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Suzhou
Dating back some
2,500 years ago, Suzhou is one of the oldest towns in the
Yangtze Basin. It is located to the south of Taihu Lake, the
fourth largest lake in China. With the completion of the Grand
Canal in the Sui Dynasty, Suzhou found itself strategically
located on a major crossroads for trade. Consequently, Suzhou's
fortune and size grew rapidly over times. It is famous for
its gardens, canals and handicrafts. Suzhou is known for its
canal system and therefore, often being referred as the "Venice
of the East."
Facts and Statistics:
- Population Density:
678 per sq.km.
- Area: 8,488 sq.km.
- Population: 5,840,000
- Expats: 20,000
- Geography: Situated
in the south of the Jiangsu Province, in the middle of the
Yangtze Delta, bordering Shanghai in the east.
- Local Government:
No. 180 San Xing Rd., Suzhou, China. Head of State - Deputy
Secretary of CPC of Suzhou is Mr. Yan Li.
- Language: The official
language is Mandarin. Among local communities, many speaks
Suzhounese.
- Religions: Buddhism,
Taoism, Christianity and Islam
- Time: GMT +8 Despite
the vast size of the country, Beijing time is a standard
through the entire China.
- Electricity: 220/240
volts AC, 50 Hz. Two-pin sockets and some three-pin sockets
are in use.
- Mobile Phones: GSM
1800/900, GPRS and CDMA networks provide coverage in Suzhou.
Networks are operated by China Mobile and China Unicom.
- Fax: Hotels and
some 24-hour convenient shops offer fax facilities, but
are often for incoming fax only. Rates are generally high
in the hotels.
- Internet/E-mail:
China Telecom provides high speed connections e.g. ISDN,
ADSL and LAN. There are also numerous cyber cafes.
- Post Offices: Mailing
service to Europe takes about a week. Hotels usually have
their own post office. All postal communications to China
should be addressed as " People's Republic of China"
(PRC).
- Press: The main
English- language newspapers are the "China Daily"
and "Shanghai Daily". National newspapers include
"People's Daily" and the "Guangming Daily."
Local newspapers are "Suzhou Daily" and "Gusu
Evening Paper." English magazines include "That's
Shanghai," "Shanghai Talk," "City Weekend"
and "8 Days."
- http://www.whatsoninsuzhou.com.cn/
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