About an hour's away from Shanghai by train, Suzhou is a famous historical and cultural city, as well as a key scenic tourist one, and a coastal economic opening area. Suzhou has been highly praised as "a paradise on earth" since ancient times. Streets and alleys in Suzhou extend side by side with canals,small bridges and flowing waters. The humble administrator"s Garden in the city is the largest of its kind in the region. It"s one of the Chinese four major garden and a master piece of the private classic garden. Included in the UDFSCO world heritage list in 1997.
The Master-of-the-Nets Garden, or Wang Shi Yuan, was first constructed during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). It was rebuilt in the 18th century by a retired official who renovated the gardens.
It is located outside the Cang Gate of Suzhou city with an area of 2.3 hectares. The Lingering Garden is the well preserved among all the Suzhou gardens. It is also one of the four most noted traditional gardens in China.
Tiger Hill Park is one of Suzhou's famous site. Tiger Hill (Huqiu) is the resting place of the ruler of ancient Suzhou, He Lu. The area got its name - Tiger Hill linnked to a tiger which was found lying on He Lu's tomb.
The town of Luzhi is 18 km to the east of Suzhou with a history of over 1,000 years. The town covers a population of about 50,000 and has 32 administrative villages under its control.
Tongli Town is situated by the Grand Canal and the Taihu Lake, about 18 Kilometer away from Suzhou, 80 kilometer from Shanghai. It has a history of over 1000 years with very convenient transportation.
The Lion Grove garden was first constructed in 1342 by the Monk Tianru and the monk Zhongfeng. The garden is about 10,000 square meters and contains 22 pavilions, 71 steles.
Canglang Pavilion is located south of Suzhou city the oldest garden in Suzhou. The garden was once a personal garden of a prince of the Five dynasties (907-960).
Huangpu River winds about 114 kilometers from Dingshan Lake, the source, northward to Wusong Kou, where it meeets with the Yangtze River. 40 km of the river is within the area of the big Shanghai.
