Middle Country: Suzhou

It's pretty easy
to get around by bus,
if you can read Chinese.

I thought Suzhou was a lovely place with quaint gardens, peaceful temples, and charming old shops. It feels more like the beautiful Old China you read about in history books than the dreadful modern day PRC that seems to be now everywhere else, unfortunately.

Around Suzhou [ 苏州 = SūZhōu ] Station. 30 minutes by train from Shanghai.

	Lingering Garden [ 留园 = HánShānSì ] ( ★ map ) *7:30 am – 5 pm* \| 30-40 RMB A UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the four most famous classical gardens of Suzhou [ 四大名园 = SìDàMíngYuán ], this 2-acre landscaped garden includes lotus ponds, rooms with traditional Chinese furniture, and a bonsai garden. Beautiful, even in the rain.
	Shantang Street [ 山塘街 = ShānTángJiē ] ( ★ map ) A picturesque thousand-year-old pedestrian street lined by old shops and canals.
	Tiger Hill [ 虎丘 = HŭQiū ] ( ★ map ) 40-60 RMB The hill supposedly looks like a crouching tiger. The leaning pagoda here is like the Leaning Tower of the East. It houses a bonsai garden as well.
	Lion Grove Garden [ 狮子林园 = ShīZǐLínYuán ] ( ★ map ) *7:30 am – 5:30 pm* \| 30 RMB A UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the four most famous classical gardens of Suzhou [ 四大名园 = SìDàMíngYuán ]. This 1.1-acre garden has lots of grottos, caves made of porous rocks. The name comes from a fake mountain as well as rocks shaped like lions. The different-shaped doorways are a treat!
	Humble Administrator's Garden [ 拙政園 = Zhuōzhèng Yuán ] ( ★ map ) *7:30 am – 5:30 pm* \| 50-70 RMB Wander around this 5.6-acre Ming Dynasty garden that's the largest in Suzhou. A UNESCO World Heritage Site representative of classical Suzhou gardens, explore the tranquil lotus ponds and winding corridors, as well as Chinese gazebos and gardens dotted with flowers. It's one of the four most famous classical gardens of Suzhou [ 四大名园 = SìDàMíngYuán ].
	Hanshan Temple [ 寒山寺 = HánShānSì ] ( ★ map ) *7:30 am – 5 pm* \| 20 RMB Beautiful temple famous due to the poem, A Night Mooring by Maple Bridge [ 楓橋夜泊 ].

	Lingering Garden [ 留园 = HánShānSì ] ( ★ map ) *7:30 am – 5 pm* \| 30-40 RMB A UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the four most famous classical gardens of Suzhou [ 四大名园 = SìDàMíngYuán ], this 2-acre landscaped garden includes lotus ponds, rooms with traditional Chinese furniture, and a bonsai garden. Beautiful, even in the rain.
	Shantang Street [ 山塘街 = ShānTángJiē ] ( ★ map ) A picturesque thousand-year-old pedestrian street lined by old shops and canals.
	Tiger Hill [ 虎丘 = HŭQiū ] ( ★ map ) 40-60 RMB The hill supposedly looks like a crouching tiger. The leaning pagoda here is like the Leaning Tower of the East. It houses a bonsai garden as well.
	Lion Grove Garden [ 狮子林园 = ShīZǐLínYuán ] ( ★ map ) *7:30 am – 5:30 pm* \| 30 RMB A UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the four most famous classical gardens of Suzhou [ 四大名园 = SìDàMíngYuán ]. This 1.1-acre garden has lots of grottos, caves made of porous rocks. The name comes from a fake mountain as well as rocks shaped like lions. The different-shaped doorways are a treat!
	Humble Administrator's Garden [ 拙政園 = Zhuōzhèng Yuán ] ( ★ map ) *7:30 am – 5:30 pm* \| 50-70 RMB Wander around this 5.6-acre Ming Dynasty garden that's the largest in Suzhou. A UNESCO World Heritage Site representative of classical Suzhou gardens, explore the tranquil lotus ponds and winding corridors, as well as Chinese gazebos and gardens dotted with flowers. It's one of the four most famous classical gardens of Suzhou [ 四大名园 = SìDàMíngYuán ].
	Hanshan Temple [ 寒山寺 = HánShānSì ] ( ★ map ) *7:30 am – 5 pm* \| 20 RMB Beautiful temple famous due to the poem, A Night Mooring by Maple Bridge [ 楓橋夜泊 ].

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Suzhou