A Trip to Suzhou

In China, working people or students like to go on short trips during major holidays, because that is their precious vacation. They usually choose popular cities in China, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, etc. and any city by the sea. Among the statutory holidays in China, National Day is a relatively long holiday, which lasts for seven days. So how to enjoy this holiday trip? How to have fun while traveling? What I want to ask is, are you ready to travel? My friend and I took a spontaneous 3-day trip to Suzhou during the National Day holiday. We learned some key things to note when traveling on vacation during peak travel periods in China. 

Suzhou is a famous city in southern Jiangsu. Known as “The Venice of the East,” “Land of Abundance,” and “World of Gardens,” Suzhou is the cradle of the Wu culture. Suzhou is a strange city to us; I have never been there. Before this trip, I only knew that Suzhou is a poetic city, that it has no sea but rivers. Suzhou has modern high-rise buildings, but it also retains the traditional architecture of Suzhou. It has its own history and culture. 

Determine your destination and order tickets in advance

Since my friend’s vacation couldn’t be confirmed in advance, we could not make plans for our travel until the day before she confirmed her vacation. Yes, this is too late for a major holiday in China. We wanted to go to Qingdao, which is a beautiful coastal city, but all the tickets were sold out. Even the return tickets were sold out. See, beautiful places are reserved for those who plan well in advance. Finally, we chose to make a trip to Suzhou, a city 400KM away from us. The most important thing for us was that we could buy round-trip tickets.

Book your hotel in advance

So, it was a walk-and-go trip because we just identified the location but didn’t do any planning. Even the hotel was booked before our departure. There are many people traveling during the holiday: Nanjing, 200Km from Suzhou, has 14 million travelers from out of town this National Day holiday. So, some good quality, affordable hotels will be fully booked. During the holidays, the hotels always increase the price uniformly, which will be 1.5-3 times that of ordinary days. If you can book in advance, then the price will not be so expensive.  

When booking a hotel in Suzhou, do not book a hotel that is too far away from the scenic area you want to visit, otherwise most of your travel time will be spent in traffic. Also, do not book a hotel in the scenic area, although it will be convenient because of the proximity to the scenic area. However, the quality of the room and its expensive price do not match. Also, the food in the scenic area is always more expensive than the food in other areas. 

Book and purchase attraction tickets in advance 

After we arrived in Suzhou and checked into the hotel, we immediately started to plan our visit. We had to decide where we were going as soon as possible. So, we turned on the video software, and we tried to see what people were saying about popular areas of the city. Suzhou has a subway, which allowed us to save a lot of time in transportation.  

Pingjiang Road

Pingjiang Road is the first popular area we visited on our trip to Suzhou. Pingjiang Road is a commercial street with local architecture.This area includes two important attractions: the Humble Administrator’s Garden and the Suzhou Museum. The Humble Administrator’s Garden is a UNESCO world cultural heritage site and rated as a 5A-level scenic spot in China. This has the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units in China. The Humble Administrator’s Garden is also one of the four major gardens in China.  (See my articles: The History of Yu Garden in Shanghai and Huiyuan in A Trip to Hefei.)

In ancient times, the Humble Administrator’s Garden was a private garden, and the interior architecture and landscape arrangement reached the point of luxury. Unfortunately, we did not reserve and purchase tickets in advance. Therefore, we could not photograph the historical and cultural garden buildings and scenery. 

Local cuisine

The following photos were taken by me in the area of Pingjiang Road. We had dinner on this street where we tasted the local specialty: crab noodles. This is the first time I have eaten crab yellow noodles, which are delicious. It is probably made from the crab roe that is taken out of the crab, processed and seasoned, poured over the cooked noodles, and then stirred well. Every bite of noodles has the taste of crab roe. 

Shantang Street

The next day, we went to another popular spot – Shantang Street. It is a street with similar architectural style and Pingjiang Road. The area is larger and there are antique costumes to rent for photo shoots. This is also a place that out-of-town tourists will visit.  

We went to Shantang Street in the morning. There was an LED display at the entrance, recording the number of people entering the scenic area: from the beginning I could walk freely in the street. After 2 hours, the number of people in Shantang Street increased to In those two hours, the number of people on Shantang Street reached almost 4,000. I had to walk carefully to avoid bumping into passers-by.  

In the crowded streets, I tried to take pictures and document my travels. Both Pingjiang Road and Shantang Street have rivers, and you can buy a ticket to enjoy the view along the river by boat. However, during the holidays all you can see are tourists from the shore. 

The Gate of the East

The next evening, we arrived at Suzhou Central Plaza, where there is a large mall with various types of stores, including catering, clothing, luxury goods, cosmetics, etc. We did not come for the shopping, however. Tourists come to this area to see the Gate of the East. It’s a super tall building with a complex structure, and we need to look up to see it.  

When you place your phone on the ground and tilt it 45 degrees, you get a photo with yourself under the Gate of the East. Underneath the building, you’ll see a lot of young people crouching on the ground adjusting the angle of their phones. I think this is also a “landscape,” ha ha. 

Summary

On the third day, our trip to Suzhou was over: we couldn’t continue exploring because we needed to dedicate half a day to the return trip.  

I don’t think I know enough about Suzhou, if my relationship with Suzhou was unfamiliar at the beginning, then after these three days, we just met to say hello and then left. I did not really know all Suzhou has to offer yet, but we were leaving. I hope that the next time I can take a trip to Suzhou, I can plan my itinerary in advance. I should be full of energy and good to get to know this city in the historical and cultural center of China’s Jiangsu Province. Unfortunately, this article offers some information about Suzhou, it main purpose is to share advice on traveling during the holidays in China. I hope on my next trip, I can better introduce Chinese culture, food and cities to everyone. 

Other articles about Chinese gardens and architecture

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