The Cold Mountain Temple (寒山寺, Hánshān Sì) was founded around CE 500 and is famous in China thanks to a poem taught to virtually all schoolchildren. Written by Tang dynasty poet Zhang Ji, A Night Mooring by Maple Bridge describes the scene of a traveler falling into a sad sleep as the sound of bells from Cold Mountain Temple drift across the water to his boat. You can ring the bell yourself – it’s an extra ¥4 to climb the tower and give it three bashes.
Every New Year's Eve, thousands of local people gather to ring the bell 108 times. Legend has it that the average person endures 108 kinds of annoyances per year and that listening to the bell tolling will bring good luck and happiness for the following year.
The temple itself was completely destroyed in the Taiping Rebellion and rebuilt in 1861. It's located west of Suzhou's old town, about 1500m from Xihuan Lu metro station. An entrance ticket gives access to both the temple and the Great Bell Tower area (8am to 4.30pm), which are actually in two separate compounds. You need to exit one to enter the other – be sure to keep your ticket on hand.