SUZHOU ATTRACTIONS

Suzhou Homepage | Attractions: Precious Belt Bridge Garden | Humble Administrator's Garden | Garden of the Master of the Nets | Garden for Lingering In | Tiger Hill | Suzhou Museum | Suzhou Folk Culture Museum | Drama Museum | Han Shan Temple | West Garden Temple | Suzhou Stelae Museum | Tongli the Water City

Humble Administrator's Garden (Zhouzheng Yuan)

This is the largest garden in Suzhou, located in the northeastern section of the city, and one of the four most famous classical gardens in China. The garden's scenery is focused on a central pond with various buildings of pavilions, terraces, chambers, and towers located by the water or on hillocks in a natural, unsophisticated, and appropriate composition. The garden is most representative of Chinese classical gardens in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD). It was laid out in 1513 by the censor, Wang Xiancheng, after his retirement from political life. He named the garden after an essay by Pan Yue of Jing Era, "On Idle Living,": "Building house and planting trees, watering garden and growing vegetables are the affairs (Zheng) of humble (Zhuo) people." After his death, his son gambled away the garden. When Taiping troops occupied Suzhou in 1860, King Zhongwang picked this site and the neighboring buildings of the present historical museum as a residence as well as a center for his political activities. The entire grounds can be divided into three parts: eastern, central, and western. The central one is especially worth a visit. It centers around Yuanxiang Tang pavilion. Two artificial islands linked to each other in the lotus pond north of the pavilion are densely overgrown with bamboo plants and trees, creating the impression that the entire garden is floating on water. In the western part, Sanshiliu Yuanyang Guan Hall (the Hall of the Thirty-Six Mandarin Ducks, will attract the visitor's special interest. On the adjoining lake, one used to be able to see mandarin ducks - a symbol of marital faithfulness. Today, some of the mandarin ducks swim in a fenced-off part of the lake. West of the garden, there is a noteworthy bonsai exhibition and a teahouse.

Garden for Lingering In (Liu Yuan)

This is another of Suzhou's largest gardens. The park dates from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD). In the garden, you will see a pool surrounded by pavilions and hills. Across the water is a 700 m walkway connecting all the major scenic spots. The walkway is inlaid with over 300 stone tablets engraved by celebrated masters. Check out the windows along the walkway for, through the strategic placement of windows, you can view carefully selected perspectives of the garden. Of note are the intricate wooden carvings in the Yuanyang and Wufengxian halls. Just outside Yuanyang Hall is a 7 m high Taihu stone; note the beautifully formed veins in the rock.

Garden of the Master of the Nets (Wangshi Yuan) 

This garden, built in 1174 AD during the Sung Dynasty, is characteristic of the most exquisite garden-houses in Suzhou. The western court of the garden with the peony cottage is the original model from which the Ming Hall in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City was copied in 1981 and the Pompidou Center in Paris in 1982. The plan for the garden was conceived in the 12th Century, but work on the garden was later abandoned. Finally, in the 18th Century, Wangshi Yuan was restored as part of the residence of a retired official. Rumor has it that it was named Wangshi (Master of the Nets) because the retired official was heard one day to proclaim that he had had it with bureaucracy and wanted to be a fisherman instead. What is so remarkable about Wangshi Yuan is that, despite its size and the big buildings that dot it, nothing appears cramped. The garden is divided into three sections. The eastern section was originally the residential area. The central part is the garden, where you will find many rare plants. The western section is an inner garden where the master's study can be found. You can still see the Ming-style furniture and palace lanterns here.

Tiger Hill (Hu Qiu)

This is the most famous sight of Suzhou, with old trees and cultural relics everywhere - the Sword Testing Stone, the Broken Beam Hall, the Thousand Men Rock, the Sword Pond, etc. The millennium-old Yunyan Pagoda, also known as the Leaning Tower, stands on top of the hill and is regarded as the symbol of Suzhou. "It's a pity of a lifetime if you have been to Suzhou but missed the Tiger Hill," said Su Shi, the Sung Poet. This is the smallest garden in Suzhou, only one tenth the size of Zhouzheng Yuan. It is so small, you might think that Tiger Hill is actually an artificial hill. It is 36 m high and is set in a 20 hectare park. Near the top of the hill is the burial place of the founding father of Suzhou, King He Lu, who died in 600 BC. It was said that a white tiger occasionally appeared to guard the tomb; hence the name for the hill. The sword-testing stone is of great interest. It has a split within it, said to be cracked by He Lu, who tested all his swords on the stone. According to legend, the king was buried with 3,000 swords; 1,000 builders were killed after building the tomb so that the secret of the swords would not be revealed. Another landmark is the Tiger Hill Pagoda. It has been leaning since its completion in 961 AD. In the 20th Century, it finally split and had to be re-stabilized. The tilt has now reached over 2m. Concrete piles have been driven into the ground around the pagoda in order to reinforce the foundation. Suzhou Museum is situated near the Humble Administrator's Garden. The museum was once the residence of a leader in the Taiping Uprising, Li Xiucheng. On exhibit are some interesting old maps of Suzhou and the Grand Canal as well as examples of silk and embroidery; check out the exquisite Qing silk sample. Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 AD) steles forbidding workers’ strikes in addition to relics unearthed from various sites around Suzhou (porcelain, funerary objects, and bronze swords) are also on display.

Suzhou Folk Culture Museum (Suzhou Mingsu Bowuguan)

Though it is a small museum, is worth a visit for an insight into the local lifestyle and customs unique to the people in this region. There are several sections highlighting different themes. Find out about marriage customs in the section on marriage; you will see a red sedan, a lavishly decorated altar, and models dressed up in wedding garb. You may also view models of local dishes and copy the ancient recipes for preparing food.

Drama Museum.

Suzhou has been celebrating the dramatic arts for more than 1,000 years, and the Drama Museum best exemplifies the culture of the Chinese. It is housed in a restored theater. The stage is set on the upper floor of an ornate pavilion, facing a large courtyard. The courtyard is where the audience used to sit at stone tables or stand and view the performances. Today, performances are rarely presented, but visitors can see pictures, models of sets, costumes, and props in the exhibition hall. Of interest is a traveling theater. It consists of a large cupboard, elaborately decorated with lanterns and tassels. There is room for seven musicians, props, and costumes. When it was time to move, the stall was transformed into a box for all the equipment and carried on poles by the troupe.

Han Shan Temple

This Temple, built in 502 - 519 AD, enjoys a high reputation both at home and abroad, due to the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) poem, "Night Anchorage at Maple Bridge." in which are the lines: "Away from the town of Suzhou stands Han Shan Temple, the chime of its mid-night bell reaches as far as my boat."  Every year since 1979, on the last day of December, CITS Suzhou Branch has organized the activity of "Listening to the Sounding of the Bell in Han Shan Temple on the New Year's Eve," which has proved to be a great success, especially with tourists from Japan, the United States, and Great Britain.

West Garden Temple (500 Buddha Temple)

Also named the Monastery of Disciplines, this Temple was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) and is known for its 500 gilded arhats. The arhats are life size and present different facial expressions and postures. Also, huge 300-year-old turtles can be found in the Life Liberation Pond of its west garden.

Suzhou Stelae Museum

This Museum has on display over 2,000 pieces of stelae, among which are three Sung tablets: namely, a map of Suzhou, a constellation chart, and a map of China. These are rare treasures under national protection.

The town of Tongli 

This is a famous ancient site of rivers and lakes. 23km to the north is Suzhou City, and 6km west is the county town of Wujiang (Songling Town). To the north of the town is Jiuli Lake, to the east is Tongli Lake, to the south is Nanxing Lake and to the west is Pangshan Lake. The surface of the town is in the shape of a rough circle, surrounded by the inner, middle and outer rivers. It is divided into 7 pieces of land with different sizes, with the water area occupying one-fifth of the total town area. In the town streets two rivers run parallel to each other. The layout of the town and the residences along both banks retain the traditional style. The buildings of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 AD) account for almost 40% of all buildings in the town. Many of them are large residences, and the largest has 9 rows of houses. Famous historic sites include "two halls and three bridges". Jiayin Hall was established in the traditional style although it was built in the 1910's. It was where a well-known scholar Liu Yazi lived in his early years. The other is Jiaben Hall, built in the Late Qing Dynasty. Both halls have 4 rows and 3 bays. On the beams are fine carvings. Over a winding river near the two halls are three ancient bridges named "Peace", "Luck" and "Glory" in an arch or flat shape.