Suzhou Landmarks
Located in the south of Jiangsu province, Suzhou is a city of historical and cultural renown, very famous for its gardens. The Suzhou Gardens were included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list in December 1997. All this has made tourism advance rapidly. Being a charming and beautiful city, Suzhou attracts millions of visitors from different parts of the world every year. Below we present the iconic places in Suzhou in more detail.
The Humble Administrator's Garden, built at the beginning of the 16th century (China's Ming Dynasty), is the representative of classical gardens in the Jiangnan area. The Humble Administrator's Garden, along with Beijing Summer Park, Chengde Mountain Residence, Suzhou Liuyuan Garden, is known as one of the four most famous gardens in China. The garden is made up of three large parts placed around a large lake: the central part, the eastern part, and the western part. It has 48 different buildings with 101 tablets, 40 steles, 21 beautiful old trees and more than 700 Suzhou-style bonsai trees. In 1997, the Humble Administrator's Garden, along with other classical gardens in Suzhou, was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Suzhou Museum is a museum of ancient Chinese art, painting, calligraphy and crafts in Suzhou. It is one of the most visited museums in the world. The folk branch of the museum is located in the Bei Family Ancestral Temple, near the Lion Forest. The New Western Pavilion was designed by renowned architect I.M. Pei and was completed and opened in 2006. The combined exhibition areas of the museum cover approximately 3,600 square meters. The museum houses some 30,000 pieces, including unearthed cultural relics, ancient paintings and calligraphy, and ancient crafts. It also has more than 70,000 books and documents and more than 20,000 rubbings of stone inscriptions. The painting and calligraphy collection includes works by masters of the Song, Ming and Qing dynasties. The museum has four permanent exhibitions: Wu Relics, National Treasure of Wu Tower, Wuzhong Fengya and Wumen Calligraphy and Painting. The permanent collections display prehistoric ceramics and jade and Buddhist cultural relics from Tiger Hill Yunyan Temple and Ruiguang Temple. The Suzhou History Exhibition takes visitors through the history of the Suzhou area, spanning the Paleolithic, the Ming and Qing dynasties, and the Spring and Autumn Period, when the settlement that would grow to become Suzhou was established. .
The ancient city of Suzhou has become a paradise for thousands of merchants due to the Beijing - Hangzhou Grand Canal. So far almost half of Suzhou's cargo volume depends on waterways. The ancient Suzhou Canal, as part of the Beijing - Hangzhou Grand Canal, surrounds the beautiful city like a jade belt. The canal is not only a green corridor around Suzhou, but also connects many historical and cultural monuments in Suzhou, which is why Suzhou has become a hot tourist city for Chinese and foreign tourists. Taking a cruise along the Grand Old Canal is very popular with tourists. Currently, the permitted cruising section is the ancient city moat. The cruise from Xinshiqiao Pier to Shantang Street is the essence of the entire canal, because you can not only admire the historical towers, but also the prosperous old Shantang Street and the old buildings on the shore. Apart from the above attractions, the night cruise is particularly unforgettable, as the colorful lights, as well as the beautiful singing on the painted boat, all of this is too romantic.
Pingjiang Street is located in the center of Suzhou Old Town, within walking distance of many of the city's most famous landmarks. At the north end of the street you will find two of Suzhou's best-known gardens, the Humble Administrator's Garden and the Lion Garden, as well as the Suzhou Museum. Pingjiang Street can be easily reached by car, bus or subway from most locations within central Suzhou. Pingjiang Street is a popular place to shop for quality local crafts, traditional clothing and other souvenirs. There are numerous tea houses where tourists can sit and sip tea while enjoying a traditional performance of Pingtan ballads and storytelling. Tourists can also take a traditional boat ride along the narrow canal that runs parallel to the street, during which they will glide under the arched stone bridges and whitewashed houses that appear in many Chinese paintings.
