Location: Suzhou
Top Things to do in Suzhou
Things to do in Suzhou, Jiangsu: The Best Sights & Landmarks
Suzhou is a major city on the lower Yangtze known for its canals, bridges, pagodas, and beautiful gardens. These gardens were built and owned by wealthy families and emperors hundreds of years ago, and make for a pleasant place to wander during nice weather. Suzhou is also a major center for silk production and manufacturing, and a tour of a silk factory here provides an interesting and educational glimpse of this Chinese textile industry. Suzhou is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Restaurants in Suzhou
1. Tongli Town
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 915 reviews
Reviewed By denisepeterr
You can really get a "feel" of this water town as you walk in and stroll the streets with crafts to witness from clothes, indigo dyed fabric (well, that is what I was interested in), ceramics and on to architecture and people. There is a charm and intimacy as one sees daily living in what is also a well served tourist town.
2. The Lingering Garden
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 838 reviews
A Brief Description of the Lingering Garden Located at the outer side of the Chang Gate and built in the 21st year of the reign of Wanli under the Ming Dynasty (AD 1593), the Lingering Garden is reputed to be one of the four most famous gardens of China. In 1961 it was listed from the very first as cultural relics of national importance. Since 1997 it has been inscribed on the World Cultural Heritage List. The Lingering Garden, covering 23,310 sq.m., is divided into the middle, eastern, western and northern parts. The middle part features fascinating landscapes and waterscapes. The eastern part is noted for its architectural beauties and limestone rockeries. The northern part is famed for its beautiful bonsai garden. And the western part boasts the mountain forest scenery and the delights of wilderness. Celebrated for its superb handling of architectural space and spatial relations, the Lingering Garden serves as a fine specimen of ancient Chinese garden and landscape design and reputably tops all the well-known gardens in Suzhou. The Lingering Garden provides English tour guide for free every hour since 2017. You can also choose to pay for a professional English guide with different guiding route or a guiding machine. Hope that during your short stay here, you can not only satisfy your eyes, but also experience the real Chinese culture and have a better understanding of our philosophy.
Reviewed By BillPNo1 - Friendswood, United States
On our entire trip to China, The Lingering Gardens at Suzhou, was one of the most memorable places we visited. The extent of the Lingering Gardens is difficult to describe. The Gardens, seemingly, went on and on and there was another lovely fascinating sight around each corner of the winding paths. Meticulously groomed, cleaned (constantly) and maintained, the whole Gardens were beautiful, whether you were looking at rock gardens, winding paths, ponds or fish pools, little bridges, or flowering plants, trees, and shrubs! How could so many things still be in bloom in November? I think my favorite things were the extensive bonzai tree collection in their area. All old (ancient?) and perfectly groomed, they seemed like silent sentinels of the past left for us to view and appreciate now in modern times. Even the bathrooms were works of art and the finest examples of WC's that we saw anywhere during our trip! The entire group decided that the Lingering Gardens WC's were Five-Star! DO NOT miss a visit to the Lingering Gardens if you are anywhere in the area. They are exquisite and I wish that we had several days to more fully explore the Gardens than the too short time that our group tour schedule allowed. The Lingering Gardens was definitely as high as the Great Wall and Terra Cotta Warriors in my esteem!
3. Master-of-Nets Garden
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 571 reviews
Reviewed By colleeno412
A beautiful residential garden that is a UNESCO World heritage site. An example of gardens from the song Dynasty. Wonderful architecture and art Visitors have been exploring these gardens since 1140
4. Cloud Rock Leaning Pagoda (Yunyan Ta)
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 172 reviews
Reviewed By deanosaur89 - Edmonton, Canada
We loved the Pagoda of Tiger Hill and the walk leading up to it. The pagoda is very old and the steps leading up to it are very nice. The area in April is quite wet and slippery so do bring a good pair of shoes. Ticket price for entry is 70 RMB for peak season April to October and 60 RMB for the rest of the year. The park around also has many nice ponds, walking paths and a large bonsai tree garden.
5. Panmen Gate
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 242 reviews
Reviewed By geo3 - Calgary, Canada
I am primarily reviewing the garden rather than the pagoda, the gate or the restored wall, as that is where I spent the most time - and the garden is gorgeous and, as someone else mentioned, not crowded at all. As others have mentioned, entrance to the garden is free if you are staying at the adjacent Pan Pacific Hotel (in which case you should absolutely make a point of visiting the garden). If you are in the garden early enough, you can watch people doing tai chi. Unlike most of the other Suzhou gardens, this garden is recent and is a sort of combination of classical Chinese ideas of gardening and western concepts of gardening. For this reason the garden is more spread out than other Suzhou gardens, and there is more greenery and more emphasis on colours from flowers and shrubs. The end result is very beautiful. If you are visiting in April, the peonies will be blooming, and they are stunning. Just to the south of the Panmen Scenic area there is a park that follows the bank of the Waicheng River for some distance. This is a scenic stroll, with many benches for relaxing, and it will take you past the 900-year-old Wumen Bridge.
6. Dongshan Scenic Resort
7. Sanshan Island
8. Landscape Architecture
9. Tuisi Garden
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 52 reviews
Reviewed By bbyma
Strongly recommend visiting Tongli and Tuisi garden than zhouzhuang (on a weekday) if you are into photography, some quiet moments for reflection and cultural immersion. Unlike the UNESCO gardens in Suzhou, this garden is part of a historic home which still features some of the original indoor decor and some furnitures. Try to visit in the afternoon near closing time or earliest in the morning. The koi pond is amazing because of the synchronous manner in which they swim !
10. Tongli Gengle Hall
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