Suzhou is not only “a city of classical gardens”, but also “a city of canal”. Let’s take a trip along the canal to appreciate the beautiful scenery and experience Suzhou’s canal culture during the weekend!
First tour route: Wangting Canal Park（望亭运河公园）– Xushuguan（浒墅关）– Fengqiao Scenic Spot（枫桥景区）– Hanshan Temple Scenic Spot（寒山寺景区）
Wangting Canal Park
Wangting remains the first town in Suzhou that sees the Beijing – Hangzhou Grand Canal flowing into Suzhou. Located in the central area of Wangting Town, Wangting Canal Park shows the historical culture, industrial culture, modern agricultural culture and resident leisure culture unique to this area in great detail.
Address：The core area of Canal Park in Wangting Town, Xiangcheng District, Suzhou
Xushuguan
Xushuguan Town is a thousand-year-old town by the Grand Canal and has a good long-standing reputation for straw mat and sericulture.
Address：Huqiu District, Suzhou City
Fengqiao Scenic Spot
The Fengqiao Ancient Town, old canal, Fengqiao Bridge and Tieling Pass in the Fengqiao Scenic Spot all enjoy a high reputation both at home and abroad.
Address：Fengqiao scenic spot, Fengqiao Road, Gusu District, Suzhou
Hanshan Temple Scenic Spot
As a millennium-old famous temple, Hanshan Temple has attracted numerous tourists to strike the bell and pray for blessings.
Address：No.24, Hanshan Temple Lane, Gusu District, Suzhou
Second tour route: Panmen Gate（盘门）– Shihu Scenic Spot（石湖景区）– Luoshi Restaurant（螺狮饭店）– Baodai Bridge（宝带桥）– Wuzhong District Museum（吴中博物馆）
Panmen Gate
Panmen Gate was the transport hub of Suzhou and also the center for business and trade. The Wumen Bridge, as the sole extant land-and-water ancient city gate in China and also the highest single-opening ancient stone arch bridge in Jiangsu Province, is located in the area as well.
Address：49 East Street, Gusu District, Suzhou
Shihu Scenic Spot
As one of the Taihu Lake Bays, the Shihu Lake lies in the southwest corner of the Suzhou Old Town Area together with the Qizi mountain. There are many tourist attractions in the scenic area.
Address：Shihu scenic spot, Wuzhong District, Suzhou City
Luoshi Restaurant
Here in Luoshi Restaurant you can have an authentic Suzhou spring banquet made up of Ma Lan Tou, spring bamboo shoots, snails, river prawns, Bi Luo Chun, etc.
Address：Snail restaurant, 6-3 Baiyun Road, Wuzhong District, Suzhou
Baodai Bridge
Baodai Bridge is the longest ancient multi-arch bridge (316.8 meters) with most bridge openings (53 openings) in China. In the future, Wuzhong District will further explore the cultural elements of Baodai Bridge, Tantai Lake, Grand Canal, etc.
Address：Baonan Road, Wuzhong District, Suzhou City
Wuzhong District Museum
Wuzhong District Museum covers a floorage of 18,600 square meters in total and an area of 8,500 square meters in total. The whole museum has three floors above the ground and one under. The first floor is used for temporary exhibition and education center. The main exhibition hall is on the second floor and the workspace on the third.
Address：Wuzhong Museum, Wuzhong District, Suzhou
Third tour route: Hengtang Ancient Courier Station（横塘驿站）– Suzhou No. 2 Library（苏州第二图书馆）– Suzhou Museum of Imperial Kiln Brick（御窑金砖博物馆）
Hengtang Ancient Courier Station
Hengtang Ancient Courier Station is one of the few courier stations for both land and water transport along the Beijing – Hangzhou Grand Canal.
Address：Yunhe Road, Gusu District, Suzhou
Suzhou No. 2 Library
Suzhou No. 2 Library has the first large-scale intelligent library with automatic transmission and sorting system in China. It will send the books you want to the windows in a short time.
Address：2383 Guangji North Road, Xiangcheng District, Suzhou
Suzhou Museum of Imperial Kiln Brick
Suzhou Museum of Imperial Kiln Brick boasts a collection of 1,458 imperial bricks from the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty to the Xuantong period of the Qing Dynasty. Visitors can touch the exhibits and learn more about the brick culture.
Address：Suzhou Yuyao site garden, Yangchenghu West Road, Xiangcheng District, Suzhou
The last tour route: Pingjiang Ancient Alley（平江古巷）—Tiger Hill Pagoda（虎丘塔）—Pingwang Ancient Town（平望古镇）
Pingjiang Ancient Alley
Known as the microcosm of the ancient Suzhou city, the Pingjiang Ancient Alley remains a typical and intact ancient city protection area.
Address：65 Baita East Road, Gusu District, Suzhou
Tiger Hill Pagoda
Tiger Hill Scenic Spot has been reputed as the “No. 1 Attraction in Suzhou”. The spot boasts the thousand-year-old Yunyansi Pagoda (or Tiger Hill Pagoda), Sword Pond and ten-plus scenic sites.
Address：Huqiu mountain scenic spot, Gusu District, Suzhou
Pingwang Ancient Town
The Beijing – Hangzhou Grand Canal is divided into three from Pingwang to Qiantang and meets Taipu River in the south, thus forming a unique scenery where four rivers meets (the new and old canal, Taipu River, Ditang River).
Address： Wuzhong District, Suzhou