Suzhou Hengdeli Hotel (Jingde Road)

Zhuo Zheng Yuan

by yangzhigong

The Humble Administrator’s Garden (Zhuozheng Yuan) is considered the greatest of all southern Chinese gardens. During the reign of Emperor Zhengde (1506-1521), the site was occupied by Dahong Temple. At that time, a censor named Wang Xianchen appropriated the temple and converted it into a private villa, but the Wang family could not maintain the garden and sold it a few years later. In the coming centuries the garden repeatedly changed hands and was reconstructed many times, so the garden we see today is far removed from the one enjoyed by Wang Xianchen.

Suzhou Museum

by cheezecake_deli

Located next to the Humble Administrator's Garden, the Suzhou Museum is housed in an old villa renovated under IM Pei's direction. The museum concentrates on Suzhou's history as a canal and silk producing town. Open daily from 0900 to 1600.

Suzhou and Zhouzhang

by rubymurray

"The Venices of China"

While staying in Shanghai I decided to take a couple of day trips to couple of old water towns. Interestingly, in the tourist literature both places describe themselves as the venice of China (I also visited another place that claimed a similar title when I visited Tai-O in Hong Kong). I wanted to find out if the claims rang true.

'In heaven there is paradise, on earth Suzhou and Hangzhou'. So runs an old chinese proverb. Well, they've paved paradise and put up a parking lot, some department stores and a KFC. There is just enough remaining of the old parts of Suzhou, that once attracted so much praise, for you to be able to imagine what it must have been like once.

The pagoda of Bei-si (North temple) dominates the northern part of the town. I climbed the 9 storeys to the top and looked on the patchwork of new and old buildings that spread before me. I felt the breeze on my skin and tried to picture the place in days past.

I'd hired a bike and went cycling around the one of the last remaining areas of canals and traditional homes. The cobbled roads were narrow, and the willow-lined canals were quite picturesque. Many of the homes were in a poor state of repair and there were visible signs that the people here are not enjoying the benefits of the economic boom that the central part of town is enjoying.

Finally I visited the Garden of the Master of Nets. Reputedly the finest of all the traditional gardens in Suzhou. It was a small place, yet the design gave a feeling of spaciousness. The main feature is the pond, surrounded by sculpted rocks, a small pavilion and the residential quarters. I tried to sit and quietly take in the features of the garden. My attempts were hampered somewhat by the incesant jabbering of what seemed like hundreds of students from Xian university, who were there as part of their landscaping course. Their professor tried to engage me in conversation, which caused those surrounding us to look on awe. He seemed a nice chap, but I really just wanted to be left to enjoy the garden in peace.

Suzhou is quite an important industrial and commercial area (in fact it's one of the top 10 places to do business in China, according to a news report I watched). The effects of this can clearly be seen in the various building projects that are underway all over town. This seems to be at the cost of preserving it's cultural heritage. Much of the old town has been pulled down, filled in or concreted over. The effort to preserve some parts of town for tourism seems half-hearted, I'm sad to say.

Zhouzhang was very different. Obviously lacking Suzhou's business advantages the locals have had to make the best of their past. As a result the central area of the old town has been completely turned over to tourism.