What to Buy in Suzhou
Shopping in Suzhou is a way to get to know the local culture. The rivers and lakes south of the Yangtze River provide intelligence to the people of Suzhou, making them produce especially delicate crafts. Already in the Ming and Qing dynasties, goods sold extremely well as long as they had a local character. A fan, a piece of embroidery or a box of local snacks will not only be a great souvenir of your trip, but the best gift to bring home to your friends and family. It is not necessary to visit a large number of stores in search of the best local products, because most of the larger stores have been in business for many years and offer high quality items. Enjoy your purchases.
Suzhou is the silk capital of China. The good absorption of silk makes it comfortable to wear clothing made from this fabric in hot climates and in situations of physical activity. It is often used to make clothing items such as shirts, blouses, formal dresses, couture clothing, negligees, pajamas, robes, and underwear. Being a symbol of luxury and wealth, silk has always been highly appreciated. cAs a city famous for its silk products for quite a long time, Suzhou is one of the best places to buy silk crafts, such as silk fan, silk embroidery, silk clothing.
Suzhou Embroidery is the embroidery created around the city of Suzhou. It is one of the oldest embroidery techniques in the world and is the most representative type of art in Chinese embroidery. Suzhou embroidery, one of the well-known four great embroideries of China, along with Cantonese embroidery, Sichuan embroidery and Xiang embroidery, has a history of more than 2,000 years and is an important form of crafts in Chinese history. Chinese folk art and customs, representative of traditional Chinese folk arts. It is famous for its variety of stitches, beautiful designs, elegant colors and consummate craftsmanship. Folk embroidery products have been rich in color and city life atmosphere, reflecting the cultural life and folk customs of Suzhou people on the one hand. We can see the changes of Suzhou embroidery in the works of different periods. At the same time, through these works, we can study the living customs, social customs and aesthetic styles of the Chinese people in different eras.
Biluochun tea is a famous green tea originally grown in the mountainous region of Dongting near Tai Lake in Suzhou. It is famous for its delicate appearance, fruity flavor, floral aroma, showy white hairs and early harvest. The name Biluochun literally means green snail spring. It is so called because it is a green tea that is rolled into a tight spiral, similar to snail meat, and is harvested in early spring. Chinese tea experts hold it in very high regard. Zhen Jun, author of the Cha Shuo tea encyclopedia, ranked it first among Chinese green teas. Longjing tea was in second place and Lu An Gua Pian was in third place. It is so delicate and tender that one kilogram of Biluochun consists of 14,000 to 15,000 tea buds.
If you want to buy handicrafts, silk, tea or other things, it will be advantageous to have a Chinese-speaking tour guide accompany you. You can actually save a lot of money by haggling. Guanqian Street, Shilu Shopping Street, Nanmen Shopping Center, Shiquan Street, Fengqiao Street and Nanhao Street are the highly recommended shopping places.
