Suzhou, a city in China, was called Wu in ancient times, and now it is called Su for short. It has many ancient names and nicknames, such as Gusu, Wudu, Wuzhong, Wu Dong, Wumen and Heping River. In the ninth year of Emperor Wendi (AD 589), Suzhou was named here, which was named after Gusu Mountain in the southwest of the city and has been passed down to this day. She is a megacity in People's Republic of China (PRC) (China), a larger city approved by the State Council, and a city under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province. She has a prefecture-level administrative level and actually enjoys the treatment of a sub-provincial city. It is the center of economy, foreign trade, industry and commerce and logistics in Jiangsu Province, and also an important center of culture, art, education and transportation. Suzhou is a famous historical and cultural city in China. It has always been famous for its beautiful scenery and elegant gardens, and has the reputation of "Jiangnan Garden is the best in the world and Suzhou Garden is the first in Jiangnan". The history of Suzhou classical gardens can be traced back to the gardens of King Wu in the Spring and Autumn Period in the 6th century BC. Private gardens were first recorded in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (4th century). Gardens have flourished in past dynasties, and there are more and more famous gardens. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Suzhou became the most prosperous area in China, with private gardens all over the ancient city. In the heyday of16-18th century, there were more than 200 gardens in Suzhou, and now dozens of them are well preserved, so Suzhou is called "paradise on earth". According to valid data, Suzhou is the oldest city in existence. Suzhou was the political center of Wu in the Spring and Autumn Period. When Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty was the political and economic center of the south of the Yangtze River, Sima Qian called it "Jiangdong Yidu" (Sima Qian's Historical Records? Huo Zhi biography); During the Song Dynasty, the national economic center shifted to the south, and Lu You said that "Su Chang is familiar with each other, and the world is full" (Lu You's Niu Ben Water Ji Zha), and the Song people were even praised as "there is paradise on the top and Suzhou and Hangzhou on the bottom", while Suzhou is "the crown of the southeast with magnificent scenery"; During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it became one of the national economic and cultural centers. In A Dream of Red Mansions, Cao Xueqin praised Suzhou as "the most prosperous and romantic place in the world of mortals".

The city covers an area of 8488 square kilometers, of which the urban area is 1.65 square kilometers. At the end of 2007, the total registered population of the whole city was 62,44311,of which the total registered population of municipal districts was 23,53019. In 2007, the city's birth population was 48,552, with a birth rate of 7.83‰, and the population naturally increased by 8,049, with a growth rate of 1.30‰. Suzhou has jurisdiction over Zhangjiagang City, Changshu City, Taicang City, Kunshan City, Wujiang City, Wuzhong District, Xiangcheng District, Pingjiang District, Canglang District and Jinchang District, as well as Suzhou Industrial Park and Suzhou High-tech Zone huqiu district. From 65438 to 0993, Suzhou was approved as a "big city" by the State Council.

geographical position

Suzhou is located in the geographical center of the fertile Yangtze River Delta, on the shore of Taihu Lake, at the mouth of the south bank of the Yangtze River, and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, beijing-shanghai railway and several expressways run through the whole territory. By the end of 2005, the city's resident population exceeded 6 million, and the urban resident population exceeded 2 million. Suzhou is one of the first batch of national historical and cultural cities, national key scenic tourist cities and four national key environmental protection cities in China. Located in the southeast of Jiangsu Province, it is also the southernmost city in the province. East of Shanghai, near the East China Sea; Taihu Lake in the west, Wuxi in the back, and Changzhou across the lake; It borders Zhejiang and Jiaxing in the south, and the surface of Taihu Lake under its jurisdiction is close to Huzhou. North pillow Yangtze River, and Nantong, Taizhou across the river. The city center is 2 19 kilometers west of Nanjing and 80 kilometers east of Shanghai. It is the gateway to the southeast of Jiangsu Province, the throat of Shanghai, and the only way for Central Jiangsu and Northern Jiangsu to reach Zhejiang. Its geographical position is very superior.

administrative division

Jinchang District (area 37 square kilometers, population 2 10832). Postal code 2 15008)

(Shilu Street) Shilu Street/Liuyuan Street/Huqiu Street/Baiyangwan Street/Cai Xiang Street

Pingjiang District (with an area of 22 square kilometers and a population of 232,053). Postal code 2 15005)

(Within guanqian subdistrict) guanqian subdistrict/Pingjiang Road Street/Sujin Street/Loumen Street/Chengbei Street/Taohuawu Street

Canglang District (with an area of 25 square kilometers and a population of 322,922). Postal code 2 15006)

(Located in Shuangta Street) Shuangta Street/Nanmen Street/Xujiang Street/Wumenqiao Street/Fengmen Street/Xinyou Street

natural environment

Suzhou is located in temperate zone, with a subtropical monsoon maritime climate, four distinct seasons, mild climate and abundant rainfall. The city is low and flat, with plains accounting for 55% of the total area, dense water network, fertile land and rich products. Mainly planting rice, wheat and rape, producing cotton, sericulture and fruit. The specialties are Biluochun tea, Yangtze river swordfish, Taihu whitebait and Yangcheng Lake hairy crab. Suzhou is a famous land of plenty and silk, and is known as a paradise on earth.

Suzhou has a dense river network, and the urban area is the center of the water network in the south of the Yangtze River and the most densely populated area in China. Surrounded by China's famous rice producing areas, it has developed agriculture, and is known as "a water town and a country", "a granary in the world" and "a land of plenty". It is rich in natural products and outstanding in people. Because of its prosperous culture and economy from ancient times to the present, it is known as "paradise on earth", "silk capital" and "garden city". It is also known as "Venice of the East" and "Oriental Water Capital (Oriental Water City)" because of its characteristics as an ancient town with small bridges and flowing water. Nowadays, Suzhou has become an international metropolis with "a garden in the city" and "a city in the garden". Mountains, water, cities, forests, gardens and towns are integrated, and classical and modern, ancient rhyme and modern are perfectly combined and developed harmoniously. In 2004, the World Heritage Conference was successfully held. In 2006, the third national sports conference was held.

traffic

Since ancient times, Suzhou has been crossed by the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal. Beijing-shanghai railway, 312,204 and other national highways pass through Suzhou. Suzhou is surrounded by Shanghai Hongqiao Airport, Pudong Airport and Wuxi Shuofang Airport. Suzhou is building a light rail in 2007. It is expected to be put into use around 2009. Its highway density has reached the level of Germany, and it is a highway transportation hub city awarded by the Ministry of Communications.

History and culture

Suzhou was founded in 5 14 BC. He Lv, the father of Fu Cha, the king of Wu, ordered Wu Zixu, a traitor of Chu, to build the He Lv with a history of more than 2,500 years. During the Spring and Autumn Period, it was the capital of Wu, and there are still many historical sites about Xi and Wu Zixu. Suzhou was called in the 9th year of Emperor Kai of Sui Dynasty (AD 589) and has been used ever since. Suzhou was built early, with large scale, parallel land and water, and adjacent rivers and streets. The ancient city is still on the original site, which is rare at home and abroad. Suzhou gardens are the best in the world and have been listed in the world cultural heritage list. Among the four famous gardens in China, Suzhou occupies two seats: Humble Administrator's Garden and Lingering Garden. The profound cultural accumulation of Huqiu, the first scenic spot in Wuzhong, makes it a must for tourists to visit Suzhou. A night-mooring near maple bridge, written by Zhang Ji, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, makes ancient and modern tourists scramble to visit Qiao Feng and listen to the bells of Hanshan Temple. The natural scenery outside the city of Gusu is beautiful, and mountains such as Lingyan, Tian Ping, Tianchi and Dongting are dotted on the bank of Taihu Lake, forming lakes and mountains rich in Jiangnan customs. Suzhou has not only the beauty of gardens, but also the victory of mountains and rivers. The natural and human landscapes complement each other, and the literati's poems are against each other, making Suzhou a veritable "paradise on earth". Suzhou Garden is a "literati freehand landscape garden" with profound cultural implications. Gardeners in ancient times all had high cultural accomplishment and were good at painting. When gardening, most of them focus on painting and poetry, and create poetic landscapes by digging ponds and planting flowers and trees. They are called "silent poems, three-dimensional paintings". Swimming in the garden is like enjoying poetry and painting. In order to express the taste, ideal and pursuit of the garden owner, there are poems and inscriptions such as plaques and couplets in garden architecture and landscape, elegant lotus fragrance as a metaphor for personal character ("Garden Fragrant Hall" in My Humble Administrator's Garden), elegant vanilla as a metaphor for noble temperament ("Xiangzhou" in My Humble Administrator's Garden), and admiration for the ancients floating freely like boats (. Canglang Pavilion, Lion Forest, Humble Administrator's Garden and Lingering Garden represent Song (960 ~ 1278), Yuan (127 1 ~ 1368) and Ming (1368 ~/kloc) respectively.

Many ancient cultural sites have been discovered in Suzhou, among which Liangzhu culture in the late Neolithic period is the most abundant, including Zhaoling Mountain Site, Shaoqingshan Site, Chuodun Site, Caoxieshan Site and Luodun Site. Zhaoling Mountain Site 1992 is listed as one of the top ten archaeological sites in China. Paradise Suzhou, the oriental water town-a typical "small bridge, flowing water, people" Suzhou is a famous ancient capital of China. It was once the capital of Wu State in the Spring and Autumn Period, Yue State in the Warring States Period, Sun Wu in the Three Kingdoms and Zhang Wu in the late Yuan Dynasty, and it is also the oldest existing city in China. It was verified as the first ancient city in China by the famous historian Gu Jiegang. She is the birthplace and master of Wu culture and an important birthplace of Chinese civilization. It is a city with developed traditional culture, profound historical background and picturesque scenery, with world cultural heritage, Suzhou Garden, one of the top ten scenic spots in China, and a large number of other natural landscapes and historical sites. Suzhou, with a written history of over 4,200 years, is a world-famous historical and cultural city and a typical garden city. It is one of the first historical and cultural cities in China. The historic site density of this ancient city ranks third in China, only next to Beijing and Xi 'an. It is generally believed that Suzhou City was founded in 5 14 BC and has experienced more than 2,500 years of vicissitudes. Suzhou is also the most exquisite city in China. The ancient city has basically maintained the double chessboard pattern of "parallel land and water, adjacent rivers and streets", the water system of "three verticals, three horizontals and one ring" and the unique features of "small bridges and flowing water, white walls and tiles, and historical gardens". Among them, Suzhou ancient city is a "double heritage" of world cultural heritage, Suzhou gardens and Kunqu Opera, a world intangible cultural heritage. At present, there are historical blocks of Suzhou ancient city and ancient towns of Jiangnan water town that have entered the national preparatory list for applying for world cultural heritage. Suzhou is the city with the most world cultural heritage in China. Up to now, nine gardens have been listed as world cultural heritage. Kunqu Opera and Guqin, one of the representatives of Yushan School, are listed as the world intangible cultural heritage. Suzhou has two famous national historical and cultural cities (Suzhou and Changshu), three famous historical and cultural towns in China (Zhouzhuang in Kunshan, Tongli in Wujiang and Jiaozhi in Suzhou) and seven famous historical and cultural towns in Jiangsu (Dongshan in Suzhou, Xishan in Suzhou, Guangfu in Suzhou, Mudu in Suzhou and Zhenze in Wujiang).