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Blue Wave Pavilion
Overgrown and wild, this one-hectare garden is one of the oldest in Sūzhōu. The buildings date from the 11th century, although they have been rebuilt on numerous occasions since.
Originally the home of a prince, the property passed into the hands of the scholar Su Zimei, who named it after a poem by Qu Yuan (340-278 BC).
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Cloud Rock Pagoda
Built in the 10th century, the leaning Cloud Rock Pagoda stands atop Tiger Hill. The octagonal seven-storey pagoda, also known as Huqiu Pagoda, is built entirely of brick, an innovation in Chinese architecture at the time. The pagoda began tilting over 400 years ago, and today the highest point is displaced more than 2m from its original position.
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Cold Mountain Temple
About 2km west of the Garden to Linger In, the Cold Mountain Temple was named after the 7th century poet-monk Han Shan. Han Shan has exerted a surprising amount of influence on 20th century literature, first showing up in the work of Beat writers Gary Snyder and Jack Kerouac, and later in the poetry of Irish Nobel prize-winner Seamus Heaney.
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Couple's Garden
This tranquil Couple's Garden is off the main tourist route and sees few visitors, though the gardens, pond and courtyards are quite lovely. Surrounding the garden are some fine examples of traditional Sūzhōu architecture, bridges and canals.
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Garden Of The Master Of The Nets
Off Shiquan Jie, the pocket-sized Garden Of The Master Of The Nets , the smallest in Sūzhōu, is considered one of the best preserved gardens in the city. It was laid out in the 12th century, went to seed and later restored in the 18th century as part of the home of a retired official turned fisherman (thus the name).
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Garden to Linger In
The three-hectare Garden to Linger In is one of the largest gardens in Sūzhōu. It was originally built in the Ming by a doctor who wanted to give his patients a relaxing place to recover from illness.
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Humble Administrator's Garden
The rambling Humble Administrator's Garden is the largest of all the gardens and considered by many to be the most impressive. Dating back to the early 1500s, it's a luxuriant five hectares of zigzagging bridges, pavilions, bamboo groves and fragrant lotus ponds; an ideal place for a leisurely stroll. There's also a teahouse and a small museum that explains Chinese landscape gardening concepts.
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Kunqu Opera Museum
Down a warren of narrow lanes is the small Kunqu Opera Museum dedicated to kūnqǔ , the opera style of the region. The beautiful old theatre houses a stage, old musical instruments, costumes and photos of famous performers. It also puts on occasional performances of kūnqǔ .
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Lion's Grove Garden
Near the Humble Administrator's Garden is the Lion's Grove Garden , constructed in 1342 by the Buddhist monk Tianru to commemorate his master, who lived on Lion Cliff in Zhèjiāng's Tianmu Mountain. The garden is also associated with the 14th century artist Ni Zan, who painted a picture of the garden soon after it was completed. The garden is most notable for its large numbers of curiously shaped rocks, meant to resemble lions, protectors of the Buddhist faith.
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Nanmu Guanyin Hall
Off to the side of the North Temple Pagoda is Nanmu Guanyin Hall , which was rebuilt in the Ming dynasty with some features imported from elsewhere. There's a teahouse with a small garden out the back.
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North Temple Pagoda
This is the tallest pagoda south of the Yangzi - at nine storeys it dominates the northern end of Renmin Lu. Climb it for sweeping views of hazy modern-day Sūzhōu. The temple complex goes back 1700 years and was originally a residence; the current reincarnation dates back to the 17th century.
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Pan Gate
Straddling the outer moat in the southwest corner of the city, this stretch of the city wall has Sūzhōu's only remaining original coiled gate, the Pan Gate , which dates from 1355. The exquisite arched Wumen Bridge (Wúmén Qiáo), crosses the canal just to the east. From the gate there are great views of the moat and the crumbling Ruiguang Pagoda (Ruìguāng Tǎ), constructed in the 3rd century AD.
To get there, take tourist bus Y5 from the train station or Changxu Lu.
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Sānqīng Diàn
Sānqīng Diàn is supported by 60 pillars and capped by a double roof with upturned eaves. It dates from 1181 and is the only surviving example of Song architecture in Sūzhōu.
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Spring Rear Cottage
Spring Rear Cottage 'The master's study' is the former home of a retired mandarin, set in the Garden Of The Master Of The Nets. It contains the study with its Ming-style furniture and palace lanterns of the former official, which was duplicated and unveiled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1981.
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Suzhou Museum
The Suzhou Museum was once the residence of Taiping leader Li Xiucheng. The museum offers some interesting old maps, including those of the Grand Canal, Sūzhōu, and heaven and earth. It also houses Qing dynasty steles forbidding workers' strikes, and relics such as funerary objects, porcelain bowls and bronze swords unearthed or rescued from various sites around the Sūzhōu district. Unfortunately, there are few English captions.
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Sūzhōu Silk Museum
A must-see, the Sūzhōu Silk Museum houses a number of fascinating exhibitions that detail a history of Sūzhōu's 4000-year-old silk industry. Exhibits include a section on silk weaving techniques and a room with live silk worms munching away on mulberry leaves and spinning cocoons. Many of the captions are in English.
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Temple of Mystery
The Taoist Temple of Mystery stands in what was once Sūzhōu's old bazaar, a rowdy entertainment district with travelling showmen, acrobats and actors. The temple's present surroundings of Guanqian Jie are just as boisterous, but the current showmen are more likely to sell you a fake designer watch than balance plates on their heads. The temple was founded during the Jin dynasty in the 3rd century AD, and restored many times over in its long history. The complex contains several elaborately decorated halls, including Sānqīng Diàn.
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Tiger Hill
In the far northwest of town, Tiger Hill is extremely popular with local tourists. The hill itself is artificial and is the final resting place of He Lu, founding father of Sūzhōu. He Lu died in the 6th century BC and myths have coalesced around him - he is said to have been buried with a collection of 3000 swords and to be guarded by a white tiger.
Tourist buses Y1 and Y2 from the train station go to Tiger Hill.
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Twin Pagodas
The seven-storey Twin Pagodas were built during the Northern Song dynasty by candidates for the imperial examination who wanted to pay tribute to their teachers. The pagodas stand in the centre of an attractive garden filled with stone sculptures, with a teahouse at the far end.
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West Garden Temple
This attractive garden was once part of the Garden to Linger In, but was given to a Buddhist temple in the early 17th century. The temple, with its mustard-yellow walls and gracefully curved eaves, was burnt to the ground during the Taiping Rebellion and rebuilt in the late 19th century. One interesting feature of the temple is the Hall of Arhats, with 500 gilded statues of Buddha saints in various expressive poses.
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