Suzhou

Photo © Lis.L

Introduction

Suzhou canal

Suzhou (苏州) is a city of about 6 million people on the banks of Taihu Lake near the lower reaches of the Yangtze in Jiangsu Province that was settled in 509 BC. The city has been famous for over the last thousand years of Chinese history because of its amazing silk. It was also a major commercial centre due to its location near the Grand Canal. This brought great wealth to the city during many dynasties. The wealth helped to finance many of the grand palaces and gardens, which are major tourist attractions today.

When Marco Polo visited the city he called it the Venice of China. Some of the canals still exist but most have been filled in to make way for modern roads. Also factories and heavy industry, pushed out of Shanghai, are making there way to Suzhou making it more polluted and crowded. With that being said some of the best Chinese Gardens and Court Yard Homes are still located within the city and are worth the visit, some even being considered UNESECO World Heritage Sites.

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Neighbourhoods

The city is massive but most of the sights that tourists are interested in are located within the moat or just outside of it.

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Sights and Activities

Suzhou has a number of attractions, including at least two that are absolutely world-class - its famous classical Chinese gardens, and the Suzhou Museum designed by a world-renowned architect.

Suzhou's gardens and architecture have had influence worldwide. Suzhou Street in Beijing's Summer Palace is a copy of Suzhou's Shangtang Street, and the Chinese Garden Court in New York's Metropolitan Museum is a copy of part of the Master of the Nets garden. Both Vancouver's Sun-Yat-Sen Garden and Portland's Lan Su Chinese Garden were built by craftsmen imported from Suzhou.

Gardens

The Humble Administrator's Garden

It is very easy to overdose on gardens in Suzhou. There are just so many wonderful ones to see! Remember that many of the gardens are like mazes and might take more time to navigate then you think, so give extra time just in case.

Master of the Nets Garden (网师园) is considered one of the best gardens in all of China. The garden was first built in the 11th century and is considered to have the best balance of water, stones, plants and timber of all the gardens in Suzhou. If your only going to see one garden this is the one.
Lingering Garden (留园) is a wonderful garden first built in the 16th century. It was heavily destroyed during World War II and was rebuilt in 1954.
Lion Grove Garden
Garden Of Cultivation
Retreat & Reflection Garden (退思园)
Humble Administrator's Garden (拙政园) built in 1513 this garden is the largest garden in all of Suzhou. This garden is a very good example of Qing style garden.
Mountain Villa with Embracing Beauty (环秀山庄) is a very nice garden and courtyard home located within the embroidery museum. It is located at 262 Jingde Rd.

Other Sights and Activitiese

Suzhou Wedding picture

City Wall and Moat still remains, although not completely in tact.
Pan Gate (盘门) is the site of a gate built over 2,500 years ago. Today's version of the gate was designed and built in 14th century.
Tiger Hill (虎丘) has been a popular tourist destination for over a thousand years. It has many sights located within it including the famous leaning pagoda.
Xuanmiao Temple (玄妙观) is one of the main Taoist temples in Suzhou and was built in 276 AD. It is located on Guanqian Street (观前街).
Huqiu Temple
Hanshan Temple (寒山寺) is a nice Buddhist temple located about 5 km away from the old part of Suzhou.
Precious Belt Bridge is a bridge built at the intersection of the Grand Canal and Dantai Lake, around 2.5 km southeast of the city. The bridge was originally built in the 9th century and has been rebuilt several times since then it spans 317 m and has a total of 53 arches.
Shantang Canal was built in 825 AD
Yunyan Pagoda is a 47 metre high tower that has a slight lean to it. It was completed during the early Song Dynasty in 961 AD
Ruiguang Pagoda was built in 1009 AD
Suzhou Museum is a nice museum designed by Ieoh Ming Pei (I.M. Pei) and opened in its new building in 2006. It houses a nice collection with an emphasis on ancient Chinese art.

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Events and Festivals

China has three "Golden Week" holidays per year. People get a mandatory two or three days off work for each holiday, and workers' companies can grant them the rest of the week off, making each holiday a total of 7 days. As you can imagine, having almost 1.4 billion people with the same days off can make travelling at these times arduous to say the least.

Travelling during the Spring Festival/Chinese New Year is incredibly difficult. Chinese New Year is China's Christmas, so the millions of migrant workers and students flood back to their home towns. Everybody else takes the opportunity to spend their hong bao (gifts of money traditionally given at CNY) and go travelling. Most of the time, since you are only allowed to purchase train tickets 6 days in advance and must be present in the city of origin, sometimes only standing room tickets are available. Be aware! The Spring Festival is undoubtedly the busiest time for the Chinese transportation system. Flying will avoid the crowded trains, but book early and expect to pay higher prices. All the main tourist attractions will be crawling with tourists (worse than usual), so unless you like crowds, it's best to avoid it altogether.

Chinese New Year is based on the lunar calendar, so the date changes each year. The Chinese New Year/Spring Festival holiday is 7 days long and usually starts on New Year's Eve.

The two other national holidays are October 1st, National Day, celebrating the founding of the People's Republic of China and May 1st, which is International Labor Day. Almost all Chinese get the two holidays off and many take the opportunity to travel. If you want to avoid the crowds, fly, but it should get a lot less busy towards the end of the week.

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Weather

Suzhou has a warm subtropical climate. Summers last from June to September with average daytime temperatures between 28 and 32 °C and nights between 22 and 26 °C. Most of the rain falls during this time as well, making a visit somewhat more of challenge. Winters last from December to early March, with days mostly around 10 °C and nights a few degrees above zero. Occasional frost and snow are possible. October and April/May are great months for a visit.

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Getting There

By Plane

Located between the airports in Wuxi and Shanghai Pudong International Airport flying into Suzhou is a bit of hassle. It is best to fly into one of those two cities then take a train or bus to Suzhou.

By Train

Located on the main line out of Shanghai pretty much any train leaving Shanghai that is heading north stops in Suzhou. It only takes 45 minutes to reach Suzhou from Shanghai on a T-Train and an hour and half to Nanjing. The main train station is located just north of the city wall. Wuxi is just about 30 minutes away. Beijing is about 11 hours by train.

By Bus

The main bus station is located right next to the train station. It has countless buses everyday to Shanghai and Nanjing. There are also tourist buses that leave directly from Shanghai's south train station for day trips to Suzhou.

Buses to Shanghai take about 1,5 hours and there are also regular buses to Hangzhou (three hours), Wuxi (30 minutes), Nanjing (2½ hours) and Zhouzhuang (1½ hours).

By Boat

Overnight boats connect Suzhou with Hangzhou, not the fastest trip but certainly a memorable one and popular among travellers.

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Getting Around

The city has three main parts, the older center and large suburban developments on either side of it. On the east is Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP), and on the west Suzhou New District (SND). These are not just industrial suburbs; both have much residential and commercial development as well.

Within the old center, Downtown Suzhou (Canglang, Pingjiang and part of Jinchang district) is completely surrounded by a large, rectangular canal known as the Hucheng River (Hucheng Hé), which is connected to China's Grand Canal. Most of the major sights are within this area.

Outside the main canal is the ring road which is divided into east (Donghuan Lu), west (Xihuan Lu), north-east (Beihuan Dong Lu), north-west (Beihuan Xi Lu), south-east (Nanhuan Dong Lu) and south-west (Nanhuan Xi Lu) sections. It forms a rectangle on the map. The main long-distance transport hubs are along this road, and bus #10 runs in a complete loop of the ring road.

East of the ring road, Jinjihu Lake marks the centre of the SIP with two main through roads crossing the lake (Xiandai Avenue to the north and Jinjihu Avenue to the south). Most streets in the SIP have names beginning with Xing (from 'Xingjiapo' - the Chinese rendering of Singapore) for east-west routes and Su (Suzhou) for north-south routes.

By Taxi

Suzhou's rattling old silver-and-teal VW Santana taxis are a very reasonably priced way of getting around and are easily available outside of rush hour. Fares start at ¥10 for 3 km and tick up at ¥3.2 per km, so most trips within the city are cheap. That said, Suzhou's cabbies are infamous for their lack of local knowledge (most of them are migrants from poorer provinces) so having an address or phone contact to your destination will save you a lot of hassle. Driving style is best described as aggressive, although serious accidents involving taxis are rare. Taxi touts work near tourist destinations and the train station - always use the taxi queue or flag one down from the street (available taxis have a green light on the front dash). Always get a receipt from the taxi driver at the end of the ride, so you may call the taxi company if you have left anything behind or need to dispute a fare.

Few, if any taxi drivers speak English or any other foreign languages, so be sure to get your hotel's business card, and have the names addresses of your destinations written in Chinese to show your taxi driver.

Taxi reservation hotline +86 13004597814 (1~3day notice preferred)

By Public Transport

The Suzhou Metro or SRT (Suzhou Rail Transit) has 3 lines and is rapidly growing. Lines 1 and 4 are most useful to visitors, as they form a cross shape in the middle of downtown. Line 1 runs east-west, while lines 2 and 4 run north-south.

Fares start at ￥2 for up to 6 km, then ￥3 for 6-11 km, ￥4 for 11-16, ￥5 16-23, ￥6 23-30; going the whole length of Line 1 is ￥6.

Taking a bus in Suzhou is relatively easy if you have a basic grasp of Chinese, or horribly bewildering if you don't. Buses cover the whole city, run at 10-20 minute frequencies from 5AM-9PM on most routes and are a cheap way of getting around. All bus information boards and onboard announcements are in Chinese only, however, bus route information can also be found on Google Maps.

Fares are based upon the distance between where you board and the last stop of the bus - most times you will pay ¥1-2, although some longer routes such as the #69 to Xishan charge up to ¥5 - the fare will be displayed on the bus schedule as well as on a digital display above the driver's seat. Exact change is required, so keep plenty of ¥1 coins handy. Buses displaying a green or blue 'snow-flake' symbol next to the route number have air-conditioning and a ¥1 surcharge is paid on top of the regular fare (regardless of whether the A/C is switched on or not).

There are five handy tourist buses numbered Y1-5 - all serve the railway station and connect most of the tourist sights within the city proper, so if you are unfamiliar with the city, they are a good way to familiarize yourself.

Buses are often crowded, and it's good custom to offer your seat to elderly, disabled or mothers with children.

If you are in town for a while, it's advisable to get a Suzhou-Tong card (available from several outlets around town) - it's a prepaid smart-card that gives you a 10% discount on bus travel.

By Foot

Downtown Suzhou, where most attractions are, is a rectangle about 6 by 3 km in size. Depending on your stamina and the weather (summers can be up to 40 degrees), it may be possible to walk between the various sites. Be warned that walking in downtown is not relaxing - most sidewalks are narrow and clogged with parked scooters meaning that you'll end up walking in the bike lane or in the road. Also, around the subway construction sites the sidewalk and bike lane disappear altogether. Keep your eyes and ears open.

Walking in the SIP is more pleasant as roads and sidewalks are wider, and traffic is less heavy.

To make sure you don't get too lost, ask your hotel concierge to write out the name of your destinations, as well as how to get back. Make sure to add your own notes so you know what the translation is.

By Bike

Cycling is an interesting but sometimes hair-raising way of exploring Suzhou. But cycling is much safer here than in, say London or New York, as Suzhou has an excellent network of cycle paths running alongside most major roads, however, these also double up as scooter paths, sidewalks and parking lots; and some are rather potholed, so it's advisable to stay alert. See Driving in China for general information on traffic conditions.

Conveniently for both walkers and bicyclists, Suzhou and the surrounding countryside are almost entirely flat. There are no mountains anywhere nearby and few hills.

Bikes can be rented from most youth hostels or small bike shops at around ¥30 per day for a slow, heavy 1-speed city bike. If you are staying a while, it may be cheaper to buy since bikes start under ¥200 in supermarkets. The Bicycle Kingdom rental agency on Pingjiang Lu has road bikes and mountain bikes to rent for around ¥150-300 per day depending on the model.

Remember to always keep your bike locked when not in use - bike theft is a major problem, particularly downtown. Always leave your bike somewhere brightly lit and crowded. In some places (particularly around Guanqian Jie), attendants will keep an eye on your bike for a small payment (typically ¥0.50).

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Eat

This is a tourist town so watch menu's closely. Make sure to ask the price on everything first when eating in a tourist geared restaurant.

Suzhou has its own unique, slightly sweet cuisine that tends to have very light and delicate flavors. Locals are very fond of freshwater fish and shellfish. Sweets made from glutinous rice paste are an old tradition here; these will generally baffle most Western palates, but try them anyway. A Suzhou specialty popular with many visitors is Song Shu Gui Yu (松鼠桂鱼 sōng shǔ guì yú), often rendered in English as "Squirrel-Shaped Mandarin Fish": the meat of a large fish is delicately cut into strips, breaded in flour, fried, and served covered with pine nuts and a sweet-and-sour sauce. It looks a little like a squirrel's tail... if you've drunk enough of the local rice wine. Another famous local dish is the slightly sweet braised cold duck (酱鸭 jiàng yā).

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Drink

There are several bars, coffee shops and tea houses scattered around the old city. There are some night clubs in the southern area of the old city.

Shiquan Street (十全街) is the main bar area downtown. A number of the bars on this street are thinly-veiled fronts for the world's oldest profession; numbers of very friendly young ladies sitting around the bar or standing in doorways to tempt in passers-by are easily recognized. Those wishing to avail themselves of such diversions are encouraged to exercise extreme caution, not overdo the drinking, ask the cost of everything (including the room you are taken to) before accepting it, and never pay anything in advance. Prostitution is illegal in China and disease rates among sex workers, while reportedly quite low, are definitely not zero.

Some of the better known bars of this sort are the Moon Bar aka 'The Danish Embassy", known for its regular crowd of locals, the Blue Lady and the Red Lion - all within the block between FengHuangJie and Suzhou Hotel. All offer drinks without other services and they won't bother you if you are not partaking further! It is fairly common for groups of Suzhou expats, usually of mixed gender, to visit these places because they are open late and have cheap beer.

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Sleep

Remember the PSB is very strict for some reason in Suzhou. Many of the cheaper hotels in the city still will not allow foreigners to stay in them. If you look long enough you can find some places though, especially ion the southern edge of the old town. An international youth hostel has opened in the city allowing for some more budget options.

Dongwu Hotel Wuyachang (新东吴珍珠大酒店), 200 Shi Quan St, ☏ +86 512-65193681.
Mingtown-Suzhou Youth Hostel, No.28 Pingjiang Rd, ☏ +86 512-65816869. In the most ancient block in Suzhou downtown area. Ping Jiang Rd keeps the old pattern of road paralleling to canal on its original site Town giving you aboriginal water town feeling, which makes it the most attractive ancient block in old Suzhou Town. Hostel is rebuilt based on an old building and have a nice garden with fish in the pool. 10-min walk to Humble Administrator's Garden, Suzhou Museum, Lion Forest Garden, Shan Xi Assembly Hall, Couple Garden, Guan Qian St and there are also many buses to other sight-seeing spots in Suzhou city from here. Weirdly enough, their lounge(Mingtown cafe) is not inside nor adjacent to the hostel - you'd have to go out and walk 10 meters to go to the lounge. Perhaps as a result, you won't meet as many travelers as in most other hostels. The staff were friendly, but did not know bus routes to even the most popular destinations. They also have a lot of bicycles at their courtyard, but do not rent them out. All ten-something were "broken", and they refer you to go to some other hostels to rent bikes. Other hostels would rather rent out their bicycles to their own guests. If you want to bike around the city, book with another hostel.Hot water available only between 7-10AM, and 7-10PM. Bed ¥40-200.
Suzhou Hostel, 186 Zhuhui Rd, ☏ +86 512-65180266. Beds from ¥45.
Suzhou Minghantang Youth Hostel (广济路新民桥,山塘街口), 61 Tongguiqiao, Xiatang, Shantang St Guangji Rd, ☏ +86 512-65833331. Centrally located, in a traditional Suzhou block-house more than 400 years old in Shantang St, Internet access, WiFi, coffee shop. From ¥40.
Suzhou Watertown Youth Hostel, 27 Dashitou Ln 大石头巷27号 (1 block from Renmin Rd), ☏ +86 512-65218885. Check-in: 2PM, check-out: noon. Centrally located in a traditional Suzhou block-house with all the modern conveniences, including free Internet access & WiFi, DVDs, bicycle renting (¥25/15 full/half day). From ¥40.
Suzhou Youth Hostel, 178 Xiangwang Ln (next to Shiquan St and the Dong Wu & 100 Happy Hotels), ☏ +86 512-65109418, +86 512 65188734. Beds from ¥40-50.
Suzhou Blue Gate Youth Hostel,NO.259 Fenghuang Street, Gusu DistrictSuzhou, Jiangsu,+86 18151111680, From ¥3050.
Citadines Xinghai Suzhou (苏州馨乐庭星海服务公寓), Block 27, Jiacheng Gardens, 58 Xinghai Street, SIP, ☏ +86 512 8885 8288, ✉ [email protected]. The residence in Suzhou Industrial Park offers apartments that each has a living/dining area, home entertainment system with cable TV and kitchen. Broadband is available in each room and wireless internet Wi-Fi) zones are available in the lobby and business areas.
Bamboo Grove Hotel, 168 Zhuhui Rd, ☏ +86-21-51270808. Comfortable rooms, lots of smokers. Rates are reasonable. The internet connection is serviceable. Bamboo Grove is an older and more 'Chinese hotel' than other places. It is still very clean and comfortable and has plenty of character. English is spoken well by staff. It is within easy walking distance from Shi Quan St, Guihua Park, 'Master of Nets' garden and 'Jack's Place' Italian restaurant.
Gloria Plaza Hotel, 535 Ganjiang E Rd, ☏ +86 512-65218855. Nice hotel. Decent restaurant, clean rooms. Close to the center of the city and a short walk to the pedestrian mall area. Good Internet connections. Over ¥1000 at rack rate, discounts often.
Guibinlou Hotel, No. 888 East Ganjiang Rd, Pingjiang District, ☏ +86 512-65217888. In the Guanqian Commercial Area, 3 km from railway station. Rooms have en-suite bathrooms, cable TV and free Internet. ¥400.
Mercure Suzhou Park Hotel (苏州商旅美居酒店), 336 Feng Li St (in Suzhou Industrial Park), ☏ +86 512 62967888.
Somerset Emerald City Suzhou, No 436 Changjiang Road, Suzhou New District (SND), ☏ +86-512 6818 6611, ✉ [email protected]. On top of the Emerald City shopping mall, the residence offers travellers instant access to international fashion, dining and entertainment. Each serviced apartment is stylishly furnished and contemporary with a modern fully-equipped kitchen, home entertainment system, broadband internet service, and a private telephone number with IDD service upon request.
Suzhou Nanlin Hotel, No. 20 Gunxiufang, Shiquan St, Canglang District, ☏ +86 512-68017888. In the Shiquan St bar strip. 210 rooms with safe, toilet and TV. Gym, pool, sauna and, alas, karaoke. ¥500.
Wealth Center Hotel, 938 Ganjiang E Rd, Pingjiang District, ☏ +86 512-65091688. A 4-star-quality hotel inside the Guanqian Business Center.
Regalia Resort & Spa, 2 Li Gong Di, ☏ +86 512 6295 0888, toll-free: 400 115 3388 (non-geographic number), fax: +86 512 6295 0260, ✉ [email protected]. Regalia Resort and Spa includes lush tropical gardens abounding with exotic foliage and secluded lotus ponds. Regalia Resort & Spa is a boutique resort offering 44 rooms and suites that blend into the serene ambiance of Jinji Lake. Also on the premises is Lotus Restaurant, which offers a combination of Thai, Chinese and Western cuisine.
Noahs Hotel Suzhou, No. 58 Shishan Road, Suzhou New District, ☏ +86-512-62397999. Air-conditioned rooms with satellite TV, IDD phone, safe, and a choice of Chinese or Western breakfast. Amenities include massage service, gym/health club, and beauty salon. Best rates on official website start at ¥290.
Aster Hotel Suzho, 156 Sanxiang Rd, ☏ +86 512-68291888. Nice hotel, but a bit out of the way of the old town. Claims to be either 4- or 5-star depending where you look. Perfect for the business traveller, except that the in-room internet connection is only 10Mbps. There is an outside swimming pool that is not heated so is closed in the colder months. The ground floor restaurant 'Venice Cafe', serves really good breakfasts. Good level of English.
Holiday Inn Jasmine, 345 Changxu Rd, ☏ +86 512-65588888. Western-style hotel with excellent amenities in-room that rival amenities in other countries (of any price). While somewhat out of the way of nightlife, the Holiday Inn would probably suit business travelers well. Free Internet in-room. edit
Renaissance Suzhou Hotel, 229 Suhua Rd, Suzhou Industrial Park, ☏ +86 512-67618888, fax: +86 512-6767 1888. Check-in: 2PM, check-out: noon. edit
Pan Pacific Suzhou (Suzhou Wu Gong), 259 Xin Shi Rd, ☏ +86 512-65103388, ✉ [email protected]. Nice western style hotel, pool, gym, old restaurant, but somewhat expensive. The tap water is filtered and drinkable. Good internet connections. There is a large and very nice garden right behind the Sheraton which is nice to visit (Staying at the hotel allows free access to the Pan Men Garden).
Ascott Midtown Suzhou, No 229, Zhongxin West Av, Suzhou Industrial Park, ☏ +86 512 6293 3666, ✉ [email protected]. This property is equipped with studio apartments as well as 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments. It offers free broadband and Wi-Fi access.

You can use the form below to search for availability (Travellerspoint receives a commission for bookings made through the form)

Booking.com

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Learn

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Keep Connected

Internet

Wangba (联网) means internet bar in Chinese. Almost every town will have an internet bar or gaming center. The best way to spot an internet bar is to look for the 网(ba) character, which means net, and large digitized images of computer game characters. Often, there will be a sign saying Green Power in English at the entrance. Most gaming centers cost about RMB3 an hour. You prepay at the main desk and are then given a plastic card or a piece of paper. Once you are done you return the card or piece of paper and get reimbursed for the money you didn't spend. Be prepared for a place that might be dingy, basic and messy. Internet bars in China tend to get crowded starting in the late afternoon to the late evenings.

Some hotels provide access from the rooms that may or may not be free; others may provide a wireless service or a few desktops in the lounge area.
Also, quite a few cafes provide free wireless Internet service. Some cafes, even provide a machine for customer use.

Phone

Post

China Post (中国邮政) is the official postal service of the People's Republic of China, operated by the State Postal Bureau of the People's Republic of China (website in Chinese only), and has more details about price to send letters, postcards and parcels, both domestically as well as internationally. The Chinese postal service is very good. Remember that in more remote places usually only one post office in a city can handle sending international boxes or letters. Also many times it might be worth having the name of the country you are trying to send to in Chinese characters, because small town people might not know what Estonia is in English. Post offices have a striking green logo and can easily be found everywhere in the cities. They are mostly open every day (including weekends!) from 8:00am to 6:00pm, though small offices might have shorter opening times, while the bigger ones in central and touristic areas are sometimes open during evenings as well.

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