Suzhou Things to Do

Ruiguang means "auspicious light". It is said that this ancient pagoda was built by Sun Quan, the ruler of the Wu Kingdom. He had built this pagoda as a tribute to his mother, and to symbolize his filial piety to her.

This gate ("men" means "gate") is one of the oldest and best-preserved land and water gate in China today. It is as old as the Suzhou city itself, and has been around for about 2500 years. The image of this gate has become a symbol of Suzhou, and is incorporated into the city's logo.

Gates such as these were traditionally used to protect the city, and is usually accompanied by a moat. In the picture, parts of the gate has been covered by vegetation (the green walls are parts of the gate).

The pagoda in the background is the "Ruiguang Pagoda", see my next tip.

This photo captured all three sights of Panmen - the Gate (Pan Men), the Bridge (Wumen Bridge) and the Pagoda (Ruiguang - Auspicious Light Pagoda). These three sights are another famous attraction in Suzhou, and each one of them had great historical value.

More on the three sights in the next few tips...

To re-create the sights of ancient Suzhou, this street was built. We took this picture during the evening, when all the lanterns and lights were on. In the past, polygamy was allowed, and Chinese men would use the lanterns to "show off" how many wives each of them had (one lantern means one wife, two means two wives...you get the drift). Every night, the man could stay with a different wife, and he would indicate his choice by lighting up the lantern on the preferred wife's door. This tradition was also depicted in director Zhang Yimou's movie - "Raise the Red Lantern", which starred actress Gong Li.

This temple was built during the Southern Song Dynasty (AD 502 - 519), and is about 1500 years old now. It is located in the west of the Suzhou city, on Fengqiao Road. The former name of this temple was "Puming Pagoda Yard". It was later re-named "Hanshan Temple" because a monk name "Hanshan Zi" once stayed here.

This temple is famed for its association with the poem "Berthing at Fengqiao at Night" (Feng Qiao Ye Po), composed by Zhang Ji.

The Chinese gardens used lots of lush green plants (trees, shrubs, ferns etc) to add colour and inject life into the environment. Besides that, rocks are also used (to signify the mountains). Together with the pond (which signifies the water, the seas and lakes), the rocks and plants all work together to create a landscape which allows the residents to "you shan wan shui", meaning to enjoy the sights of the mountains and seas, in their own backyards.

The traditional houses in China had their walls painted white, and the roof tiles black. This is because in ancient China, only the Emperor and the imperial palace could use the colour red to paint the walls, and yellow on roof tiles. Yellow, especially, is the colour which signifies the Emperor, and everyone else is banned from using it.

The picture shows the detailed and elaborate stone carvings on a doorway in the garden. The ancient Chinese really took care of the details, even the doorway had to be decorated in an intricate manner. Besides the four Chinese characters are two carvings of scenes from traditional stories, usually depicting moral values such as filial piety, etc.

This garden is first built during the Southern Song Dynasty, and is a classic example of Suzhou-style garden. The whole residence is centred around the pond, and its surroundings are decorated with rock formations, pavillions, bridges, corridors and plants. This was how the wealthy and rich in Suzhou would decorate their gardens - to integrate the mountains (rock formations) and water (pond) into their own residence.

During the Qing Dynasty, this place was owned by a court official who was in charge of making fabrics for the Emperor (Suzhou is well-known for its silk fabric and embroidery).

In 1997, this garden was listed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site; and graded by the Chinese government as a National AAAA-grade attraction in 2003.