Niccolo Suzhou

he world-famous Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is an ancient grandeur project in the Eastern Plains. It is the earliest and longest manmade watercourse in the world. With an overall length of 1794 kilometers, the ancient Grand Canal started in Beijing in the north and reached Hangzhou in the south, flowing through 4 provinces and 2 cities of Beijing City, Hebei Province, Tianjin City, Shandong Province, Jiangsu Province and Zhejiang Province, and linking up the river systems of Haihe River, Yellow River, Huai River, Yangtze River and Qiantang River. In the long history, the Grand Canal has made enormous contribution to the communication between North China and South China in both economy and culture. The ancient city of Suzhou was the paradise for all merchants owing to the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal; even to this day, about half of the volume of goods is transported by waterway through the Grand Canal. To boat on the ancient Grand Canal is absolutely one of the best ways to appreciate the beauty of typical ancient river towns in south region of Yangtze River. Along the way, there are 10 ancient city gates of Suzhou, more than 20 stone bridges in diverse styles of traditional designs, ancient river town dwellings and historical relics; and the gorgeous lighting adds more glamour to the night boating of the Grand Canal. In addition, during the journey, visitors can also learn the historical stories, local customs, and enjoy good food of local flavors when appreciating the surrounding landscapes.

Completed in 2017, Suzhou Center, with a land area of 16.7 hectares and a total floor area of 1.13 million square meters, is the biggest mixed-use project of its kind in Suzhou. It features a combination of integrated and eco-friendly offices, residences, shopping mall, hotels and other facilities to establish a “live-work-play” lifestyle. Suzhou Center Mall, jointly developed by Hengtai Holdings, an SIP-based real estate conglomerate and the developer of Suzhou Center, and Singaporean real estate group CapitaLand, is home to about 600 brands, and has recorded a total customer footfall of about 240 million so far, with the consumption per consumer increasing year by year. The mall was conferred the honor of “Best New Shopping Centre” at the MAPIC Awards 2018 in Cannes, France, and has thus far bagged a variety of awards and honors for its design and services.

Pingjiang Road, historically known as Shiquan Li (Chinese:十泉里), is a street and historic district in Gusu District (formerly the Pingjiang District), northeastern Suzhou, Jiangsu, China. The length of this road is 1,606 meters which has been recorded since the Song Dynasty. On the map of Suzhou ancient city in Song Dynasty, the Pingjiang Road was regarded as the main route. After 800 years, Pingjiang Road is still well-preserved. For many centuries, the street has been the center of much of Suzhou's cultural life. People may take a leisurely look at the titles on display in a bookstore, or take a rest in a teahouse while viewing a Pingtan performance, which involves telling folk tales and stories as well as singing ballads in the local dialect. Located in the heart of the old city, Pingjiang Road is the best preserved and largest scale historical street in the area. With a history of 800 years, Pingjiang road still maintains its street layout and characteristics in ancient forms. It creates Suzhou a classical Jiangnian water village where stone paths and water lanes are crossing each other. When you walk in the Pingjiang historical block, the road was still the old paved roads; the river was still green and clear and the residence was still as quiet as before. Waling on the Pingjiang road, you can see all the scenery was as beautiful as a painting. The black tiles have the traces of white wall when it rains, just like a Chinese ink. In these old residences, there was a gallery managed by a Frenchman or a reading corner managed by an Irish or a residential hostel or a hotel for backpacker. However, there were also some special shops for the natives in Suzhou, like carved jade or teahouse of different theme. The people walking on the road or sitting at the windows can not distinguish they were enjoying the painting or in the painting.

Among one of the four most famous gardens of China, the Lingering Garden is located at the Liu Yuan Road outside the Changmen Gate of Suzhou, covering an area of 2.3 hectares. It was listed as cultural relics of national importance in 1961. Serving as a fine specimen of the classical gardens of Suzhou, the Lingering Garden was inscribed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO in 1997. It was originally built by Xu Taishi in the reign of Wanli of Ming Dynasty (1593) . In the reign of Jiaqing of Qing Dynasty, it was renamed the Hanbi Villa by its second owner Liu Shu, boasting twelve erect peaks in the garden. At the end of the reign of Tongzhi, it was renovated by Sheng Xuanhuai and his father, and renamed the Lingering Garden, known as “Crown of Suzhou Gardens”. There are courtyards and buildings in the east, idealized landscape garden in the middle, wild woods and mountainous area in the west and pastoral scenery in the north. The Lingering Garden is famous for its artist way of dealing with spaces in architecture. Divide by halls, corridors, white-washed walls, and artistic doors, it offers tourists a rich and complicated viewing experience. The Cloud-Capped Peak, 6.5 meters high, is a piece of exquisitely carved limestone left behind from the Song Dynasty.

Jinji Lake scenic spot, located in the business district of Suzhou Industrial Park, is an open and national AAAAA tourist attraction. It covers a land area of 11.5 square kilometers, 7.4 sq.km of which are covered by water. As an important demonstration of the only “prototype-zone of national business travel” in China, the Jinji Lake scenic spot, embodying the charm of modern Suzhou, together with the ancient district of Suzhou dotted with classical gardens, form a piece of double-sided embroidery based on the theme of “Suzhou tourism”. Commitment to the big economy trend, big tourism consciousness is well exhibited in the construction of the scenic spot where a variety of elements such as finance, culture, tourism, exhibition, sports, commerce, etc. are highly concentrated and fully integrated. Around the Lake scatters shiny pearls, namely Suzhou Culture and Arts Center, Suzhou JinJi Lake International Convention Center, Suzhou International Expo Center, Li Gong Di Causeway, Eslite Bookstore, Yuanrong Times Square, Jiuguang Department Store, Shin Kong Place etc., which thus provide visitors with one-stop services.

Qionglong Mountain is the best-known mountain in Suzhou, whose tallest peak, the Broad-rimmed Hat Peak, is 341.7 meters above sea level. As the highest mountain in the eastern coast of Taihu Lake, Qionglong Mountain is dubbed the Top of Suzhou. The famous ancient Chinese militarist Sun Tzu wrote the masterpiece The Art of War here. The Qianlong Emperor of the Qing dynasty climbed the mountain for six times; the official Zhu Maichen of the Western Han dynasty once cut wood and studied here; the great general Han Shizhong who fought against the Jurchen Jin Dynasty was recorded to gather here with his subordinates for scenery and the view of the full moon. Endowed with abundant natural resources, Qionglong Mountain houses a natural vegetation museum named the Thatched Recess, which is a provincial nature reserve covering 612 mu. Moreover, Qionglong Mountain is regarded as the largest “Natural Forest Oxygen Bar” in Suzhou.

With National Highway 318 and Provincial Highway 205 lies to the southwest and west of Tong li ancient town respectively, it sits besides the Taihu Lake and along the Grand Canal, 80 kilometers away from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, 18 kilometers away from Suzhou, and 6 kilometers from Wujiang. With convenient transport and advantaged geographical position, Suzhou is “an important path connecting Shanghai and Suzhou”. In such excellent place, you can appreciate the charm of the ancient town by enjoying the typical scene of “low bridge, running stream, cottage”, since Tongli scenic area consists of many lakes such as Pangshan Lake, Jiuli Lake, Tongli Lake, Nanxing Lake and Yeze Lake, which together encircle the Tong li ancient town. Tong li ancient town, built in the Song Dynasty, has a history of more than 1000 years. The name Tong li, which is pleasant to hear and easy to remember, originated from the two Chinese Characters “Fu” and “ tu”. During the Tang Dynasty, in order to get rid of the luxurious meaning it carried, people renamed it as “Tong li”(means within copper). Again, during the Song Dynasty, the two characters “Fu” and “Tu” was split and combined into “Tong li”, which survived a long history until now. In 1980, Tong li ancient town was designated to one of Taihu Lake National Scenic Spots, followed by its enlisting in province-level cultural relic protection units in 1982, and in province-level cultural relic protection towns in 1992, whereby its famous scenic spot the Retreat and Reflection Garden was enrolled into the World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO(Unite Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organization). In 2010, Tongli Ancient Town was ranked as National 5A level tourist attraction.

Renowned as “No. 1 water town in China”, Zhouzhuang ancient town was enlisted in UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List, and represents one of the first  ten historical and cultural towns in China, the first batch of National 5A level scenic spot, national famous tourism Towns, the first Chinese characteristic landscape tourism town. Besides, Zhouzhuang was rated as “World’s top 10 most beautiful small town” by CNN, and was named as “excellent global ecological area” by the United States. Zhouzhuang, an ancient water town in South China, is located at 120.86°E, 31.12°N. Lieing in the southwest of Kunshan City, Zhouzhuang stands over 60 kilometers away from its neighbor Shanghai to the east and 40 kilometers from Suzhou to the west.

The Tiger Hill Scenic Spot is located in the northwest of the ancient city of Suzhou, covering an area of more than 20 hectares. It is one of National 5A Level Secnic Spots. With a history of more than 2500 years, the Tiger Hill has been “the first scenic spot in Suzhou” ever since the Spring and Autumn Period. Su Dongpo, a literary giant of the Northern Song Dynasty, once said that it would be a pity to take a trip to Suzhou without visiting the Tiger Hill. According to history, the Tomb of Wu King Helu, Sword Pond (Jian Chi), Thousand People Rock( Qian Ren Shi), Sheng Gong’s Platform, Han Han Spring, the Sword-Testing Rock, the Broken Beam Temple, the 3rd Spring under Heaven and the Verdurous Mountain Villa are all records of the Tiger Hill Scenic Spot’s history. Originally built in the Five Dynasties, the majestic Tiger Hill Pagoda is a symbol of the ancient city of Suzhou. The spring and tea in the Tiger Hill enjoy an excellent reputation. More than 600 bonsais of Suzhou style are in the Bonsai Garden at the foot of the hill. There are flower show in spring and temple fair in autumn. These folk customs have been spread so far and can also be traced far back to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The Tiger Hill Ancient Pagoda is a shining pearl on the Grand Canal, and was selected as a World Cultural Heritage Site in China’s Grand Canal Heritage List in 2014.

Humble Administrator's Garden was built in 1509, the fourth year of during the reign of Emperor Zhengde in Ming Dynasty, as one of the four famous gardens in China, with the land area of 5.2 hectares. The garden is now divided into three parts: east, middle and west. The garden scenery is centered on water, surrounded by mountains and rivers, with exquisite halls and pavilions, luxuriant flowers and trees, full of poetic and picturesque scenes. It has strong characteristics of Jiangnan water town, and reflects the spacious and bright, simple and natural art style of gardens in Ming Dynasty. In 1997, it was listed in the World Heritage List upon the approval of UNESCO and rated as a National AAAAA scenic spot in 2007.

Established on the New Year’s Day of 1960, Suzhou Museum is a comprehensive museum dedicated to the collection, exhibition, research and promotion of the history, culture and art of Suzhou. Mansion of Prince Zhong of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the residence of the museum, is one of the first group key cultural relics under national level protection and is the most well-preserved historic compound of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in China. Suzhou Museum has 24,729 pieces /sets of objects, 9,647 being valuable relics. Among them 222 pieces/sets are rated as first-level collections, 829 second-level and 8,596 third-level. The collections of the museum mainly include archaeological relics unearthed over the years, calligraphic works and paintings of the Ming and Qing Dynasties and art crafts. The New Suzhou Museum, which was designed by Ieoh Ming Pei, a world famous architect, officially opened to public on October 6, 2006. With land area of about 10,700 square meters and floor area of more than 19,000 square meters, Suzhou Museum, following the design concept of “integrating modern elements into classical Chinese and Suzhou architecture”, is a garden-style traditional architecture full of innovative elements. Suzhou Museum plus the newly renovated Mansion of Prince Zhong (with combined floor area of 26,500 square kilometers), as well as the adjacent gardens, including the Humble Administrator’s Garden and Lion Grove Garden, collectively form a long corridor of diversified cultures.

Suzhou Silk Museum is the first Chinese museum specialized in silk. Founded in 1991, the museum located on 2001 Renmin Road, near the Beisi Pagoda in the old town of Suzhou. Covering an area of 9,500 square meters, the museum houses six exhibition halls including the Ancient Silk Exhibition, the Modern Silk Exhibition, the Future Silk Exhibition, the Mulberry Yard, the Silk Weaving Machinery Exhibition, and the Silk Cultural Art Gallery named after Master Qian Xiaoping. In particular, the History Hall contains sections as Gallery of Ancient Silk, the Sericulture Room, the Weaving & Dyeing Room, the Gallery of Imperial Weaving in Qing Dynasty, the Gallery of Republican Period’s Silk Garment and the Gallery of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The museum demonstrates China’s 6000-year-old silk history from fabulous silk cultural relics, mulberry planting, silkworm breeding to finished garments. Besides, there are the performances of traditional silk weaving as well as the application of the modern silk technology on the daily life. All in all, Suzhou Silk Museum is the combination of the static exhibits and the dynamic activities, of the tradition and the modern.