Features: It is a representative work of classical gardens in the south of the Yangtze River. The whole garden takes water as the center, with mountains and waters intertwined, elegant halls and pavilions, and lush flowers and trees, having rich characteristics of the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River.
Recommended Tour Route: Enter from the east gate. First, admire the Orchid Snow Hall and experience its simple and elegant style. Then follow the winding path to the Distant Fragrance Hall. Here, there are transparent long windows on all sides, allowing you to look around at different sceneries. Next, visit attractions such as the Fragrant Isle and the Lotus Breeze Pavilion in Four Directions to enjoy various unique scenes created with water as the theme. Finally, exit from the north gate.
Lingering Garden
Features: It is renowned for its exquisite architectural art. The halls are spacious and magnificent, the courtyards are full of changes, and the Taihu stones, with the Cloud-Capped Peak being the most prominent, giving people the fun of mountains and forests without leaving the city.
Recommended Tour Route: After entering through the main gate, first visit the entrance hall, the Ancient Woods Intertwined, and the Small Garden with Flower Steps to experience its ingenious spatial layout and delicate small scenes. Then go to the central landscape area of mountains and waters to admire the harmonious combination of buildings such as the Green Shade Pavilion and the Bright and Clear Tower with the landscape. Then view the Cloud-Capped Peak and the courtyard layout around it. Finally, leave through the exit.
Lion Grove Garden
Features: It is famous for its grotesque rockeries. The rockery peaks rise and fall with a majestic momentum, and the caves are winding like a big and confusing maze.
Recommended Tour Route: Start the tour from the Swallow’s Appreciation Hall and admire its architectural form of the mandarin duck hall. Then enter the rockery group and shuttle through it to experience the fun of drilling holes. You can also climb to the top of the rockery to view the scenery. After that, visit the Standing Snow Hall and other buildings to experience the cultural connotations of the garden. Finally, exit from the main gate.
Suzhou Food Guide
Suzhou-style Breakfast
Suzhou-style Noodle Soup
Introduction: Suzhou people are particular about noodle soup, noodles, and toppings when it comes to noodle soup. The noodle soup is made by long-time boiling of pig bones, chicken frames, and other ingredients, rich and delicious; there are various choices of noodles such as thin noodles and wide noodles, which are chewy and smooth; there are many kinds of toppings, such as braised pork, fried fish, shrimp, eel shreds, etc.
Recommended Shop: Tong Dexing Noodle Restaurant. Its Fengzhen Big Pork Noodle is unique, with tender pork and clear and delicious soup.
Pan-fried Dumplings
Introduction: The outer skin is crispy, and the inner filling is juicy. Usually, it is a pork filling, sprinkled with sesame seeds and scallions on top. When you take a bite of the freshly made pan-fried dumplings just out of the pan, the soup overflows, and the fragrance is tangy.
Recommended Shop: Yaba Pan-fried Dumplings. The pan-fried dumplings in his shop have thin skins and large fillings, with a crispy bottom and fragrant meat, deeply loved by locals and tourists.
Crab Shell Pastry
Introduction: It is named because it looks like a crab shell. There are sweet and salty flavors. The sweet ones usually have fillings such as rose and red bean paste, while the salty ones are mostly scallion oil and fresh meat. The outer skin is crispy and layered.
Recommended Shop: Huang Tianyuan Cake Shop. Besides cakes, its crab shell pastry is also very distinctive and worth a try.
Suzhou-style Dishes
Squirrel-shaped Mandarin Fish
Introduction: It is a traditional famous dish in Suzhou. Fresh mandarin fish is selected. After processes such as cutting, marinating, and frying, the fish meat looks like a squirrel, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Then pour a special sweet and sour sauce on it, which is sweet and sour and delicious.
Recommended Shop: Songhelou. This is an old and famous Suzhou cuisine restaurant, and its squirrel-shaped mandarin fish is very authentic.
Bi Luo Shrimp
Introduction: Using Bi Luo Chun tea, a specialty of Dongshan in Suzhou, and fresh shrimp as raw materials, the shrimp is white, tender and fresh, and the tea is fragrant, with a unique flavor.
Recommended Shop: Deyuelou. Its Bi Luo Shrimp is quite famous in the local area.
Sizzling Eel Paste
Introduction: After stir-frying the eel shreds, pour hot oil on it, and it will make a “sizzling” sound, with the aroma overflowing. The eel shreds have a tender taste and a mellow flavor, which is a classic Suzhou dish.
Recommended Shop: Xinjufeng Restaurant. The eel paste in this restaurant is particular about the selection of materials and has excellent cooking skills.
Recommended Food Streets
Pingjiang Road Historical Block
Features: While visiting Pingjiang Road and admiring the scenery of the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River, you can taste various Suzhou specialty snacks and traditional foods. In addition to some of the foods mentioned above, there are also plum blossom cakes, crabapple cakes, sweet porridge, etc. Most of the food shops here have an antique flavor, and you can experience a strong Jiangnan cultural atmosphere while tasting delicious food.
Guanqian Street
Features: It is a well-known commercial pedestrian street in Suzhou, gathering many old and famous food shops and various specialty restaurants. Here, you can not only taste authentic Suzhou-style food but also buy various Suzhou specialties, such as Suzhou-style pastries, braised dried tofu, etc.
