The beautiful landscaped city of Suzhou is located in the south-east of Jiangsu Province. The Grand Canal (Sui Dynasty 581-618), which flows from Beijing to Hangzhou (the capital of ZhejiangProvince) has irrigated Suzhou aiding its illustrious culture and turning it into prosperous land. It is of little surprise that Suzhou is called ''Heaven on Earth''.
Culture
Built in 541BC by He Lv, the King of Wu, 2500 year old, Suzhou is the birthplace of Wu culture. Dating back to more than 2,500 years, Suzhou is one of China's oldest cities. After the completion of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal the city began to thrive during the Sui Dynasty. The 8,483km2 city is bustling with historical remnants and culture, thus placing Suzhou third behind Beijing and Xi'an for its historical and cultural significance.
It has been named as one of China's top 24 historical and cultural cities and is only one of the four tourist cities with environmental protection (the other three being Beijing, Hangzhou and Guilin). In 1997, Suzhou caught the world's attention by having its classic gardens placed on the UNESCO list as a World Cultural Heritage site. The attractiveness of Suzhou is also evident in its performing arts (folk songs of Wu), Kunqu Opera and storytelling, as well as stele carving, calligraphy and painting.
Resources
Suzhou is a key silk production centre in China and the embroidery school here is ranked in the "top 4" for the whole of China.
Population
As a whole city, Suzhou has a total population of 6,073,000 inhabitants.
Transportation
It's possible to walk around the city although many will find the distances between some attractions too large to make walking an option. Ask the concierge at your hotel to write out the name of your destination(s), as well as how to get back. As in most other Chinese cities, taxis are a safe and easy method of travel. Another option as Suzhou is arranged in a grid-like pattern; navigation is quite easy and bikes can be hired from several locations. Pedicabs are available on most main streets and always near tourist attractions. Negotiate the price before you get in and don't allow the driver to change it once you arrive at your destination; this is a slow means of travel but it allows you to actually see the city while you go somewhere. Suzhou has a network of five Tourist buses that are all in Chinese and take you to the tourist attractions throughout the city.