Suzhou travel guide for foreign visitors

Best time to visit

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From the airport or station to the city

Where you land, the ways into the city centre, how long each takes and what it costs.

From Suzhou Railway Station

苏州站

MetroTime10–15 minCost¥2–3
Line 4 south to Beisita (North Temple Pagoda), a 10-minute walk from the Humble Administrator’s Garden and Suzhou Museum. Line 2 also stops here.
TaxiTime10–20 minCost¥15–30
Taxi rank at the north and south squares. The old town is just south of the station.

From Suzhou North Railway Station

苏州北站

MetroTime25–35 minCost¥4–5
Line 2 south to Suzhou Railway Station, then change to Line 4 for the old town. Many Beijing–Shanghai high-speed trains stop only here.
TaxiTime25–35 minCost¥40–60
Taxi rank on the station’s lower level.

From Shanghai Hongqiao (airport and station)

上海虹桥站

TrainTime25–35 minCost≈ ¥35
Suzhou has no big airport of its own. From Hongqiao Airport walk to Hongqiao Railway Station and take a high-speed train to Suzhou or Suzhou North; trains run every few minutes. From Pudong, allow about 1.5 hours more.

Getting around

The old town is compact and flat: walk, cycle or take short taxi and DiDi rides between gardens. Metro Lines 1, 2 and 4 cross it; fares start at ¥2, and Alipay or WeChat transit codes work. Garden tickets are real-name, so carry your passport every day.

Book these before you fly

These sights need a reservation with your passport. Walk-ups are usually turned away.

Top sights

Pond, autumn trees and pavilions in the Humble Administrator’s Garden

拙政园Humble Administrator’s GardenThe largest and most famous of Suzhou’s classical gardens: ponds, pavilions and winding corridors from the Ming dynasty.Booking required2–3 hours

Reflecting pool and stone-slice rockery wall at the Suzhou Museum

苏州博物馆Suzhou MuseumI. M. Pei’s white-walled museum, a modern take on a Suzhou garden, with fine ceramics, jade and painting.Booking required1.5–2 hours

Pond, pavilion and limestone rockeries in Lion Grove Garden

狮子林Lion Grove GardenA Yuan-dynasty garden built around a maze of contorted limestone rocks you can climb through.Booking required1 hour

Canal and tree-shaded old houses along Pingjiang Road

平江路Pingjiang RoadA canal-side lane of whitewashed houses, stone bridges, teahouses and pingtan storytelling.1–2 hours

Central pond and pavilion reflected in the Master of the Nets Garden

网师园Master of the Nets GardenA small, perfectly proportioned garden around one pond, with evening music and opera shows in the warm months.Booking recommended1 hour (night garden 1.5 hours)

Pond, willows and white-walled halls in the Lingering Garden

留园Lingering GardenA grand garden of halls, courtyards and a 700-metre covered walkway, home to the famous Cloud-Capped Peak rock.Booking recommended1.5–2 hours

Whitewashed houses and stone bridge along the Shantang canal

山塘街Shantang StreetA 1,200-year-old canal street running from Changmen Gate to Tiger Hill, busy with snack shops and lit up at night.1–2 hours

The leaning Yunyan Pagoda on top of Tiger Hill

虎丘Tiger HillA wooded hill with a leaning 10th-century brick pagoda, Sword Pond and a legendary king’s tomb.Booking recommended2 hours

Ochre-yellow walls and courtyard of Hanshan Temple

寒山寺Hanshan TempleA Buddhist temple by Maple Bridge, made famous by a Tang poem about its midnight bell.1 hour

Wooden boat on a canal by a stone bridge in Zhouzhuang

周庄古镇Zhouzhuang water townThe best-known of the canal towns around Suzhou: stone bridges, Ming and Qing houses and boat rides.Booking recommendedHalf to full day

Lantern-hung waterfront house and canal boat in Tongli

同里古镇Tongli water townA canal town south of Suzhou with the UNESCO-listed Tuisi Garden, old merchant houses and the lucky Three Bridges.Booking recommendedHalf to full day

Panmen gate tower above Suzhou’s old city wall

盘门景区Panmen Gate scenic areaThe old town’s south-west corner: China’s only surviving combined land and water city gate, the Ruiguang Pagoda and the high arch of Wumen Bridge.1.5 hours

Pavilion over a lily pond in the Couple’s Retreat Garden

耦园Couple’s Retreat GardenA quiet Qing-dynasty house with a garden on each side, built for a couple, and surrounded by canals on three sides.Booking recommended1 hour

Jinji Lake with the Suzhou Industrial Park skyline beyond

金鸡湖Jinji LakeModern Suzhou: a big lake in the Industrial Park ringed by skyscrapers, the trouser-shaped Gate to the East, a music fountain and the Ligongdi causeway.2–3 hours (best at dusk)

Pond, rockery and white-walled corridor in Canglang Pavilion garden

沧浪亭Canglang PavilionSuzhou’s oldest surviving garden, first laid out in the Northern Song dynasty, entered over a stone bridge and known for its many different lattice windows.Booking recommended1 hour

Ribbed stone facade and entrance of Suzhou Museum West

苏州博物馆西馆Suzhou Museum WestThe large, newer branch of the Suzhou Museum, opened in 2021, with a walk through the city’s history, Suzhou crafts and an international gallery run with major foreign museums.2–3 hours

Rowing boat on a canal beneath a stone bridge in Luzhi

甪直古镇Luzhi Water TownA canal town east of Suzhou with stone bridges, whitewashed houses and the Baosheng Temple’s ancient clay arhat sculptures; free to walk around and less crowded than Zhouzhuang.Half a day 苏州丝绸博物馆Suzhou Silk MuseumA small free museum on Suzhou’s silk history, with live silkworms, old looms and weavers at work.About 1 hour

Sanqing Hall, the great Song-dynasty hall of Xuanmiao Taoist Temple

玄妙观Xuanmiao Taoist TempleA Taoist temple in the middle of Guanqian Street, the old town’s main shopping street, with a huge Song-dynasty main hall.30–45 minutes

Gate archway of West Garden Temple seen from above

西园戒幢律寺West Garden TempleA large working Buddhist temple next to Lingering Garden, known for its hall of 500 arhat statues and a pond full of turtles.About 1 hour

Pond, pavilion and arched bridge in the Yan Family Garden, Mudu

木渎古镇Mudu Ancient TownAn old canal town at the foot of Lingyan Hill, south-west of Suzhou, with private gardens such as Yanjia Garden and a free hill temple to climb to.Half a day

Map

What to eat here

松鼠桂鱼Squirrel-shaped mandarin fishMandarin fish scored, deep-fried so it fans out, and covered in bright sweet-and-sour sauce.

苏式汤面Suzhou noodle soupFine noodles in a dark, clear broth, with toppings such as braised pork (焖肉) or fried fish; a local breakfast.

响油鳝糊Sizzling eelStrips of rice-field eel in a sweet soy sauce, finished at the table with a splash of hot oil over garlic.

大闸蟹Hairy crabSteamed freshwater crab from Yangcheng Lake, in season roughly October to December, prized for its roe.

苏式月饼Suzhou-style mooncakeFlaky-pastry mooncakes; the savoury fresh-pork version is eaten hot from the oven.

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