Suzhou Local Attractions
Classical Gardens
The key elements
of Suzhou's famous gardens are rocks and water. Just like
the Zen Gardens of Japan, there are surprisingly few flowers
and fountains. Although these gardens were designed to perfection,
they were intended to give the illusion of a natural scene
consisting of only moss, sand and rock. These gardens were
designed and built by master craftspeople and have changed
hands many times over the century.
Humble Administrator's
Garden
(ZhuoZheng Yuan)
Northeast Street,
Bus No. 178
Many consider this to be one of Suzhou's best garden, second
only to the Wangshi Yuan (Garden of the Master of the Nets).
Dating back to the early 1500s, this garden's five hectares
feature streams, bridges and islands with bamboo trees. There
is also a teahouse and a small museum that explains Chinese
landscape gardening concepts. The Humble Administrator's Garden
is the largest of all Suzhou gardens. It opens daily from
7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Admission: 70 yuan (peak season)
HuQiu
Bus No. 5 to its
last stop.
In the far northwest corner of town, Huqiu Shan is extremely
popular with local tourists. The hill itself is artificial
and is the final resting place of He Lu, founding father of
Suzhou. He Lu died in the 6th century B.C. and myths have
coalesced around him. He is said to have been buried with
a collection of 3,000 swords and to be guarded by a white
tiger. The hill is densely forested and has a running stream
and a stone-paved circular wall with rural surroundings at
the base of the hill. Along a front slope that genly leads
up the 36-meter-high hill, igneous rocks from the hill blend
in harmony with man-made elements: the beautiful decorated
entrance buildings and pavilions.
Built in the 10th century,
the learning Yunyan Ta (Cloud Rock Pagoda) sands atop Tiger
Hill. The Octagonal seven-storey pagoda is built entirely
of brick, an innovation in Chinese architecture at the time.
The pagoda began tilting over 400 years ago, and today, the
highest point is displaced over 2m from its original position.
Admission: 50 yuans (peak season)
PanMen
In the southwest
corner of the city, straddling the outer moat, this stretch
of the city wall contains Suzhou's only remaining original
city gate. The place is also famous for the single-arched
Wumen Bridge, the ancient PanMen Gate and the Song Dynasty
Auspicious Light Pagoda (Rui Guang Ta), which is reputedly
the oldest pagoda in Jiangsu. The gate tower and a section
of the city wall extending 100 meters east of the land gate
were recently restored. Visitors now can ascend the wall and
take a good view of the oldtown by strolling on the rampart.
Admission: 30 yuan |
