Sights and landmarks in Suzhou

Sights and landmarks in Suzhou

1. See

   Cold Mountain Temple

   寒山寺 Hanshan Si

   Established in the Liang dynasty (502-557 AD), most of the buildings date from the Tang Dynasty except for the five-storey pagoda which was built later.

2. See

   Ding Hui Temple

   Dinghui Si

   A temple on the site of a Tang Dynasty temple. Little more than two huge 300-year-old Ginkgo trees and some stone pillar bases remain from the original complex after it was demolished and a factory built atop in 1949.

   Free

3. See

   Garden of Pleasure (Pleasence)

   Yi Yuan 怡园

   Very small garden in the heart of downtown. Good place to have a cup of green tea. Usually visited by lots of local elderly people.

4. See

   Ligongdi

   李公堤

   Li Gong Di is a 1400-meter causeway across Jinji Lake, the largest inner-city lake in China; it was built during the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1874-1908). Some areas near it are being heavily developed. There are metro stations: Ligongdi South on line 5 near the middle of the lake, and Ligondi West on line 3 on the SIP side.

5. 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

6. See

   North Temple Pagoda

   Beisi Ta

   Viewable from the train station, the peak of the pagoda is Suzhou's most famous. A garden and temples are on the grounds.

   ¥25

7. See

   Panmen city gate

   盘门

   This gate is renowned for its unique structure as a combined water and land gate. It was built as a gate in a city wall built in 514 BCE, but the present structure is from a 14th century rebuild. The remaining wall is 300 m long and 5 m high. Visiting Pan Men includes access to a large and rather lovely garden with ponds and pavilions (feed the koi for ¥2), a boat ride, the city water and land gate, and an original foot bridge over the grand canal.

   Closed · opens 7:30 am·¥25

8. 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.

9. See

   Shantang Street

   山塘

   A restored canal street running from Changmen to Tiger Hill. The southeast end of the street may be mobbed with tourists, but as you walk further north the souvenir shops and restaurants disappear, and you can take a leisurely stroll along the canal through a quiet residential neighborhood.

10. See

    Suzhou Archaeological Museum

    苏州考古博物馆

    One of Suzhou's newest museums. The museum displays artefacts from archaeological sites in the Suzhou area.

    09:00-17:00, closed on Wed

11. See

    Suzhou Art Gallery

    苏州美术馆

    Exhibits of painting and calligraphy, especially modern Chinese art and local Suzhou artists.

    9am-5pm·Free

12. See

    Suzhou Arts and Crafts Museum

    Sūzhōu Gōngyì Měishù Bówùguǎn 苏州工艺美术博物馆

    This is a relatively new museum, opened in 2003, but the building it is in dates back to the reign of Emperor Qianlong, 1735-1796. The museum's collection numbers nearly one-thousand pieces and includes modern Suzhou embroidery, sandalwood, tapestry, wood carving, stone carving, Ming-style furniture, ethnic musical instruments, antique bronze, lacquerwork and metal crafts.

13. See

    Suzhou Museum

    Sūzhōu Bówùguǎn

    Designed by I.M. Pei, whose family came from Suzhou. Pei lived most of his life in the US and was a very successful architect there, known for the glass pyramid outside the Louvre in Paris, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, and other landmarks. He came out of retirement in his 80s to return to Suzhou to create a museum that married his modernist sensibility with his sense of the region; as a teenager he lived in Shanghai and often visited family in Suzhou. Do not miss the recreation of the Ming Dynasty scholar's study. You'll need to make a reservation in the museum's website.

    Tue-Sun 09:00-17:00·Free

14. 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

15. See

    Suzhou Opera Museum

    苏州戏曲博物馆

    The Suzhou Opera Museum has performances of three traditional local arts — Kunqu opera, which is on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list, Suqu opera, and Pingtan storytelling with ballads. All use the Wu language. There are stages for the opera and a teahouse in Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) style for the storytelling. The museum part has exhibition rooms for each of those three arts, a collection of musical instruments, and other items including block-printed editions of Kunqu opera from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), original rubbings of local opera scripts, rare handwritten copies of operas and Pingtan from the Qing Dynasty, and items that belonged to well-known deceased singers such as Ma Rufei, Wu Mei, Yu Sulu and Wang Jili.

    around 14:00 on Sundays·¥30

16. See

    Suzhou Pingtan Museum

    苏州评弹博物馆

    Dedicated to Pingtan, a traditional Suzhou performing art involving storytelling and ballad singing in the Suzhou dialect. Visitors can enjoy live performances, appreciating the elegant music and the soft, melodic sounds of the local language.

    Check for performance times·Ticket fee for shows

17. 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].

18. 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.

19. See

    Temple of Mystery

    玄妙观 Xuán Miào Guān

    A large Taoist hall perpetually obscured by a curtain of joss smoke of devotes eager to placate the gods inside. It has a large market area, many small shops with a range of goods aimed mainly at either devotees or tourists. The temple was established in the 3rd century and broadened to its present size in the Song Dynasty, where it became a popular spot for travelling magicians and acrobats. The erstwhile performers have given way to a multitude of stalls selling meretricious worldly goods on which you can easily make your money disappear. The main Sanxing Dian hall was rebuilt in 1811 to hold Song Dynasty deity statues, later destroyed by Red Guards they occupied the hall during the cultural revolution. The present sculptures are modern reproductions. Of greater antiquity is a stone impressed with the footprints of a Taoist god, found in the Ming dynasty. The stone is genuine, but the origins of the feet less certain.

    Closed · opens 7:30 am·¥10

20. See

    The Couple's Garden Retreat

    Ou Yuan 耦园

    Built in early 20th century by a couple. Many small garden rooms lead you from view to view. Each window or hall perfectly frames a set of plants, rocks or trees. Every inch of the garden has been carefully thought out. Most of the garden consists of covered walkways, so even though it may rain you will be able to enjoy this garden without getting wet.

    ¥20

21. See

    The Garden of Cultivation

    YiPu Garden

    Make sure to go all the way towards the back inside the garden to see the best part.

    ¥10

22. See

    The Garden of the Master of the Nets

    Wang Shi Yuan 网师园

    Founded in 1140, and rebuilt in 1770 by the bureaucrat Song Zongyuan. The enclosed complex of house and garden is one of the smallest, most beautiful, and most perfectly proportioned in Suzhou. Don't let the small size deceive you, this garden has enough to occupy you for half a day or more. On certain evenings there are demonstrations of many traditional performing arts.

    07:30-17:00(Mar - Oct), 07:30-16:30 (Nov - Feb),·¥40

23. See

    The Humble Administrator's Garden

    Zhuo Zheng Yuan 拙政园

    Said to have cost a boatload of silver and taken sixteen years to build. Free tours through the garden start every 5-10 minutes, though these tours are conducted only in Mandarin. Included in the tour is a "Chinese marriage", a look at carved tree roots, followed by a boat ride through the garden canals. The incredible collection of bonsai trees ('pen cai' or 'pen jing' in Chinese) at the end of the garden furthest from the main entrance is worth a trip all by itself.

    Closed · opens 7:30 am·¥80, ¥70 off-season

24. See

    The Retreat and Reflection Garden

    Tui Si Yuan 退思园

    In the township of TongLi (同里) in Wujiang district, about 30 km south of central Suzhou.

25. See

    The Surging Wave Pavilion

    Canglang Pavilion, Canglang Ting 沧浪亭

    One of the oldest of Suzhou's wonderful collection of private or "scholar's" gardens. More densely forested than other gardens, so ideal for hot days when you want to escape the sun. This garden is best viewed from within its many pavilions, with windows framing different views.

    ¥20

26. 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

27. See

    Twin Pagodas

    双塔

    A pair of brick Northern Song Dynasty pagodas stand sentinel over the stark remains of an Arhat Temple from the same era. Mostly intact stone pillars, gracefully carved with floral designs, at the corners of the foundation, give a sense the invisible halls size and a stone etching at the rear of the garden helps you fill in the rest. The temple was damaged in the Qing dynasty and abandoned totally at the onset of China's republic. The grounds are peaceful but feel like a stone graveyard with fragments of carvings displayed around the outer wall or used as stands for bonsai plants.

    Closed · opens 8 am·¥8

28. See

    葑门横街

    Fengmen Hengjie Street

    A bustling, narrow market street frequented by locals, not tourists. It's the perfect place to experience authentic Suzhou life, sample seasonal foods and local snacks, and observe the daily rhythm of the city.

    Morning until afternoon are busiest

29. See Not mapped

    Auspicious Light Pagoda

    Rui guang ta

    This pagoda, built in 247 CE and rebuilt during the Song Dynasty about 1000 CE, is part of the Panmen complex. It has seven storeys and is 53 m (about 174 feet) high. Visitors may climb it, and the view is worthwhile.

    ¥12

30. See Not mapped

    Baita Road

    BáiTǎ Lù

    Starting from the Northern Pagoda, this street has been sympathetically developed and retains many old-style store fronts. On the east end huge gnarled trees arch over the street.

31. See Not mapped

    Confucian Temple

    孔庙

    Established in the Northern Song Dynasty (1035 CE), the Confucian Temple has continually been one of the most important institutes for higher studies in the country. Much of its ground today is still occupied by Suzhou Middle School. Flanked by trees of hundreds of years of age, the main hall includes an impressive portrait of Confucius made of lacquer, and various ceremonial instruments. Ask the guard for the four Song Dynasty Steles (四大宋碑), each standing more than 15 feet tall, which include a Song dynasty map of the city (much of it still works today), a map of China, a sky map, and a lineage of all Chinese emperors till the 13th century when these steles were carved.

    Free

32. See Not mapped

    Former Residence of Poet and Scholar Yu Yue

    Make sure to go all the way towards the back inside the garden to see the best part. This tucked away place is a little tough to find but totally worth the effort if you want to find a quiet, unpretentious place visited mainly by locals.

    ¥1.5, ¥3-7 for entrance and tea

33. 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.

34. See Not mapped

    Tarrying Garden

    Wufeng Xianguan

    Built in the Ming Dynasty, but many parts of it were rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty. Part of the garden is the Nanmu Hall with a collection of furniture made of nanmu, a wood that is fairly common in China and prized because it looks good and resists both humidity and decay. Mandarin Duck Hall is divided into two parts by a meticulously carved partition.

    ¥10

35. See

    Changmen city gate

    阊门

    This gate is well preserved and still used.

36. See

    City God Temple of Suzhou

    蘇州城隍廟

    Closed · opens 7:30 am·Free

37. See

    Five Peaks Garden

    47 Changmen Xi Street

38. See

    Mountain Villa with Embracing Beauty

    Huanxiu Shanzhuang 环秀山庄

    Mainly a rock and water garden.

39. See

    The Lingering Garden

    Liu Yuan 留园

    One of the largest classical gardens in Suzhou.

    Closed · opens 7:30 am·¥55, ¥45 off-season

40. See

    Xiyuan Temple

    西园寺

    Closed · opens 8 am·¥5

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