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In 514 BC, during the Spring and Autumn Period, King Helu (闔閭/阖闾) of Wu established "Great City of Helu", the ancient name for Suzhou, as his capital. In 496 BC, Helu was buried in Huqiu (Tiger Hill 虎丘).
In 473 BC Wu was defeated by Yue, a kingdom to the east which was soon annexed by the Chu in 306 BC. The golden era of Suzhou ended with this conquest. Remnants of this culture include remainders of a 2,500 year old city wall and the gate through it at Pan Gate.
By the time of the Qin Dynasty, the city was known as Wu County. Xiang Yu (项羽) staged his historical uprising here in 209 BC, which contributed to the overthrow of Qin.
During the Sui Dynasty - in 589 AD - the city was renamed Suzhou.
When the Grand Canal was completed, Suzhou found itself strategically located on a major trade route. In the course of the history of China, it has been a metropolis of industry and commerce on the south-eastern coast of China.
During the Tang Dynasty (825 AD), the great poet Bai Juyi (白居易) constructed the Shantang Canal (called "Shantang Street" or 山塘街) to connect the city with Huqiu for tourists. In 1035 AD, the temple of Confucius was founded by famed poet and writer Fan Zhongyan (范仲淹). It became the venue for imperial civil examinations.
In February 1130, the advancing Jin army from the north ransacked and massacred the city. This was followed by the Mongol invasion (1275).
In 1356, Suzhou became of the capital of Zhang Shicheng, one of the leaders of the Red Turban Rebellion against the Yuan Dynasty and the self-proclaimed King of Wu. In 1367 Zhang's main rival, Nanjing-based Zhu Yuanzhang took the city after a 10-month siege. Zhu - who was soon to proclaim himself as the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty - demolished the royal city (in the centre of Suzhou's walled city), and imposed crushing taxes on the city's and prefecture's powerful families.
Despite the heavy taxation and the resettlement of some of Suzhou's prominent citizens' to the area of Hongwu's capital, Nanjing, Suzhou soon was prosperous again. When in 1488 the shipwrecked Korean official Choe Bu had a chance to see much of Eastern China - from Zhejiang to Liaoning - on his way home, he described Suzhou in his travel report as exceeding every other city in China he had seen. Many of the famous private gardens were constructed by the gentry of the Ming and Qing dynasties. However, the city was to see another disaster in 1860 when Taiping soldiers advanced on and captured the city. In November 1863 the Ever Victorious Army of Charles Gordon recaptured the city from the Taiping forces.
The next crisis that met the city was the Japanese invasion in 1937. Many gardens were devastated by the end of the war. In the early 1950s, restoration was done on gardens such as Zhuo-Zheng Yuan (Humble Administrator's Garden) and Liu Yuan (Lingering Garden) to bring them back to life.
Suzhou is one of the most prosperous cities in China. Its development has a direct correlation with the growth of its satellite cities, including Kunshan, Taicang, Changshu, Wujiang and Zhangjiagang, which together with the city of Suzhou form the Suzhou prefecture. The Suzhou prefecture is home to many high-tech enterprises.
Suzhou has jurisdiction over (at county level):
{|class=wikitable !County !! Township |-- |Kunshan (昆山) |Yushan (玉山镇), Bacheng (巴城镇 ), Zhoushi (周市镇), Lujia (陆家镇), Huaqiao (花桥镇), Dianshanhu (淀山湖镇), Zhangpu (张浦镇), Zhouzhuang (周庄镇), Qiandeng (千灯镇), Jingxi (锦溪镇) |-- |Taicang (太仓) |Chengxiang (城厢镇), Sha (沙溪镇 ), Lu Du (陆渡镇), Liuhe (浏河镇), Pontoon (浮桥镇), Huangjing (璜泾镇), Shuangfeng (双凤镇 ) |-- |Wujiang (吴江) |Songling (松陵镇) Tongli (同里镇) FENHU (汾湖镇) Flat Hope (平望镇) Shengze (盛泽镇) Zhenze town (震泽镇) 7 Du (七都镇) Taoyuan (桃源镇) Hengshan (横扇镇) |-- |Changshu (常熟) | 虞山镇、海虞镇、Xingang (新港镇)、辛庄镇、尚湖镇、Meili (梅李镇)、支塘镇、董浜镇、古里镇、沙家浜镇 |-- |Zhangjiagang (张家港) |杨舍镇、锦丰镇、塘桥镇、乐余镇、南丰镇、Jingang (金港镇)、Fenghuang (凤凰镇)、Daxin (大新镇) |}
Zhuozheng Yuan, Liu Yuan, Wangshi Yuan (Master of the Nets Garden; Chinese: 网师园) and Huanxiu Mountain Villa(The Mountain Villa with Embracing Beauty; Chinese: 环秀山庄) were added to the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1997. Shizi Lin, Canglang Pavilion, Ou Yuan (Couple's Retreat Garden; Chinese: 藕园), Yi Pu (Garden of Cultivation; Chinese: 艺圃) and Tuisi Yuan (The Retreat & Reflection Garden; Chinese: 退思园) were added to the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2000.
Tiger Hill (Chinese: 虎丘) is a popular tourist destination and is known for its natural beauty as well as historical sites. The hill is so named because it is said to look like a crouching tiger. Another legend states that a white tiger appeared on the hill to guard it following the burial of King Helü. The hill has been a tourist destination for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, as is evident from the poetry and calligraphy carved into rocks on the hill. A famous Song Dynasty poet, Su Shi said, "It is a lifelong pity if having visited Suzhou you did not visit Tiger Hill."
Xiyuan Temple (Monastery Garden; Chinese: 西园寺), built in the Yuan Dynasty, is the largest Buddhist temple in Suzhou. It consists of two major parts - the Temple of Jiezhuanglu and the West Garden. It is located close to the Lingering Garden, which was originally called the East Garden.
Xuanmiao Temple (Chinese: 玄妙观) (originally built in 276) is a prominent Taoist temple with a long history, located at the center of old Suzhou City. The street along east-west direction in front of the temple is called Guanqian Street (观前街), a famed business pedestrian street in Suzhou.
Zhouzhuang is one of the most famous water towns in China. Zhouzhuang is located in Kunshan, 30 kilometers (18 miles) to the southeast of Suzhou City. Occupying an area of just over half a square kilometer (124 acres), over 60 percent of Zhouzhuang's buildings were built during the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) Dynasties. The village is known for its ancient traditions and customs, preserved buildings, ancient bridges, and picturesque location.
Tongli is located in Wujiang, 18 kilometers (11 miles) from Suzhou City. It has a history of more than 1,000 years. Tongli is crisscrossed with canals, and dotted with traditional Chinese gardens. The Retreat & Reflection Garden is located in Tongli.
Luzhi is about 25 kilometers east of Suzhou. It has a history of more than 1400 years. Covering just one square kilometer, it has been awarded the great name of 'the first water town in China'.
Within the city of Suzhou, there are also areas featuring water town scenery. Both eight hundred-year-old Pingjiang Road (平江路) and twelve hundred-year-old Shantang Road (山塘街) made it to the list of China's "famous history and culture streets", and both feature elegant bridges, flowing waters and unique architecture.
Pan Gate (Chinese: 盘门) is located on the south-west corner of the Main Canal or encircling canal of Suzhou. Originally built during the Warring States Period in the state of Wu, historians estimate it to be around 2,500 years old. It is now part of the Pan Gate Scenic Area. It is known for the "three landmarks of Pan Gate". They are the Ruiguang Pagoda(Chinese: 瑞光塔), the earliest pagoda in Suzhou built in 247 BC, the Wu Gate Bridge, the entrance to the gate at that time over the water passage and the highest bridge in Suzhou at the time, and Pan Gate. The Ruigang Pagoda is constructed of brick with wooden platforms and has simple Buddhist carvings at its base.[1]
Baodai Bridge(Precious Belt Bridge; Chinese: 宝带桥) stretches across the Daitai Lake in the suburbs of Suzhou.The bridge was first built in 806 A.D. in the Tang Dynasty and has 53 arches with a total length of 317 meters. The bridge was included on the list of national monuments (resolution 5-285) in 2001.
Yunyan Pagoda (Chinese: 虎丘塔或者云岩寺塔) (built in 961) is a Chinese pagoda built on Tiger Hill in Suzhou. It has several other names, including the 'Leaning Tower of China' (as referred to by historian O.G. Ingles) and the Yunyan Temple Tower. The tower rises to a height of 47 m (154 ft). It is a seven-story octagonal building built with blue bricks. In more than a thousand years the tower has gradually slanted due to forces of nature. Now the top and bottom of the tower vary by 2.32 meters. The entire structure weighs some , supported by internal brick columns. However, the tower leans roughly 3 degrees due to the cracking of two supporting columns.
The Suzhou Industrial Park Export Processing Zone was approved to be established by the government in April 2000, with a planning area of 2.9 km2. It is located in Suzhou Industrial Park set up by China and Singapore. Inside the Export Processing Zone, all the infrastructures are of high-standard. With the information platform and electronic methods, all the customs declaration and other procedures can be handled on line. Investors can enjoy many preferential policies.
The Suzhou Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone was established in 1990. In Nov. 1992, the zone was approved to be the national-level hi-tech industrial zone. By the end of 2007, foreign-invested companies had a total registered capital worth of USD 13 billion, of which USD 6.8 billion was paid in. SND hosts now more than 1,500 foreign companies. Some 40 Fortune 500 companies set up 67 projects in the district.
Suzhou is the second largest industrial city (next to Shanghai) in China and also the second largest city among the cities in Yangtze Delta.
There are also some small rivers in the city serving as touristing lines.
:"Capital of Silk", "Land of Abundance", "Gusu city" (姑苏), "Cradle of the Wu Culture", and "World of Gardens", "Oriental Venice or Venice of the East"- nicknames of Suzhou
: "Heaven above, Suzhou and Hangzhou below." - Chinese saying
:生在苏州,住在杭州,吃在广州,死在柳州。 "Born in Suzhou, live in Hangzhou, eat in Guangzhou, and die in Liuzhou." - Chinese saying.
: "Beautiful or not beautiful, nothing is more beautiful than the waters of Taihu (Lake Tai). Related or not related, we are all the people of the same village." - Chinese saying
:"The double-chessboard layout of Suzhou, with 'the streets and rivers go side by side while the water and land routes run in parallel', are preserved basically intact. Strolling the streets, you can feel the unique lingering charm of this landscape left by its long history".
in one of the gardens in Suzhou.]] Public institutions having full-time Bachelor's degree programs include:
Postgraduate Institution
Private Schools
Category:Cities in Jiangsu Category:World Heritage Sites in China * Category:Yangtze River Delta Category:Alliance for Healthy Cities
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