More Attractrions in Suzhou

The Twin Pagodas

The Twin Pagodas is part of the Arhat Temple complex, located in the Dingshuisi Lane in Phoenix Street. The two pagodas can be dating back to the Northern Song Dynasty over one thousand years ago. They are two octagonal brick pagoda constructed in a wooden-architecture style. The two structures are exactly the same, same in the shape, size and height, with a distance of 20 meters between them.

Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal

The 1,700-kilometer-long Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is a water conservancy project in ancient China. It begins in Beijing and ends in Hangzhou. First constructed at the end of Spring-Autumn Period, in the 5th century BC, the Grand Canal was extended in the 7th century, and again in the 13th century. It has played an important role in the development of water, conservancy and the economic and cultural exchange between the northern part and the southern part of China. It has become a full of distinguishing cultural tour route.

The Garden of Harmony

The Garden of Harmony otherwise called Yuyuan in Chinese is a newer private garden, which was built in the Qing Dynasty by Gu Wenbin, an official in the Qing Dynasty. The garden borrowed all the stylistic elements of other gardens in the area, caves in the Lion Grove, a stone boat resembling that in the Humble Administrator Garden, corridor like that at Cangliang Pavilion, and so on. The garden is divided into two parts, the eastern and western parts. The eastern part mainly consists of residential buildings, courtyards, while the western part take the middle part of the Humble Administrator's Garden as a model, composed of ponds, flowers, rockeries and oddly shaped rocks.

This garden witnesses fewer visitors and it's a good place for a stroll.

Suzhou Museum

The museum was constructed on the former site of residence of Li Xiucheng, the Duke of Loyalty of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the Northeast Street. The museum houses around 3,000 cultural relics including calligraphy works, paintings, porcelain and arts, crafts and so on. There are also 10,000 ancient books and reference materials stored in the museum.

Maple Bridge

The Maple Bridge, Hanshan Temple, Tieling Pass, Maple Bridge Town and the Grand Canal make up the five sights of the Maple Bridge Scenic Area. The bridge was simple, unsophisticated and elegant. Like the Hanshan Temple, this bridge has been also eternalized by the poem Anchorage by the Maple Bridge. From on the bridge, visitor can enjoy a nice view of the ancient city of Suzhou. Tieling Pass, also known as Maple Bridge Watchtower, was a Ming Dynasty architecture, which witnessed ancient Chinese fighting against the Japanese invasion in the Ming Dynasty. Maple Bridge Town is a time-honored town dating back to the ancient Liang Dynasty, over one thousand years.

Suzhou Opera Museum

Located at the Zhongzhanjia Street, the museum consists of buildings well preserved from the Ming and Qing Dynasties with elegant carvings. Suzhou is considered to be the cradle of Kunqu Opera, which is supposed to be the ancestor of all the operas prevailing around the country. Four rooms are arranged to remind visitors of the history of Kunqu Opera, local Pingtan Song( a local folk art of storytelling), Suzhou Opera, and traditional musical instruments. Two stages set in the museum where residents used to watch performance. The museum house a collection of over 10,000 exhibits which showcase the development of Kunqu Opera and Pingtan Song.