Sights in Sūzhōu
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Suzhou Museum
The new IM Pei–designed Suzhou Museum – which stands beside its former building, once the residence of Taiping leader Li Xiucheng – houses jade, ceramics, textiles and other displays in an eye-catching, modern interpretation of a Sūzhōu garden, but loses points for its no thongs (flip-flops) policy.
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Garden of the Master of the Nets
Accessed via a cute cobbled lane that links Shiquan Jie ( 十全街 ) and Daichengqiao Lu ( 带城桥路 ), the Garden of the Master of the Nets, the smallest garden in Sūzhōu, is also widely considered the best, with a striking use of space. Originally laid out in the 12th century, it was later restored in the 18th century as part of the home of a retired official turned fisherman (hence the name). Architecturally heavy – with residence halls, viewing pavilions and walkways – the garden relies on select landscape arrangements set against whitewashed walls, which are like the blank space of a Chinese ink painting.
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West Garden Temple
About 500m west of the Garden to Linger In, which it once belonged to, Sūzhōu's West Garden Temple was built on a garden donated to the Buddhist community in the 17th century. Greeting you upon entering the simply magnificent Arhat Hall ( 罗汉堂; Luóhàn Táng) is a stunning four-faced and thousand-armed statue of Guanyin, leading to mesmerising and slightly unnerving rows of glittering statues of luóhàn (Buddhist monks who have achieved enlightenment), each one unique. The Ming dynasty hall was torched by Taiping rebels in 1860, and rebuilt.
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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.
Today, the temple holds little of interest except for a stele by poet Zhang Ji immortalising both the nearby Maple Bridge and the temple bell (since removed to Japan). However, the fine walls and the humpback bridge are worth seeing.
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Coiled Gate
By the southwest corner of the outer moat (but entered from Dong Dajie), and part of one of Sūzhōu’s few remaining stretches of city wall, Coiled Gate is thought to be China’s last remaining land-and-water-gate, and dates from 1355. Inside the same grounds, Ruiguang Pagoda (Ruìguāng Tǎ) dates from the 3rd century and can be climbed. Further north, Gold Gate (Jīn Mén), just inside the western stretch of the city moat, is a plain but charming, unrestored city gate.
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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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Tiger Hill
In the far northwest of town, Tiger Hill is topped by the impressive, leaning Yunyan Pagoda ( 云岩塔; Yúnyán Tǎ), built in the 10th century. Take bus 游 1 (not bus 1) from the Renmin Lu end of Jingde Lu. It passes close to the Garden to Linger In and West Garden Temple. Alternatively, it’s an interesting cycle along Dongzhong Shi and Fengqiao Lu, passing attractive canal bridges.
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Temple of Mystery
At the heart of what was once Suzhou Bazaar, the Taoist Temple of Mystery was originally laid out between AD 275 and 279, with many later additions. Its enormous Three Purities Hall (Sānqīng Diàn), supported by 60 pillars and capped by a double roof with upturned eaves, dates from 1181, and is the only surviving example of Song-era architecture in Sūzhōu.
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Blue Wave Pavilion
A bit on the wild side, with winding creeks and corridors of bamboo, Blue Wave Pavilion is one of the oldest gardens in Sūzhōu, originally dating from the 11th century. Lacking a northern wall, the one-hectare garden creates an illusion of space by borrowing scenes from the outside, incorporating the adjacent canal and distant hills.
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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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Humble Administrator’s Garden
The rambling Humble Administrator's Garden is the largest of all Sūzhōu's gardens and considered by many to be the most impressive. Dating to 1509, it's large enough to be a park. There’s also a bonsai (pénjǐng) garden, a teahouse and a small museum that explains Chinese gardening concepts.
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Pingtan Museum
Nearby the opera museum is the Pingtan Museum where two-hour story-telling performances ( 说书; shuō shū ), with free tea flowing throughout, are held every day at 1.30pm. Sadly, when we last visited, the more musical versions, known as píngtán, had stopped running.
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North Temple Pagoda
The North Temple Pagoda is the tallest pagoda south of the Yangzi River. At nine storeys high it dominates the northern end of Renmin Lu and can be climbed for city views. 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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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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Garden to Linger in
The three-hectare Garden to Linger In dates from the Ming dynasty and was built by a doctor as a place of relaxation for his recovering patients. Ornamental doorways and windows open onto wisteria-draped rockeries, ivy-covered tiled roofs and overgrown fairyland landscapes.
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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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Couple’s Garden
The not often visited Couple’s Garden is in a delightful part of town and has a lovely pond and courtyards. Surrounding the garden are some fine examples of traditional Sūzhōu architecture, bridges and canals.
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Garden of Harmony
Less visited than other gardens around Sūzhōu is the small Qing dynasty Garden of Harmony, which has assimilated many of the features of older gardens and delicately blended them into a style of its own.
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Suzhou Silk Museum
The highly recommended Suzhou Silk Museum houses live silk worms as well as fascinating exhibitions providing a thorough history of Sūzhōu’s silk industry over the past 4000 years.
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Kunqu Opera Museum
In amongst the delightful cobblestone, canal-side alleyways in the east of Sūzhōuis the pretty Kunqu Opera Museum, housing a beautiful old stage, musical instruments, costumes and photos.
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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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Lions’ Grove
The one-hectare Lions’ Grove garden, constructed in 1350 by the monk Tian Ru, is famed for its strangely 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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Confucius Temple
At the southern end of Renmin Lu is the old Confucius Temple, which these days holds a souvenir market.
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