"Small bridges and flowing water", "Wu Nong's soft language", "Jiangnan gardens", these are all my literal impressions of Suzhou. People say "there is heaven above, and Suzhou and Hangzhou below", but I have never been to this land of fish and rice, which is inevitably regrettable. Coming to Suzhou with my wife during the summer vacation has fulfilled my wish, while also enjoying the beautiful scenery of Suzhou, which is rich in culture and charming in scenery.

This trip lasted for 5 days and 4 nights, which can be considered a slow tour. The itinerary is as follows:

first day

Take the high-speed train to Suzhou and watch Qianjie at night.

the second day

Humble Administrator's Garden, Lion Grove, Pingjiang Road

on the third day

Huqiu, Zhouzhuang, overnight stay in Zhouzhuang

The fourth day

Returning to Suzhou, Canglang Pavilion, Shantang Street

The Fifth Day

Liuyuan, Hanshan Temple, returning home

First, let's talk about my impression of Suzhou. The urban environment is clean and beautiful, with lush greenery. The citizens I meet have good quality, which may be due to the fact that it is a tourist city and an economically developed area. Prices are relatively high.

first day

It took nearly 5 hours by high-speed rail to reach Suzhou North Station, and then transferred twice to the subway to Zhuhui Road near the hotel. However, I couldn't find any hotels I had previously booked online, and I couldn't get through the phone. So I decided to cancel my reservation and checked into a business hotel on Zhuhui Road

It's pretty good, isn't it. After a short rest, take a taxi straight to the first destination: Guanqian Street.

Guanqian Street is the most famous commercial pedestrian street in Suzhou, which is beautiful compared to Wangfujing in Beijing, Nanjing Road in Shanghai, and Binjiang Road in Tianjin. The reason why it is called Guanqian Street is because it is located in front of the Xuanmiao Temple, and therefore has more cultural atmosphere than other commercial streets.

As the most famous commercial street in Suzhou, there are naturally many famous restaurants and snacks: Lu Jijian's soy duck, soy meat, raw Chunyang ham, Zongzi sugar in the Caizhi Zhai, Su style moon cakes in Daoxiangcun, Yeshouhe's Ning style cakes, Huangtianyuan's yellow muffin, Songhe Lou's Yangchun noodles, Luyang's chicken soup Wonton, etc. Of course, there are also some imported products such as KFC, Pizzahut, etc

We had this first dinner at Luyang Wonton restaurant located in eunuch lane

A bowl of fresh shrimp Wonton, a bowl of shepherd's purse fresh meat Wonton, a drawer of fresh meat Xiaolongbao, a total of 48 yuan.

Night has fallen, the journey is tiring and strolling is tiring. Come back.

the second day

According to the plan, head straight to Humble Administrator's Garden early in the morning and pass by attractions such as Suzhou Museum and Zhongwang Mansion on the way

Unable to resist the temptation of the Humble Administrator's Garden, I resolutely came to the Humble Administrator's Garden without entering

Humble Administrator's Garden is the largest existing classical garden in Suzhou and has been included in the The World Heritage List. The park is surrounded by mountains and rivers, with exquisite pavilions, lush flowers and trees, vast pools and lush forests, and sparse buildings, reflecting the rich characteristics of Jiangnan gardens.

Unlike northern gardens, the Humble Administrator's Garden gives me the greatest feeling of delicacy.

I had lunch near noon when I left Humble Administrator's Garden at the nearby Zhu Hongxing Noodle Shop, which is also a century old shop and its signature

It's just fried eel and fresh shrimp noodles. In addition, we also have a bowl of fresh shrimp and mushroom noodles

I think this fried eel and fresh shrimp noodles are much more affordable than the shrimp fried eel noodles from Hangzhou Kuiyuan Restaurant, and the taste is good and cheap, although it seems more famous.

More than 400 meters away from Humble Administrator's Park, we are at the Lion Grove

Lion Grove, founded in the Yuan Dynasty, is a representative of Yuan Dynasty gardens. The park is surrounded by long corridors, with hidden towers and winding paths. Especially with the largest remaining ancient rockery group in China, it is known as the kingdom of rockeries. These rockeries give people a feeling of confusion.

I entered a cave and climbed up the stairs, where I could have a conversation with my wife. However, I struggled to get together and struggled for a while before achieving it. One side had to stay still, otherwise it would be even more troublesome. After crossing a rockery, the Qing Dynasty scholar Zhu Bingjing once said, "The stone on the opposite side is obstructed, and the way back suddenly becomes clear. It's like wearing a few curved beads, spiraling around and embedding them in the air, like encountering an eight formation diagram, with infinite changes in form. Therefore, the road forgets to enter and exit, and new techniques become lost in the west and east. When traveling together, they occasionally disperse, but the sound does not meet." This "sound does not meet people" is truly amazing.

Although I am mentally prepared for the summer heat in Jiangnan, I still have insufficient understanding. Unlike in the north, this place is not sweaty, but has a scorching heat that cannot be sweated out, which is very uncomfortable. After leaving the Lion Grove, I quickly found a KFC and asked for two cold drinks, which can be considered cool and refreshing!

Walk east from Shizilin for 400 meters and you will reach Pingjiang Road.

The Pingjiang Road Historical and Cultural Block is the most well preserved and largest historical block in Suzhou to date, and can be regarded as a microcosm of the ancient city of Suzhou. This place preserves the unique style of "small bridges and flowing water, pink walls and black tiles", as well as the unique Jiangnan water city characteristics of deep ancient alleys, accumulating a profound cultural heritage.

There weren't many tourists on Pingjiang Road, so we walked leisurely. From time to time, we walked into the store to take a quick look and feel at ease.

There are many performance venues for Pingjiang Road's Pingtan and Kunqu opera. It's a pity not to listen to authentic Pingtan or Kunqu opera here in a serious manner, and this regret has been taken with us.

At night, take a boat trip to the Suzhou Ancient Canal.

We board the ship from the ancient canal dock, and the ticket price is 100 yuan per person, it's really not cheap.

At this moment, the lights are on, and the scenery by the ancient Yun River is even more charming. On both sides of the canal are modern high-rise buildings, while on the other side are typical antique buildings. The ancient and modern complement each other, making people feel the unique charm of Suzhou city.

During the cruise, there was a tour guide explaining and a ten minute Pingtan performance, but in my opinion, it was just a performance, far from being a true Pingtan.

on the third day

In the morning, we visited Huqiu and entered through the north gate.

Huqiu, formerly known as Haiyong Mountain, is said to have buried King Helu of Wu here. It is said that three days after the burial, a white tiger crouched on it, hence its name.

Huqiu Pagoda, also known as Yunyan Temple Pagoda, is the world's second leaning tower and can be considered a landmark of Huqiu Scenic Area.

The most fascinating historical site in Huqiu is the Sword Pool, which is said to be the tomb of King Helu of Wu. "There is a unique cave," next to the round cave gate, there are four thick and powerful characters, "Tiger Hill Sword Pool," originally written by Yan Yan, the only son of Yan Zhenqing. On the stone wall inside the round cave, there is another inscription "Wind Gully and Cloud Spring" with a graceful brushwork, which is said to have been written by Mi Fu, one of the four great calligraphers of the Song Dynasty. On the left wall of the cliff, there are two characters in seal script called "Sword Pool", which are said to have been written by the great calligrapher Wang Xizhi.

There are many historical sites worth visiting in Huqiu, such as the Tomb of Zhenniang, Thousand People Stone, and Sword Testing Stone.

At noon, we left the "Number One Mountain in Wuzhong" and headed to the most attractive place of our trip - Zhouzhuang.

We took the bus to Zhouzhuang at Suzhou Bus North Station, with a fare of 17 yuan per person. After nearly 3 hours of driving to the service area of Zhouzhuang Scenic Area, we bought a package ticket to enter Zhouzhuang, which is 100 yuan per person, including large tickets, small tickets, and boat tickets. That means we will take a boat to enter Zhouzhuang. If you don't want to buy this package ticket, you can do it. Then you need to transfer to bus 261 after the bus arrives at the destination and buy another ticket by land to enter Zhouzhuang. We will follow this route on our return journey.

Take a boat into Zhouzhuang.

Zhouzhuang Ancient Town has a history of over 900 years, but it was only named during the Kangxi period.

The development of Zhouzhuang Ancient Town and its surrounding areas cannot be separated from the legendary wealthy businessman Shen Wansan. The Shen Hall of Zhouzhuang, also known as Shen Wansan's former residence, is an important cultural landscape of Zhouzhuang's tourist attractions.

This is Zhang Ting

Zhang Hall is one of the few surviving Ming Dynasty buildings, and surprisingly, its backyard allows for small boats to enter and exit, which corresponds to a pair of couplets in its hall. The upper couplet reads "The sedan chair advances through the door", and the lower couplet reads "The boat passes through the house", which is quite tasteful after careful consideration.

This is the famous Shuangqiao

The swaying boatman

Ancient Stage

Dinner at a restaurant called Grandmother Bridge, not far from the former residence of Ye Chulun, a famous figure in the Republic of China

Salt water river shrimp, silver fish stir fried eggs, green vegetables and tofu soup, two bowls of rice, 162 yuan!

Zhouzhuang under the cover of night

Staying overnight in Zhouzhuang.

The fourth day

The quiet Zhouzhuang in the early morning

Without the crowds of tourists and the hustle and bustle, this quiet Zhouzhuang becomes more interesting.

To be honest, the impression Zhou Zhuang gave me was average. It's not that she's not good, it's just that she lacks a bit of stunning feeling. I hope all the viewers don't criticize me. The current prosperity of Zhouzhuang is attributed to the late famous painter Chen Yifei, who painted the Shuangqiao Bridge in Zhouzhuang with a paintbrush and named it "Memories of Hometown", which was exhibited in New York. As a result, Zhouzhuang has gone global and its fame has grown like a snowball. The current Zhouzhuang is too commercialized, and this feeling is really not good.

Return to Suzhou at noon.

Starting from the hotel where you stayed, walk over 600 meters to reach Canglang Pavilion.

Canglang Pavilion was first built in the Northern Song Dynasty and is the oldest classical garden among the existing gardens in Suzhou.

This is Canglang Pavilion

The couplet is a collection of poems by Su Shunqin and Ouyang Xiu, "The clear breeze and bright moon are priceless, and emotions can be found near water and far mountains.".

Famous leaky window

The solemn and quiet Mingdao Hall is a place for literati to give lectures

The reading place of the garden owner takes inspiration from Du Fu's poem "The light and shadow illuminate without sleep, the heart is clear and smells the wonderful fragrance"

After swimming through Canglang Pavilion, it was time to find a place to eat something. We unanimously decided to go to Shantang Street. The bus stop I saw along the way is very antique and distinctive

From the Shantang Street subway station, there is a food market opposite. There is a crab shell Shaobing (Baked cake in griddle) at the door, which costs 1.20 yuan each. There are two kinds of sweet and salty cakes. They are fresh from the pot and eaten while hot. They are crisp and delicious.

Shantang Street was first built in the Tang Dynasty. It was a dam built by Bai Juyi to excavate the Shantang River, also known as the Bai Gong Dam. What we are visiting is Shantang Old Street, which is about 360 meters long and only a small part of Qili Shantang.

There are too many people on Shantang Street compared to Pingjiang Road, with shops lining the streets, tourists bustling, and many famous restaurants and food.

A small bottle of original yogurt at Fox's Home, a popular online store, costs 15 yuan

Picking Sesame Studio to Buy Candy

Crab yellow soup buns are being sucked and eaten

I also bought pickled chicken feet and dried tofu, sat on the ground and ate them.

Emperor Qianlong keeps ink treasures everywhere

Shantang Street in the Night

The Fifth Day

Youliu Garden.

Liuyuan is a classical garden in the style of the Qing Dynasty, known for its exquisite architectural layout and numerous peculiar stones.

Qing Dynasty scholar Yu Yue called Liuyuan "the crown of famous gardens under Wu"

Hanbishan House

Yuan Cui Ge freely emerges

Ke Ting

Wufeng Immortal Hall

The Lingering Garden is especially famous for the numerous rare stones in the Taihu Lake Lake, which is called "the interest of mountains and forests without leaving the city".

The famous Guanyun Peak is said to be the remains of Huashigang from the Northern Song Dynasty.

Look at the group of the Taihu Lake Lake stones below. It looks like an eagle and a dog are fighting

Liuyuan is best described by these words: diverse, poetic and picturesque, pleasing to the eye, lingering and unforgettable.

The beauty of the Lingering Garden is truly incomparable to that of the Humble Administrator's Garden.

The Ke Garden across the water from Canglang Pavilion

At this point, we have checked in all four classical gardens representing the styles of Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing, including Canglang Pavilion, Lion Grove, Humble Administrator's Garden, and Lingering Garden. Congratulations!

Visit the last attraction of this trip at noon - Hanshan Temple

The fame of Hanshan Temple is entirely attributed to Zhang Ji's poem "Night Mooring at Maple Bridge", and most of the existing buildings were built in the Qing Dynasty.

A calligraphy stele of the poem "Night Mooring at Maple Bridge" by the literati Yu Yue in the Qing Dynasty

There's no problem with the reason, it's hard to achieve it

Stele of Emperor Yongzheng's Edict Written by Jiangsu Governor Cheng Dequan in the Late Qing Dynasty

The last meal in Suzhou was served here - Mute Pancake, located on Linton Road, not far from Guanqian Street.

It's really an internet celebrity shop. It's already crowded before it's time for dinner. We're all queuing up and looking for a spot. It's impossible for us to dominate, so we have to share a table with others.

One fried meat, one bowl of beef vermicelli soup, one bowl of Wonton, 42 yuan in total. Fried pork is really good, and it's not in vain to have waited in line for such a long time. Eat this raw pan fry slowly and gently, otherwise it will burn.

I'll take a taxi home tonight. Goodbye, Suzhou!

The Suzhou tour has ended, and I have also finished writing my travelogue. Saying it's a travelogue is more like a journal, and if it can be beneficial to all the readers, it can be considered worthy of your reading.