Suzhou
City of Gardens · Classical Gardens & Canal Water Towns
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About Suzhou
Suzhou was founded in 514 BC and its street plan has barely shifted in two and a half millennia. It is the greatest repository of classical Chinese gardens, nine of which are World Heritage sites. The art here is making much of little: the Humble Administrator’s Garden is built around water and shifting views, the Lion Grove’s rockery is a maze, and the Lingering Garden layers depth through winding corridors and lattice windows. Popular gardens need advance booking, and the earliest entry has the fewest people. Beyond the walls lie Pingjiang and Shantang streets with their canals and bridges, plus the water towns of Zhouzhuang, Tongli and Luzhi; an evening at the Master of the Nets Garden, pairing Kun opera with pingtan balladry, is Suzhou at its best. Suzhou station puts Shanghai twenty minutes away. Allow two to three days; spring brings the gardens into bloom.
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