Suzhou, the Venice of the East

I thought that Yangzhou Classical Gardens and Stone Bridges were beautiful, but after visiting Suzhou I changed my mind. Also known as the “Venice of the East”, since 42% of the city is covered by water, Suzhou its located in the southastern Jiangsu Province of East China, about 100 km northwest of shanghai. When we started planning the trip, my friends and I decided to find something cheap and ideally close to the centre and thus booked two nights at the Blue gate Youth Hostel. I absolutely loved it. The six beds mixed dormitory was very clean and the staff spoke good English and was extremely helpful. The price was great too – ¥80 for two nights (£9, lol).

Suzhou is a big city with a population of 4.33 million inhabitants and so the best way to go from one place to another is by bus or tube. Although, once you have reached your destination, the best way to feel the atmosphere of this ancient city with over 2500 years of history is walking through its streets and admiring the canals, bridges and ancient crumbling buildings.

My favourite place in Suzhou has been the Suzhou Museum, a modern masterpiece that emerges traditional Chinese architectural design with the future. Fun fact about this museum is that the award-winning Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei has designed it in 2006. Did you know that Pei’s most famous work is the glass pyramids at the Louvre in Paris? While controversial during design and construction stages, Pei’s pyramids went on to become incredibly popular and much loved by Parisians and tourists like me. We got to the museum at 11 AM, after we visited the Humble Administrator’s Garden down the road. We had to queue for a while because it was very busy but, once we were in (entrance was free btw), there was enough space for everyone to walk and take photos.

What I also really liked about Suzhou was a Korean place called Xingan Korean Creativity Restaurant, which my friends and I discovered accidentally. In Suzhou, like in any other city, there are many touristy and overpriced places with poor quality food. However, this Korean restaurant was simply amazing, a real hidden gem. The food, Korean hot pot, was delicious and reasonably priced and the lady who owned the place, despite the fact she did not speak English, was so kind to us. Also, the restaurant was filled with locals, which was another good sign.

I could go on and talk more about Suzhou, as its one of those cities where you want to get lost. However, I think I better keep this post short and simple, otherwise I’ll loose your attention! I’ll then finish off by saying that I enjoyed absolutely everything in Suzhou and I highly recommend wondering around this picturesque city if you end up in China.