Suzhou
China · Greater China
China's garden city: nine World Heritage scholar gardens, canal streets and I. M. Pei's museum, half an hour from Shanghai.
Why visit
Why visit Suzhou
Go for the gardens. They are small, walled and intensely composed, made by scholars as landscape paintings in three dimensions, with water at the centre, rocks for mountains and each view framed by a window or a doorway. Our guide to the classical gardens explains which to choose and how to look.
Go also because it is easy. Suzhou can be a day trip from Shanghai, though a night allows the gardens early in the morning, before the crowds.
Explore
What to see
The Humble Administrator's Garden. The largest and most famous. Go when the gates open.
The Master of the Nets Garden. The smallest of the great gardens and the most admired by specialists.
The Lingering Garden. Known for its sequence of courts and corridors and its great Lake Tai rock.
The Suzhou Museum. Designed by I. M. Pei and opened in 2006, beside the Humble Administrator's Garden.
Pingjiang Road. An old street along a canal.
Jinji Lake. In the new city, the Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art takes its plan from the garden corridor.
Tongli. A water town half an hour away, with one of the nine listed gardens.
Experiences
Experiences in Suzhou
Before you go
Practical information
Best time to visit
Spring and autumn are the most pleasant seasons. Early morning, light rain and winter, when the structure of the gardens shows, are the best conditions for looking. The national holiday weeks in early May and early October are very crowded and best avoided.
Getting around
High-speed trains from Shanghai take about half an hour. Within the old city the gardens are a short taxi or metro ride apart. Three gardens are the right number for a day.
Practical notes
The most popular gardens limit numbers at busy times, and tickets should be booked ahead in spring and autumn. Wuzhen, the water town known for its theatre festival, lies to the south, towards Hangzhou.
Continue exploring
More from China
ChinaBeijingChina's imperial capital: Forbidden City, hutong lanes and Great Wall, with Peking duck and a new wave of refined restaurants.Explore Beijing →
ChinaChengduSichuan's capital and UNESCO City of Gastronomy: numbing, fragrant cuisine, teahouse culture and an unhurried way of life.Explore Chengdu →
ChinaChongqingMountain city at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers, famous for fiery hotpot and a neon-lit vertical skyline.Explore Chongqing →