Scholars Hotel (Suzhou New District)

Temple of Wu Zixu at Panmen

by mke1963

A senior official of the Wu Kingdom in the Spring and Autumn Period was grand master Wu Zixu. He was the second son of a senior minister in the Chu Kingdom, Wu She. In the seventh year of the reign of King Ping Wang of the Chu (522BCE), Wu She was murdered by the Chu king, so the son, Wu Zixu, headed for the Wu kingdom and the refuge of Helu, whom he helped to assasinate the Wu king Liao, so paving the way for Helu to become the monarch. In 514BCE, Wu Zixu was at King Helu's side as they built the great city of Helu (present day Suzhou), and then managed the army, administartive matters and national security.
In gratitude, the king granted him the territory of Shen, so Wu became Shen Xu. But over time, the king and his erstwhile loyal servant grew apart: Wu tried to persuade Helu not to attack the Qi kingdom, and to avoid peace with the Yue. Eventually Wu was required, as an act of great loyalty, to commit suicide with a ceremonial sword. Seemingly almost immediately, the king regretted his foolishness, albeit a little bit too late, and built a temple for Wu Zixu at a place by the river at the Panmen Gate.
Sadly, over the centuries, the temple disappeared and the structure standing today was constructed in 1988.

Master of the Net's Garden

by Paul2001

The Master of the Nets Garden is considered to be the smallest yet the best of the gardens in Suzhou. For me it was hardest to find as it is located in a blind alley. I actually found it by following the trail of souvenir stalls. The garden was initially laid out during the Song Dynasty. It was intended as residence for a government official and was used as such until the Taiping Rebellion in 1860. It was restored after this event and used once again as a government officer's residence. Apparently the garden derived its name when the bureaucrat who lived was frustrated by his job and declared that he would rather be a fisherman.
The design of the garden is remarkable by the way it condenses space so that it looks larger than it really is. The garden is divided into three sections, one part set aside as the actual living compartments for the government official. Like other gardens you can see antique Chinese furniture here and there is a tea house. The other two sections are a large garden with a small centre garden in the middle. This inner garden is 660 square feet and has a pond with a pavilion on an island in the middle. There are the usual rock formations but not as many as in the other Chinese gardens that I visited in Suzhou. The main garden can be seen from all of the buildings within the garden. Although the garden is small it never seems crowded here even with the many bus tour groups visiting.
The Master of the Net's Garden is open daily from 8am to 4:30pm. It cost Y15 to enter.

Suzhou - Shang You Tian Tang Xia You Su Hang!

by imstress

"Suzhou - Little Singapore!"

Famous for its gardens, beautiful women and silk, the ancient city, Suzhou is just an hour from Shanghai by train.

Suzhou lies at the point where the rail line meets the Grand Canal, about 30km to the east of Tai Hu.

Suzhou looks like a "Little Singapore" because an entire industrial city was being built on the outskirts by Singaporean investors.

You would probably have heard of "Shang You Tian Tang Xia You Su Hang". Meaning you can find pretty women in heaven and can find them on earth in Suzhou and Hangzhou.

Places of interest includes the famous Ou Yuan which is one of UNESCO site. The silk factory is worth a visit too.