China | Suzhou

Suzhou

The city of Suzhou (pronounced sue-chow) is located approximately 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Shanghai. This ancient Chinese city was founded in 600 BC, by HeLu who was the ruler of the Kingdom of Wu. Situated on the lower Yangtze River, Suzhou is renowned for its elaborate 'Venice-like' canal system, hundreds of canal bridges, classical gardens, 2,500-year-old city walls, silk, and its beautiful women.

Today, Suzhou is located in Jiangsu Province, within driving sistance of Shanghai. The provincial name "Jiangsu" is derived from Jiang which is an abbreviation of short for the city of Jiangning known as modern day Nanjing, and "su," after Suzhou.

Considered the "Venice of the Orient" or "Venice of the East," Suzhou lies in what the Chinese refer to as the "land of water and rice," along the silk route. With its water fed by perennial rainfall, and nearby Lake Taihu, Suzhou is also famous for its lush gardens such as the Lingering Garden, Blue-Waves Pavilion Garden, Lion-Grove Garden, and Humble Administrator's Garden.

Suzhou's Rise to Prominence

King He Lu of the Wu Kingdom established what was known as the "Great City of He Lu," and upon his death in 496 BC, He Lu was buried on Tiger Hill in Huqiu, site of the famed Yunyan Ta Pagoda or 'ThebYunyan Leaning Pagoda.

Suzhou's status was further enhanced when the first Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, or the Hongwu Emperor (1328 - 1398) made neighboring Nanjing the capital of his empire. The third Ming Emperor Yongle moved the capital from Nanjing (Nanking) to Beijing, now known as Peking, but Suzhou's prominance as a trading center remained intact.

During Marco Polo's visit to Suzhou in 1276, the city was described by the Venetian explorer as a land of "six thousand bridges, clever merchants, cunning men of all crafts, very wise men called Sages and great natural physicians." Actually, there are only around 200 of the famous Suzhou bridges that remain today. Marco Polo also declared that so much precious silk was produced in Suzhou that "every citizen was clothed in it."

Suzhou Wedding Dress District

There is an old Chinese saying that one should be: "Born in Suzhou, live in Hangzhou, eat in Guangzhou (aka Canton), and die in Liuzhou (aka Longcheng or "Dragon City")." This proverb is partly due to the reputation that Suzhou holds for having the most beautiful women in China - known their very soft skin, which may be due to the high humidity.

Legend has it that Wu and Qi Dynasty Emperors commissioned the building of the Grand Canal in 486 BC, partly to travel to Suzhou in search of courtesans and silk. Today, Suzhou is still known for its silk, and as a favorite wedding destination for the Chinese. When traveling through Suzhou's wedding dress district, you will se mile after mile of storefronts selling every manner of brightly colored wedding dresses.

Knockoffs in Suzhou

One of the perpetual dark sides of China's so-called embrace of "capitalism" is the government's tacit acceptance of its huge knockoff industry. China's look-the-other-way attitude has been a source of constant frustration for luxury goods manufacturers in Europe and America.

Fake merchandise marketing is not confined to freelance street-vendors, nor is it confined to one region. So pervasive is this "underground" counterfeit industry in China that tour groups are led to government sanctioned knockoff stores that are within a stone's throw of legitimate high-end retailers such as Cartier, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton.

If China is ever to elevate itself to 'first-world' status, it will have to jettison its reliance on the income generated by the sale of counterfeit merchandise.

Suzhou's Canal District Marketplace

These water towns are also known for their old-world charm that can be found by strolling through the twisting maze of back-streets and narrow alleyways (known in Chinese as Hutongs) that are lined with small shops, food stalls, and vegetable markets.

Most of the preserved canals are situated near Sundong Road and Panmen Road, in the southwest part of the city, and the neighborhoods have been left intact and fairly un-commercialized.