Suzhou, located in latitude 30°47'-32°02' north, longitude 119°55'-121°20' east, east of Shanghai, south of Zhejiang, west of Taihu Lake, north of the Yangtze River, the climate is mild and humid, the land, water and air transportation in all directions, is China's important historical and cultural city and one of the scenic tourist cities.
Classical gardens in Suzhou, mainly private gardens, began in the Spring and Autumn Period (514 BC), formed in the Fifth Dynasty, matured in the Song Dynasty, and flourished in the Ming Dynasty.
By the end of the Qing Dynasty, Suzhou had more than 170 gardens of various colors, of which more than 60 are now well-preserved and 19 are open to the public.
Suzhou gardens are comprehensive works of art composed of architecture, landscape, flowers and trees, combining natural beauty, architectural beauty and painting beauty, and are a precious heritage in China's cultural treasury.
In December 1997, the classical gardens of Suzhou, represented by the Humble Administrator's Garden, the Liouyuan Garden, the Master of the Nets Garden, and the Huanxiu Villa, were inscribed on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Suzhou gardens in general in the layout of the water as the center, full of Jiangnan interest; in the structure of the small to win, small to see the big, step by step, easy to shadow; color on the pink walls and tiles, chestnut columns, in line with nature; spatial treatment of sometimes open broad Lang, sometimes winding deep, or hidden or exposed, or deep or shallow, the virtual has a real, the real has a virtual; the layout of the city with mahogany furniture, calligraphy and painting, embellished with couplets, bonsai, appearing The city is decorated with mahogany furniture, paintings and calligraphy by famous artists, decorated with couplets and bonsai, appearing beautiful and elegant.
The Suzhou Garden is not only highly appreciated, but also of great artistic and historical and cultural research value
Suzhou was founded in 514 BC, King Wu's father, King Helu, ordered Wu Zixu, the rebel general of Chu, to build the city of Helu, which is more than 2,500 years old nowadays.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, it was the capital of the state of Wu, and there are still many monuments about Xi Shi and Wu Zi Xu.
Suzhou was first called Suzhou in the ninth year of the Sui Dynasty (589 AD), and has been used ever since.
Suzhou City was built early, with a large scale, parallel land and water, river and street adjacent to each other, and the ancient city still sits on the original site, which is rare at home and abroad.
The gardens of Suzhou are the most beautiful in the world, and have been listed in the World Cultural Heritage List. Among the four famous gardens in China, Suzhou occupies the Humble Administrator's Garden and the Liouyuan Garden; the deep cultural deposits of Huqiu, the "First Famous Scenic Spot in Wuzhong," make it a must-visit for tourists to come to Suzhou; and the song "Night Poetry at the Maple Bridge," written by the poet Zhang Ji in the Tang Dynasty, has made the tourists of all ages clamor to visit the Maple Bridge. The poet Zhang Ji of the Tang Dynasty wrote "The Night Mooring at Fengqiao", which made tourists from all over the world come to visit Fengqiao and hear the bells of the Cold Mountain Temple.
Outside of Gusu, the natural scenery is beautiful, Lingyan, Tianping, Tianchi and Dongting mountains, dotted on the shores of Taihu Lake, forming a rich south of the lake and mountains.
Suzhou has both the beauty of gardens and the beauty of mountains and waters, and its natural and humanistic landscapes, together with the inscriptions and songs of writers and ink masters, have made Suzhou a veritable "paradise on earth".
Important data
Area code: 0512
Location: Located in the southeast of Jiangsu Province in the Yangtze River Delta, it is close to Shanghai in the east, Zhejiang in the south, Taihu Lake in the west and Yangtze River in the north.
Area: the city's total area of 8488 square kilometers, of which the urban area of 1650 square kilometers, the ancient city 14.2 square kilometers.
Population: the city's total population of 6 million, of which the urban population of more than 2 million.
District: Jurisdiction Canglang, Pingjiang, Jingyan, Wuzhong, Xiangcheng, Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou New District (Huqiu District) 7 districts and Zhangjiagang, Changshu, Taicang, Kunshan, Wujiang 5 county-level cities, 121 towns.
Origin of the city name: Suzhou was named after Gusu Mountain in the southwest of the city, also known as Gusu City.
Local Features: Gusu Culture
? Over the centuries, there have been many talented people in Gusu, like stars in the sky, shining brightly.
Gusu culture is a unique branch of Chinese civilization in the Jiangnan water town, she sifted the Chinese culture of masculinity, rough factors, more inheritance, carry forward the delicate side of the Yin.
? The culture of Gusu is reflected in the melody of Kunqu Opera, Su Opera, and Jiaman, and in the works of Wumen School of Painting, which are ancient and fresh, and elegant and beautiful.
The Gusu culture emphasizes the natural and easy-going form, the curved and soft lines; pursues the far-reaching meaning of lightness, and the beauty of subtlety and timelessness.
? The garden architecture, silk embroidery, folklore and other aspects of the ancient city constitute the cultural deposits of Gusu. To fully appreciate and touch the essence of Suzhou's art and culture, you can visit the major museums.
List of major museums in Suzhou
Name
Address
Transportation
Tickets
Suzhou Museum
No. 204 Northeast Street
Tour 1, 2, 5, 2, 3
5 yuan
Folklore Museum
No. 32, Panru Xiang.
Tour 1, 2, 5, 2, 3, 4, 701
Free
Garden Museum
Inside the Clumsy Garden
Tour 1, 2, 5, 2, 3
Free
Museum of Suzhou Embroidery
No. 274 Jingde Road
Tour 1, 3, 46, 701
1 yuan
1 yuan
1 yuan
Tour 1, 3, 46, 701
1 yuan
1 yuan
1 yuan
Tour 1, 3, 3, 3, 4, 701
1 yuan
Silk Museum
No. 661 Renmin Road
Tour 1, 2, 4 lines, 1, 8, 20, 38, 101, 102, 103
8 yuan
Museum of Opera
No. 14 Zhongzhangjiaxiang
Tour 5, 9, 46, 47, 48, 51, 68
Free
Tablet Museum
No. 45 Renmin Road
Lines 2, 4, 5, 1, 14, 28, 101, 102, 103
Free
Numismatica Museum
Inside the Suzhou Museum
Lines 1, 2 and 5, and No. 2 and 3
Free
Free
City of Gardens
Suzhou is a city of gardens, with more than 100 large and small gardens.
The distinctive classical gardens concentrate the essence of the architectural art of Jiangnan gardens since the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, integrating architecture, horticulture, carving, painting, poetry and arts and crafts.
Most of the gardens in Suzhou are private gardens, and their landscaping expresses the owner's emotions, and is characterized by small, free, delicate, elegant and artistic.
Suzhou classical garden house and garden in one, can be appreciated, can swim, can live, this architectural form is in the densely populated and the lack of natural scenery of the city formed, is human attachment to nature, the pursuit of harmony with nature, beautify and improve their own living environment of a creation.
The four classical gardens, namely, the 拙政园, 留园, 网师园, and 环秀山庄, were created during the heyday of Suzhou's private garden development, and became the models and representatives of Suzhou's many classical gardens because of their far-reaching moods, exquisite constructions, elegant arts, and rich cultural connotations.
One of the important features of Suzhou classical gardens is that it is not only a product of history and culture, but also a carrier of traditional Chinese thought and culture.
The naming of the garden halls, plaques, couplings, calligraphy, carvings, decorations, as well as flowers, trees, symbols, stacked stones, etc., are not only exquisite works of art decorating the gardens, but also store a large amount of historical, cultural, ideological and scientific information, the material and spiritual content is extremely deep and wide.
Best time to visit
Suzhou is a northern subtropical monsoon climate, mild, humid climate, abundant rainfall, four distinct seasons, all seasons are suitable for tourism, especially in April-October is the best.
During this period, you can not only enjoy the natural scenery of red peaches and green willow, but also savor seasonal specialties such as fresh peaches, biluochun, and sugar lotus root.
It is best to avoid double days and holidays when visiting Suzhou gardens or exploring the surrounding water towns.
Only when there are fewer people, can you taste her unique flavor.
Reminder: most of the attractions in Suzhou close before 17:30, and holidays are no exception, so if you are a self-guided tour, you need to pay special attention to this point, and rationalize the time.
Festivals
Tourist Festivals in Suzhou
Xishan Taihu Lake Plum Blossom Festival March 1-10
Huchu Flower Festival March-May
Botanical Garden Azalea Festival March-June
Jiaozhi Shuixiang Clothing Cultural Festival April
Nanghao Street Fairy Temple Festival May
Lotus Festival at the 拙政园 July-August
Temple Festival at Huqiu September-October
China Silk Tourism Festival September 20-25
Red Maple Festival at Tianping, Suzhou November
New Year's Eve bell ringing at Cold Mountain Temple from 23:00 on December 31
Traditional Folk Festivals in Suzhou
Rolling of the Immortals on the 14th day of the 4th lunar month
The 14th day of the 4th lunar month is the birthday of Lv Dongbin (one of the Eight Immortals), which is commonly known as the "Birthday of the Immortals". Birthday of the Immortals".
On this day, to the Gate of Heaven Temple of the Immortals to incense a lot of people, legend has it that Lv Dongbin on this day in the hustle and bustle of the crowd, where there is a strange disease is difficult to cure, often have the opportunity to get treatment, everyone wants to try their luck, to get the immortal's favor, commonly known as the "rolling fairy".
Now has become a folk temple activities.
Exposure of the book to turn the scriptures on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month
Every year on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, Suzhou has the custom of sunshine book.
The temples will be hidden books out of the sun, the monks took the opportunity to convene the countryside of old women to open the "scripture", they turned the scripture exposure under the scorching sun, claiming that "turn the scripture ten times, the next life can be turned into a male body".
There is also a folk proverb: "June 6, dog trance bath.
"(Suzhou dialect will be called bathing trance bath) is the day will be small cats and dogs to the river bath, can avoid lice and fleas.
Eat Lei Zaisu Lunar June 24
Legend has it that the 24th day of the 6th lunar month is Lei Zun's birthday.
Eating "Lei Zhaisou" is to worship Lei Zun and eat vegetarian, said to be able to eliminate disasters and epidemics to protect the peace.
In the past, Suzhou people ate "Lei Zhaosu", usually from the first of June to the end of the birthday of Lei Zun, which lasted nearly a month.
The day of the meat, Guanqian Street on the Songhelou restaurant at this time, especially the introduction of seasonal pasta - marinated duck noodles, therefore, Suzhou has a saying: "Lei Zaisou meat - marinated duck noodles. "
Beggar's Day The seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar
Also known as the Daughter's Day.
Legend has it that on this night, magpies fly in groups to the Milky Way, building a magpie bridge, so that the Cowherd and the Weaving Maiden in the Milky Way magpie bridge to meet.
It is a folk custom to worship the Weaving Maiden on the night of Tanabata, begging her for wisdom and skill, which is called "Begging for Coquettishness".
Accommodation
The hotels in Suzhou are quite good, you can choose according to your own financial situation.
The three-star garden-style guesthouse, Su Yuan Hotel, on South Renmin Road, the Taihu Lake Pearl Resort in the Taihu Lake Tourist Resort, and the Silver Lake Villa on the West Mountain Island of Taihu Lake are all in good condition, and the Ctrip member price of all these places is between 200-300 RMB, which is relatively affordable.
If you are traveling by car, there are many luxury villas near Tianping Mountain and along the shores of Taihu Lake, which are also inexpensive, with a typical daily rent of a double-story villa ranging from about 400-600 RMB.
Of course, for travelers who want to save money, it is quite easy to find a clean, inexpensive guesthouse, and you can find "standard rooms" for about 100 yuan everywhere on the streets of the city.
For example, the Sports Bureau Guest House on Wujiao Road is quite comfortable.
Recommended accommodation:
Ruijia Express Hotel (Suzhou Sanxiang)
Newly built in 2003, the hotel is located in the center of Suzhou city on the famous street of Sanxiang Road No. 186, adjacent to the downtown area of Shilu Road in the east, the west side of the commercial center of the Suzhou New District, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and the famous scenic spots of Huqiu and the Cold Mountain Temple, and only a 10-minute drive to the Suzhou Paradise, the hotel has a special shuttle bus to the East Mountain and the West Mountain, and transportation is very convenient. There is a special shuttle bus to East Mountain and West Mountain in front of the hotel, so the transportation is very convenient.
The hotel is well-equipped and inexpensive.
Entertainment
The ancient city of Suzhou not only has a rich water town style and beautiful gardens, but also has many large modern entertainment venues.
Suzhou Paradise is known as the "Disney of the East", which is characterized by the combination of international modern amusement technology and profound cultural connotations.
When you are around, you can enjoy the colorful European and American style, and feel the natural and rich oriental mood, and the essence of Chinese and Western culture is as fresh as the breeze, which is refreshing to people.
The Taihu Lake Pearl Paradise is a state-level tourist resort, which integrates entertainment, leisure, sightseeing, tourism and vacation, and provides first-class service with first-class facilities for the majority of travelers.
The Guanqian Street and Shiquan Street in Suzhou have been repaired and perfected over the years, and have become a modern commercial street integrating entertainment, catering, sightseeing and shopping, which is now a must-visit place for tourists from home and abroad.
Shopping introduction
When you go shopping in Suzhou, the first tourist souvenir is Suzhou embroidery, which is one of the four most famous embroideries in China, along with Hunan embroidery, Sichuan Shu embroidery and Guangdong Cantonese embroidery.
Biluochun tea from Suzhou is one of the top ten famous teas in China, which is a good gift for friends and relatives.
Suzhou's Song brocade, Taohuayu woodcut New Year's paintings, and Suzhou fans are all local specialties.
In addition, dried tofu is also a famous local specialty in Suzhou, so why not buy some to share with your family?
Suzhou's Guanqian Street is a famous commercial pedestrian street with entertainment, dining and sightseeing, and there are sightseeing buses (RMB 1 per person) running along the street.
Shi Road outside the Gate of Heaven and Huaihai Street in the new district are also famous commercial neighborhoods. In addition, Shiquan Street is a street of tourist souvenirs, Pi Shi Street is a market for birds and flowers, and Huchu Road and in front of the railway station is a street of wedding dresses and photographic equipment, all of which are good places for shopping.
China Pearl City in Hejiawan, Weitang Town, is a big pearl trading and distribution center. You can take No. 1, 102, or 103 at Suzhou Railway Station to Pingmen Station (1 stop), and transfer to No. 12 to Weitang Town.
Or take a bus to Changshu, Beiqiao, Xiangcheng, etc. at the North Bus Station on the east side of the train station, which passes through Weitang Town.
Hejiawan is 2 kilometers west of Weitang Town.
Dining Introduction
China has four major cuisines: Suzhou, Lu, Guangdong, and Sichuan, with different tastes, which are known as "East Sour, West Spicy, South Sweet, and North Salty", and Suzhou Cuisine belongs to "South Sweet" flavor. The Su cuisine belongs to the "southern sweet" flavor.
Su cuisine is characterized by rigorous selection of materials, fine workmanship, according to the material ShiYi, the four seasons are different, good at stewing, stewing, steaming, burning, stir-frying, and attach importance to the soup, to maintain the original flavor.
The taste is light and sweet, with harmonious colors.
Famous Suzhou-style signature dishes include: squirrel and guinea fowl, shark's fin in clear soup, eel paste with ringing oil, watermelon chicken, whole chicken with mother's oil, Brunswick soup in Taihu Lake, emerald prawns, lotus flower stew, and so on.
Suzhou snacks are also famous all over the world, such as dried tofu with honey sauce, pine nuts candy, rose melon seeds, shrimp soy sauce, date paste hemp cake, lard rice cake, etc., are all popular food, and must not be tasted.
"Yue Lou" and "Song He Lou" are the oldest Soviet-style restaurants; "Old Suzhou Tea and Wine House" is famous for its traditional Soviet cuisine; "Zhu Hongxing Noodle House and Green Yang Hundun are inexpensive and suitable for public consumption.
The main food streets in Suzhou are: Eunuch's Lane, Shiquan Street, Bachelor's Street, Jiayuofang, Phoenix Street, Ganzhong Road, and Shilu Jinmen Market Food Street.
Recommended Diet:
Zangshu Town Mutton
Zangshu Town is famous for its mutton.
The mutton here is a crossbreed of Dongshan goat and imported Australian meat goat, which is tender and tender, and no matter whether it is braised or boiled, there is no stink.
The town's own association rated the lamb restaurant "star", there is a bronze plaque at the door, of which there are about 7-8 "3-star", the price is about the same, a little more expensive than the non-3-star, but 7 people! The price is about the same, a little more expensive than the non-3-star, but 7 people can eat well for about 200 yuan.
The Oriental is one of the oldest.
Service is good.
Transportation: you can take the Chinese bus from Wuzhong District Bus Station-Guangfu Town, or you can take the long-distance bus from Suzhou South Bus Station to Guangfu Boat Dining Street, Zhenhu Town long-distance bus and so on.
There are a lot of these buses, 1 in less than 10 minutes, all passing by Zanghu Town.
The ride is more than 20 minutes and the fare is 3 yuan.
Reminder: Hidden Book Town stores match you with packages at 138, 168, 198, 208, 258 RMB.
Transportation Introduction
External Transportation
Aviation:
There is no civil aviation airport in Suzhou, and you have to take Shanghai Hongqiao Airport or Pudong Airport to take a flight.
There is a shuttle bus from Suzhou to Shanghai Hongqiao Airport, which is operated by China Eastern Airlines Suzhou Office, No. 115, Ganzhong West Road, Suzhou, at 6:20, 7:20, 7:50, 8:20, 9:20, 10:20, 10:50, 11:50, 12:50, 13:50, 14:50, and the model of the bus is 33-seat Jinlong Deluxe Coach, the ticket price is 50 RMB, and the journey takes about 1 hour and 40 minutes. About 1 hour 40 minutes.
Shanghai Hongqiao Airport has a direct bus to Suzhou, time: 10:00-16:00 on time, after 16:00, there are two more 17:30 and 19:00, the ticket price is 50 yuan, the ride is about 1 hour 40 minutes.
Shanghai Pudong International Airport to Suzhou, 10:40, 12:40, 13:40, 14:40, 15:40, 17:40 departure, the ticket price of 80 yuan, the ride more than 2 hours.
You can also take Shanghai's Airport Line 5 from Pudong Airport to Shanghai New Passenger Station (fare 18 yuan), and then transfer to the train to Suzhou.
Railway:
Almost all the trains on the Shanghai-Nanjing line stop at Suzhou, and there are trains from Suzhou, and more trains from other cities passing through Suzhou to Shanghai.
Suzhou - Shanghai round-trip train on average every 20 minutes or so, (morning and evening on weekends, tomb-sweeping rush hour 10-15 minutes a class), one-way fare 7-22 yuan, the ride 40 minutes!
The intercity train from Shanghai to Suzhou departs from Shanghai New Passenger Station every morning and takes 40 minutes to get there directly.
The ticket hall on the east side of Suzhou Railway Station sells tickets in advance for all stations on the national network within 6 days.
There is an emergency ticket window on the east side of the entrance, specializing in selling tickets for journeys with a start time of less than one hour, as well as selling platform tickets.
In Suzhou, there are the following ticket offices: No. 8, Lane Taisuan, Guanqian Street; No. 566, Renmin Road, Joint Ticket Office; No. 99, Renmin South Road, Suyuan Hotel, etc.
There is a ticket window at the east side of the entrance to the station.
Water transportation:
Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal Suzhou-Hangzhou section of the passenger routes to and from Suzhou in the South Gate Terminal (No. 8 Renmin Road) to buy tickets on board, Hangzhou in the Wulin Gate Terminal (North Huancheng Road, No. 138) to buy tickets on board, 17:30 every day on the first shift, the next day, arriving at 7:00.
Fares:
Paradise: RMB 130/place for double room, RMB 88/place for quadruple room
Canglang, Hanshan, Wushan: RMB 95/place for double room, RMB 60/place for quadruple room
Lingyan, Lingshan: RMB 78/place for double room, RMB 65/place for quadruple room up, RMB 55/place for quadruple room down
Suti. White Beach: RMB 47/seat for a four-person upper cabin, RMB 40/seat for a four-person lower cabin
(Note: See the announcement of the pier for the daily sailing status of the above ships)
Highway:
Suzhou is the "Southeast Gateway" of Jiangsu Province to Shanghai and Zhejiang Province, and there are four long-distance passenger terminals.
(Attach the list of passenger lines of long-distance bus station).
On November 8, 2003, the Suzhou-Jiaxing-Hangzhou Expressway, which starts from Changshu City in Jiangsu Province in the north and goes to Hangzhou City in Zhejiang Province in the south, was opened.
It communicates with the Yanjiang Expressway, Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway, Shanghai-Hangzhou Expressway and Shanghai-Suzhou-Zhejiang-Anhui Expressway, and is of great significance in improving the transportation conditions between Suzhou and the neighboring regions.
The main highway buses from Shanghai to Suzhou have the following long-distance passenger terminals and approximate departure times, with one-way fares of RMB 26-30:
North Long-distance Passenger Terminal (No. 80 Gongxing Road) 6:40, 10:20, 11:20, 14:30
Hengfeng Road High-speed Passenger Terminal (No. 270 Hengfeng Road) 7:20, 8:10, 8:50 9:30, 11:40, 12:00, 13:10, 13:30, 14:00, 14:10, 15:00, 16:00, 17:40, 18:00, 18:20, 18:40, 19:00
Zhongshan North Road Long-distance Passenger Terminal (shuttles to Suzhou stop at the Bus Rapid Transit Terminal to the north of it on Hutai Road), 7:35, 8 :20, 9:20, 11:00, 13:40, 15:30
Transportation Daewoo Xujiahui Passenger Terminal (No. 211 Hongqiao Rd.) 7:15-17:15, every full hour
Pudong Tangqiao Long-distance Passenger Terminal (No. 3843 South Pudong Rd.) 7:15, 8:50, 10:15, 11. 40, 12:00, 13:10, 13:30, 14:00, 14:15, 14:30, 15:00, 16:00, 16:45
There are high-speed buses to Shanghai every day during daytime from several bus stations of Suzhou South, North, West, with the most frequent in the North Station, which is on average one in 20 minutes, with a ticket price of 26-30 RMB, and the journey time of 1 hour The bus will take about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Shanghai drop-off stations include Hengfeng Road, Hutai Road, Xujiahui Hongqiao Road, and Pudong Bailianjing, etc. It is recommended to ask for clarification when purchasing a ticket, and choose a station that is close to your destination.
Internal Transportation
Taxi:
Starts at 10 RMB (3km).
After 3 kilometers, the unit price per kilometer is 1.8 yuan, and after 5 kilometers, 50% of the empty driving fee is added.
Waiting time of 5 minutes is free, more than 5 minutes, every 5 minutes discount 1 kilometer.
After 23:00, the fare (starting price) includes an increase of 30%.
Buses:
A single fare of 1 yuan for ordinary buses and 2 yuan for air-conditioned buses, mostly unmanned buses.
Some suburban routes in Suzhou have "flip-flop fares", which means that the whole journey is not the same.
There is a sign on the door of the bus that indicates the fare at this stop, and it is flipped by the driver on the way, hence the name.
(With Suzhou bus tour line car list).
Pedicabs:
Some of the attractions in Suzhou are located in the alleys, and cars can't reach the door directly, so pedicabs are the best way to get around.
Pedicabs start at 2 yuan, with an additional 2 yuan per kilometer, and 5 yuan per person per hour for chartered rides.
Reminder: there is no perfect industry standard for pedicabs in Suzhou, so you need to negotiate the price with the pedicab driver before getting on the bus to avoid being fooled.
Bicycle:
Suzhou's attractions are relatively concentrated, riding a bicycle through the streets and lanes, visiting ancient and secluded, you will be able to revel in the "small bridges, running water, homes" in the mood.
There are many bike rental stores around Pingmenqiao on the east side of the train station, and the approximate price is 2 RMB for 4 hours, 3 RMB for 5-6 hours, and 5 RMB for a day, and you need an ID card and a deposit.