Historic places in Suzhou

Historic places in Suzhou

1. See

   Lion Grove Garden

   Lion Forest Garden, Shi Zi Lin 狮子林

   Has an incredible collection of pitted, eroded rocks that were greatly appreciated by classical Chinese scholars. It was originally part of a Buddhist monastery. The gardens are a reminder of the Buddhist story of the lions. The layout of the garden follows many twists and turns. It is easy to get quite lost in these winding paths.

   Closed · opens 7:30 am·¥40, ¥30 off-season

2. See

   Ping Jiang Road

   A beautiful walk along an ancient road paved with hand-cut stones over a thousand years old and lined with shops maintaining traditional architectural styles. It runs from near the Humble Administrator's Garden and Suzhou Museum south into the center of town. There are a surprising number of western-style coffee shops with full English menus, Internet and English books. If you get further north on this road, but south of the museum area, the shops eventually run out and it just becomes a quiet neighbourhood again. This may be the best part of all.

3. See

   Suzhou Museum West

   苏州博物馆西馆

   If you’re unable to secure a booking at the Suzhou Museum’s main branch, you may want to come here instead. Suzhou Museum West is actually a lot larger than the main branch. It has exhibitions on local history and culture, and often hosts temporary exhibitions. There is also a cafe and a restaurant.

   09:00-17:00, no entry after 16:00, closed on Mondays·General entry is free, fees are sometimes charged for temporary exhibitions

4. See

   Suzhou Silk Museum

   苏州丝绸博物馆

   This museum is dedicated to the city's millennia-old silk production history. Beyond static exhibits, visitors can often watch live demonstrations of intricate traditional weaving techniques like Song brocade, making it a deeply immersive cultural experience[citation:4].

5. See

   Suzhou Stele Inscription Museum

   苏州碑刻博物馆

   Housed in the former Confucian Temple, this museum holds a rich collection of ancient stone steles, including the renowned "Four Song Dynasty Steles." It's a quieter alternative to the city's more famous museums, focusing on the art of calligraphy and stone carving.

6. See

   Tiger Hill Pagoda

   虎丘塔; Hǔqiūtǎ

   This is also called the "Yunyan Pagoda", after the Buddhist temple it was once part of; the temple was burned during the cultural revolution. Some buildings have been reconstructed and a 48-m tall brick pagoda with seven stories and eight sides remains, though now missing its wooden outer skin. It is one of the few remaining examples of pagodas of this type and is sometimes called the "Leaning Tower of China" because it has tilted a bit since it was built in the 900s. Tiger Hill is of enormous importance historically and culturally, but much of its significance will likely be lost on foreign visitors.

   ¥70, ¥60 off-season, tours from ¥60-100 are negotiable. Also for those less able to climb the hill, electric carts make the journey for ¥20 per person

7. Buy Not mapped

   Su Embroidery Studio

   This is a Suzhou-based company whose main business is exporting embroidery; the address is for their Suzhou distributor. Their web site is in English and has a lot of good background information on the history and techniques.

8. See Not mapped

   Suzhou Embroidery Research Institute

   Suzhou is famous for embroidery work, with silk as the main material. The Suzhou style has a history going back 2000 years and is considered one of China's four great types of embroidery. (The others are centered in Changsha, Chaozhou and Chengdu.) The Institute functions as a museum, as a workshop for modern craftspeople, and as an outlet for their products. Prices may be somewhat higher than elsewhere, but quality is high.

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Suzhou (CC BY-SA 4.0).