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Introducing Sūzhōu
Marco Polo once declared that Sūzhōu was one of the most beautiful cities in China (though Hángzhōu was better). While Polo’s Sūzhōu was a charming merchant town of whitewashed houses, tree-lined canals and sumptuous gardens, modern Sūzhōu is a bustling city surrounded by factories and high rises. It takes some work to find the charm under the city’s glossy veneer, but it’s there.
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Sūzhōu’s main draw is its gardens. There were originally over a hundred but now only a handful exist, some over a thousand years old. The gardens, a symphonic combination of rocks, water, trees and buildings, reflect the Chinese appreciation of balance and harmony. You could easily spend an enjoyable several days exploring the gardens, paying a visit to the excellent Silk Museum and exploring some of Sūzhōu’s surviving canals, pagodas and humpbacked bridges.
Last updated: Feb 17, 2009
