The city is renowned for its beautiful stone bridges, pagodas, and meticulously designed gardens, which has become a great tourist attraction. Suzhou has also been an important center for China's silk industry since the Song Dynasty (960-1279), and continues to hold that prominent position today. It is part of the Golden Triangle region. The GDP per capita was ¥66,826 (ca. US$7649) in 2004, ranked no. 5 among 659 Chinese cities.

History

Suzhou, the cradle of Wu culture, is one of the oldest towns in the Yangtze Basin. 2500 years ago, local tribes who named themselves "Gou Wu" in the late Shang Dynasty lived in the area which would become Suzhou.

In 514 BC, during the Spring and Autumn Period, King Helu (阖闾) of Wu established "Great City of Helu", the ancient name for Suzhou, as his capital. In 496 BC, Helu was buried in Huqiu (Tiger Hill 虎丘).

In 473 BC, Wu was defeated by Yue, another kingdom to the east that was soon annexed by Chu in 306 BC. The golden era of Suzhou was over. Remnants of this culture include the remainders of the 2,500 year old wall and the gate through it at Pan Gate.

By the time of Qin Dynasty, the city was known as Wu County. Xiang Yu (项羽) staged his historical uprising here in 209 BC, which contributed to the overthrow of Qin.

During Sui Dynasty, the city was renamed Suzhou in 589 AD.

When the Grand Canal was completed, Suzhou found itself strategically located on a major trade route. In the course of the history of China, it has been a metropolis of industry and commerce in the south-eastern coast of China.

During Tang Dynasty (825 AD), the great poet Bai Juyi (白居易) constructed the Shantang Canal (called "Shantang Jie" or 山塘街) to connect the city with Huqiu for the tourists. In 1035 AD, the temple of Confucius was founded by the great poet and writer Fan Zhongyan (范仲淹). It became the venue for imperial civil examinations.

In February 1130, the advancing Jin army from the north sacked and massacred the city. This was followed by the Mongol invasion (1275) and destruction of the royal city (in the centre of the walled city) in the beginning of the Ming Dynasty (1367).

Thereafter, the city had a more prosperous time. Many of the famous private gardens were constructed by the gentry of the Ming and Qing dynasties. However, the city was to see another disaster in 1860 when Taiping soldiers advanced on and captured the city. In November 1863 the Ever Victorious Army of Charles Gordon recaptured the city from the Taiping forces.

The next crisis that met the city was the Japanese invasion (1937). Many gardens were devastated by the end of the war. In the early 1950s, restoration was done on Zhuo-Zheng Yuan (Humble Administrator's Garden), Dong Yuan (East Garden), and others, to bring them back to life.

In 1981, this ancient city was listed by the State Council as one of the four cities (the other three being Beijing, Hangzhou and Guilin) where the protection of historical and cultural heritage as well as natural scenery should be treated as a priority project. Since then, with suburban economic projects, Suzhou has developed into one of the most prosperous cities in China.

Classical gardens in Suzhou were added to the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1997 and 2000. It is possible to make a virtual tour at the UNESCO site in panographics through the wonderful Classical Gardens of Suzhou.

Districts and satellite cities

Being one of the most prosperous cities in China, Suzhou's development has a direct correlation with the growth of its satellite cities, most notably Kunshan, Taicang, and Zhangjiagang. Suzhou's jurisdictional areas are home to many high-tech development enterprises.

Suzhou has jurisdiction over (at county level):

Districts: Canglang (沧浪), Jinchang (金阊), Pingjiang (平江), Suzhou Industrial Park (工业园区), Suzhou High & New Technology Development Zone (高新区), Xiangcheng (相城), Wuzhong (吴中)
County-level cities: Changshu (常熟), Taicang (太仓), Kunshan (昆山), Wujiang (吴江), and Zhangjiagang (张家港)

Landmarks

Pan Gate is 2,500 years old and was first built by the state of Wu in the Warring States Period. It is renowned for its unique structure as a combined water and land gate.
Tiger Hill (Huqiu)
Xuanmiao Guan (originally built in 276 AD, rebuilt in 1584)
Huqiu Temple (originally built in 327, rebuilt in 1871)
Cold Mountain Temple (Hanshan Si) (built in 503, destroyed and rebuilt many times, last reconstruction in 1896)
Baodai Bridge (built in 816, rebuilt in 1442)
Shantang Canal (built in 825)
Yunyan Pagoda (built in 961)
Ruiguang Pagoda (built in 1009)
Lingering Garden (Liu Yuan) (built in 1525, rebuilt in 1953)
Master of the Nets Garden (Wang Shi Yuan) (built in the Song Dynasty)
Blue Wave Pavilion (Canglang Ting) (built in 1696)
Mountain Villa with Embracing Beauty
Lion Grove Garden (built in 1342)
Garden of Cultivation
The Retreat & Reflection Garden
Humble Administrator's Garden (Zhuozheng Yuan) (built in 1513, rebuilt in 1860)
Gate of the Orient, the city's tallest building due for completion in 2007

Transportation

Suzhou is conveniently located on the Jinghu Railway linking Shanghai and Nanjing, the provincial capital, to both of which there is hourly railway service. Suzhou Railway Station is among the busiest passenger stations in China, having 139 trains stopping daily. T-Trains only take 45 minutes to Shanghai and an hour and half to Nanjing. Driving options include the Jiangsu-Shanghai Expressway, the Yangtze Riverine Expressway, the Suzhou-Jiaxin-Hangzhou Expressway. In 2005, the new Suzhou Outer Ring was completed, linking the peripheral county-level cities of Taicang, Kunshan, and Changshu. By water, Suzhou is connected with Zhangjiagang, Luzhi, Liujia and Changshou.

Although Shuofang Airport and Guangfu United Airlines Airport serve as two municipal airports, and the State Council approved of the construction of an airport exclusively serving Suzhou in 2003, air transportation from Suzhou continues to be located at Shanghai's Hongqiao Airport and Pudong International Airport.

Culture

Chinese opera: Kunqu originates in the Suzhou region, as does the much later Suzhou Opera. Ballad-singing, or Suzhou pingtan is a local form of storytelling that mixes singing (accompanied on the pipa) with portions in spoken dialect.
Silk
Handicrafts: Suzhou embroidery, fans, national musical instruments, scroll mounting, lanterns, mahogany furniture, jade carving, silk tapestry, traditional painting pigments of Jiangenxutang Studio, the New Year's wood-block prints of Taohuawu Studio.
Paintings
Calligraphic art
Cuisine: Yangcheng Lake huge crab
Suzhou Silk Hand Embroidery Art

Notable people from Suzhou

Statesmen:

Fan Zhongyan (范仲淹)
Yen Chia-kan (嚴家淦)

Poets:

Fan Chengda (范成大) (1126-1193 AD)
The Suzhou Ten

Playwrights:

Feng Menglong (冯梦龙) (1574-1645 AD)

Painters:

Tang Yin (唐寅)
Wen Zhengming (文徵明)
Wen Zhenheng (文震亨) (1585-1645 AD)

Physicists:

Tsung-Dao Lee李政道
Chien-Shiung Wu (吳健雄)

Others: Gu Yanwu (顾炎武), Zhang Taiyan (章太炎)

Huston Smith
I. M. Pei, architect

Quotes

"A very great and noble city... It has 1600 stone bridges under which a galley may pass." - Marco Polo

"Capital of Silk", "Land of Abundance", "Gusu city", "Oriental Venice", "Cradle of the Wu Culture", and "World of Gardens" - nicknames of Suzhou

上有天堂 下有蘇杭 "In heaven, there is paradise. On earth, there are Suzhou and Hangzhou." - Chinese saying

"Born in Suzhou, live in Hangzhou, eat in Guangzhou, and die in Liuzhou." - Chinese saying.

This saying is also heard as "Marry in Suzhou..." because it is said that Suzhou is the birthplace and home of the most beautiful people in China.

美不美 太湖水 親不親 故郷人 "Beautiful or not beautiful, nothing is more beautiful than the waters of Taihu. Related or not related, we are all the people of the same village." - Chinese saying

Education

Public institutions having full-time Bachelor's degree programs include

Suzhou University, also named Soochow University (苏州大学)

University of Science and Technology of Suzhou (苏州科技学院)

Postgraduate Institution

Suzhou Graduate Town (National University of Singapore and Fudan Joint Graduate School, Nanjing University Graduate School, etc.)