

Classical gardens have been a local obsession in Suzhou for centuries, and a set of distinctive design principles lie behind the city's elegant gardens. Suzhou's gardens' differ quite dramatically from many gardens in the West - they are neither like the grand geometric gardens of France, nor the rambling, semi-natural gardens of England and America. Moreover, unlike Western gardens, flowerbeds and statues are rarely seen. Instead, Suzhou classical gardens combine trees and shrubs with ponds, buildings, and rocks to create a array of scenes meant to evoke the atmosphere of nature.

One major difference between Suzhou gardens and those in the West major role is that walls, windows, and doorways play in classical gardens. They divide the gardens into different sections, creating a sense of surprise and contrast, and frame certain features. Unlike some Western gardens where the entire garden unfolds before ones eyes, Suzhou gardens are designed around winding paths that let visitors slowly uncover the garden. This winding layout is designed create depth and many layers which unfold as you move through the landscape. To add depth, garden designers often obstruct the entrance by placing a hill, building, or a grove of trees at the entrance to hide what is inside.

Suzhou's gardens also emphasize on viewpoints and lines of sight. They create mood, distinguish the different sections, and define interesting views of the garden. The gardens were laid out so that each section has several places, which provide the most striking views. Often these are the buildings and pavilions that were originally built for activities like entertaining, reading, or drinking tea. In others, a bridge or a crest of a small hill is placed to provide the best view. These viewpoints are chosen to accentuate the impression the garden make on the visitor - whether of a certain type of tree, a feeling of openness, a view over an expanse of water, or the feeling of being in a high or low place. In addition, the paths through the gardens are laid out to create interesting scenes. Oddly, shaped doors and windows, narrow passages between rocks, and thick groves of bamboo are used to shape the views, which visitors experience.

The whitewashed walls of Suzhou's gardens accentuate another of their key features - contrast. Trees, bushes, rocks, water, and architecture are arranged so to create interesting contrasts. These contrasts highlight each element's distinctive feature, and provoke viewers to notice their unique beauty. For example, one Suzhou garden features a small, white walled room. Along one wall, several small bamboos flank a gnarled rock. The lush green leaves of the bamboo contrast with the whorls of the gray rock, the white wall making a neutral background. In the middle of the courtyard stand two small plum trees, and the floor is tiled with an abstract pattern inspired by plum blossoms. These carefully planned contrasts and pairings bring out the beauty of each of the garden's elements and create striking scenes.

Almost all Suzhou classical gardens incorporate oddly shaped, weathered rocks. Using these rocks in gardens first became popular over 1,000 years ago, in the Tang and Song dynasties. Scholar-officials soon became connoisseurs of these rocks, admiring the way their unique shapes and interesting textures seemed to express distinctive personalities. Scholars also used these rocks to recreate the mood of the mountain scenery in Chinese landscape painting. In addition to being interesting eye candy, larger groups of rocks are arranged so they can be climbed for views over the garden, or they can be placed to break up lines of sight. When seen from ground level they provide contrast with trees and plants. Sometimes larger rocks are paired with bushes or plants to evoke a mountain landscape. The finest rocks are chosen to stand alone for visitors to admire. Classical scholars believed that the finest rocks were tall and slender, with a top larger than their base, many holes and crevices, and lines and grooves to give an ancient and weathered appearance. However, the most importantly they should be both beautiful and unique. The twists and whorls of a weathered rock can be just as fascinating as beautiful piece of sculpture.

Best time to go
Anytime.
Suzhou’s climate is very moderate. It has a clear distinction of four seasons in a year.
With a yearly average temperature of 60.8F, July is the hottest month of the year when the average temperature is about 82.7F, January is the coldest month when the average temperature is about 37.6F, and a yearly average precipitation of 1,100 millimeters.

Ticket
No ticket in Suzhou Old City but Classical gardens are different ticket.

Around Landscape
Zhouzhuang Old Town, Tongli Old Town, , Mudu Old Town,, Luzhi Old Town, The Tiger Hill, Panmen Scenic Area, The Twin Pagodas, The North Temple Pagoda, The Hanshan Temple, The West Garden, etc.

Local Snacks and Specialties
Suzhou moon-cakes, Yeshouhe, Precious Cake, Pinenut-jujubepaste Cake, Lugaojian, Huangtianyuan, Green-bean Cake, Dried Bean Curd With Soy Sauce, Caizhizhai Candies, Suzhou padauk carving, Writing Brush, Wood Engraved Picture, Suzhou Fans, Suzhou Embroidery, Song Brocade, Silk Tapestry, Potted Landscape, etc.

Travel Tips
Suzhou is small city so it is fine that you had better rent a bicycle traveling through the whole city.
The alleyway is paved by bluestone and is too narrow to enter for car.

Distance
Beijing (1379 km) Suzhou City
Beijing (1162 km) Nanjing City (217 km) Suzhou City
Beijing (1463 km) Shanghai City (84 km) Suzhou City