Suzhou Things to Do

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These wonderful pagodas were in 982 A.D. during the Song dynasty by the Wang Wenhan brothers in honour of their teacher who helped them pass the imperial civil service exams. They are both octagonal and are 33 meters high. There used to be a temple hall behind the pagodas, remains of which can be found in the garden.

Admission: Y8.

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The Lion Grove Garden was built in 1342 during the Yuan Dynasty by a Zen Buddhist monk, Tianru in memory of the Abbot Zhongfeng. Emperor Kangxi visited the garden in 1703 and wrote "the Lion Grove Temple" on a tablet and gifted it to the owner. Emperor Qianlong visited the garden no less than 6 times and wrote 10 poems about it. He like it so much that he made replicas of it in the Yuan Ming Garden in Beijing.

The garden is named after a grove of bamboo and lake rocks that are meant to resemble lions. It features a labyrinth of rockeries with winding pathways and caves plus a series of halls, pavilions and bridges.

Admission: Y30.

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Located on the north-eastern edge of the ancient city, this garden was first created in the early Qing period as a pleasure garden of Lu Jingzhi. In 1874, Shen Bingcheng acquired it and expanded it to its present size. Later, Shen and his wife retired here and renamed it "the Garden of Couple's Retreat".

Admission: Y20.

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Suzhou one had six canals running north to south and 14 running east to west. Most of them have been plugged but it has been given the nick-name "Venice of the East" along with other Asian towns and cities that have many canals. The main reason why there are so many is due to the fact that the city is built on the Grand Canal that runs from Beijing to Hangzhou. If you have time, make sure you get off-the-beaten-track and walk down some of the narrow streets where the small canals are to get a real experience of Suzhou.

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This large Taoist temple complex is located right in the middle of the shopping area of Suzhou, just off the main east-west pedestrian street. The temple was founded in 276 A.D. and named Zhen Qing Temple. It changed its name to Kai Yuan Temple in the Tang dynasty (618-907 A.D.), then to Tian Qing Temple in the Song dynasty (960–1279). It was rebuilt in Chunxi's years (1174-1189), and was renamed Xuanmiao Guan in 1264. In the Qing Dynasty, due to the taboo against using the emperor Kangxi's name, Xuanye, the temple was renamed to Yuanmiao Guan. However, in 1912, the temple was changed back to its former name of Xuan Miao. Talk about having a personality complex!

Admission: Y10.

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This garden museum is part of the Humble Administrator's Garden. It is the first garden museum in China and was opened to the public in December 2007. The museum has four sections: History Hall, Art Hall, Culture Hall and Inheritance Hall and not only details garden design and history in China but also across the world as well, plus how gardens are constructed and maintained. Quite a fascinating museum to visit.

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The Humble Administrator's Garden covers 51,950 m² and is the largest garden in Suzhou and probably the most famous garden in China. The garden's site was a scholar garden during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.), and later a monastery garden for the Dahong Temple during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). In 1513, during the Ming Dynasty reign of Emperor Zhengde, an administrator named Wang Xianchen bought the temple and converted it into a private villa with gardens, which were constructed by digging lakes and piling the resultant earth into artificial islands. The garden was split up in the later Ming dynasty, and it remained neglected until the Qing Dynasty reigns of Emperors Shunzhi and Kangxi, when the garden was extensively rebuilt.

In total, the garden contains 48 different buildings with 101 tablets, 40 stelae and 21 precious old trees as well as bridges, lakes and pools. It is a truly beautiful and peaceful place (despite the countless tourists) and a magical experience.

Open: 7:30am-5:30pm. Admission: Y70.

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Zhong Wang Fu (Prince Zhong's house), is located between the Suzhou Museum and the Humble Administrator's Garden. It is the most complete historic architectural complex of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in China. Since the Three Kingdoms period (220-280 A.D.), the site of the mansion was always the residence of famous people. In the Yuan Dynasty, it was turned into the Dahong Temple. Wang Xianchen, a Ming official, resigned and lived in seclusion in 1509. He built the Humble Administrator's Garden, on the base of the abandoned Dahong Temple.