Suzhou Environs

Located at the heart of Yangtze River Delta, Suzhou is bordering Shanghai on the east, and nestled by Yangtze River on the north. Suzhou has a gifted and geographic advantage for its convenient transportation to the other major cities in one or two hours’ travel, such as Shanghai, Nanjing, Zhejiang, etc. With a total population of 6.5 million living and working here, Suzhou covers a territory of 8,488 km2. Based on its long history of over 2,500 years, Suzhou is well known for its unrivaled cultural heritage and great talents. The city is renowned for its elegant stone bridges, numerous majestic pagodas, and meticulously designed gardens, which have become a great tourist attraction.

Commensurate with its natural beauty, Suzhou is also the cradle of Wu Culture, a subsidiary branch of Chinese culture well known for its elegance and exquisiteness. It has gained a reputation for its numerous talents in the literary circle. In the past two millenniums, the city has nurtured a plethora of eminent scholars that greatly enriched the cultures of East Asia as well as the world. Among them are Lu Ji, a writer in the Western Jin Dynasty (265-420), the statesman Fan Zhongyan and the poet Fan Chengda in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the playwright Feng Menglong in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Tang Yin and Wen Zhengming of Wu Painting School in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and scholars Gu Yanwu, Yu Yue and Zhang Taiyan in modern times.

Today, though the old city still has its moat and many of its finest gardens, greater Suzhou is far from being stuck in the past— it's a booming metropolis of 5 million, profiting from its proximity to the Yangzi delta and the economic powerhouse of Shanghai. Despite the building boom, many gardens, temples and classic Chinese canal scenes remain, and Suzhou is still the source of some of China's finest silk. Cycle around the city visiting gardens, shop for silk and local handicrafts, visit the Suzhou Museum addition designed by native son I.M. Pei, head out to one of the Ming or Qing-era canal towns on the city's outskirts or the pleasant island-speckled Tai Hu, China's third largest lake— the list of things to do and see in Suzhou is long.

Spring and fall are the best times to visit Suzhou, with moderate rains and temperatures making for pleasant outdoor weather. April and May see high temperatures in the mid-teens and 20s C° (60s and 70s °F) and moderate precipitation. September is nice and October is brilliant, with little rain and highs ranging from the about 15-24 °C (70-84 °F). Summers are hot and muggy, with August highs reaching well into the 30s C° (90s °F), and winters chilly and damp, with lows occasionally dipping below freezing.

Ever since China’s opening-up and reform policies in 1978, Suzhou maintains a healthy fast-developing speed and now Suzhou is the second largest city in terms of industrial output among Chinese cities. Suzhou has become the most dynamic city and the new technology hub of China.

Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) is the largest economic and technological cooperation project between the governments of China and Singapore. SIP has a total jurisdiction area of 288 km2, of which, 80 km2 is the China-Singapore cooperation district. By the end of 2006, SIP has attracted more than 12,882 projects from foreign investment companies and domestic companies. 66 out of Fortune 500 MNCs have set up a total 102 projects within SIP. Industry clusters in the electrical & electronics, IT, IC, software development, bio-pharmaceutical, medical devices, optoelectronics, aeronautics and astronautics, and auto-parts have been established.

In addition, SIP In terms of the transportation of SIP, it’s 40 minutes from downtown Shanghai by train, 15 minutes by high-speed rail (due completion in 2010), and one hour by expressway. Shanghai Hongqiao Airport and Shanghai Pudong International Airport are respectively 80km and 120km away from SIP.

Lying on the estuary of Chang Jiang (Yangtze) River, Shanghai is regarded as the economic capital in Mainland China. Besides its leading role of economic development, Shanghai also serves as the important cultural, financial, trading and industrial centers of China. If compared to Paris in its 1930s, Shanghai nowadays is more like New York. Arriving in Shanghai, immediately, you will be overwhelmed by all the crowds, autos, malls and skyscrapers. As the largest city in Mainland China in terms of population (18 million) and density (2,945/kmq), Shanghai is a booming melting pot of East and West.

Shanghai's most comfortable weather occurs from March to early June and September to November. Frequent rain interrupts the days from mid-June to early July. July and August bring hot and humid weather, with daily temperatures regularly soaring well above 30 ºC (86 ºF). The warm days continue through September as the nights begin to cool. Winter is damp and chill, with average temperatures lingering around 0 ºC (32 ºF), though it rarely snows or freezes.

China's economic showpiece never fails to surprise and rarely fails to delight. Walking Shanghai's streets can give you glimpses into a unique and layered past that includes foreign settlements, jazz-age decadence, political intrigue and, more recently, an entrepreneurial spirit that's returning this legendary port to the ranks of the world's great metropolises.?Discover the Art Deco architecture of the Bund and former French Concession, take in Pudong's futuristic skyline from a sophisticated Bund restaurant with a cool drink in hand, sample tasty local specialties, dance till dawn, shop till you drop and mingle with the intrepid and forward-thinking Shanghainese. The city's energy is contagious and there's something in Shanghai for everyone.

Hangzhou casts an enchanting spell. Marco Polo marveled that it was "the most beautiful and elegant place in the world" and a popular Chinese saying boasts, "above there is heaven, below there is Suzhou and Hangzhou." The serene loveliness of Hangzhou's West Lake (Xi Hu) and the surrounding hills remain spellbinding. Millions of tourists visit every year to admire Hangzhou's graceful willows, tranquil waters and expansive gardens.

With a long-standing history, Hangzhou is oneof the cradle-land of ancient culture. Our ancestors settled in Hangzhou area 4700 years ago, they multiplied continuously and flourished, forming so-called Liangzhu Culture. As a county founded in Qin Dynasty, Hangzhou has a history more than 2000 years. Being the national capital in Wu Dai and South Song dynasties for 273 years, Hangzhou is one of seven ancient capitals in China, and known as a “culture center”.

As a modern city,Hangzhou has also become a key national base of information technology,e-commerce, e-government,digita television broadcasting, and software and integrated circuit production. In the recent years Hangzhou aiming to be "Silicon Valley in Paradise" has attached much importance to the development of high and new technology industries.

Hangzhou experiences four distinct seasons with cold winters (average temperature of 3ºC (37ºF)) and hot summers (average of 29ºC (84ºF)). Summers are rainy through May-July and can grow exceedingly humid. Whatever the weather, Hangzhou paints a pretty picture. In the winter, light snow blankets stone brides and walkways and spring and summer bring blooms of flowers. The best time to visit Hangzhou is in the fall, when the weather cools and the rains decrease.

Tongli

Some 18 km to the west of Suzhou, Tongli is one of the best preserved water towns, featuring an assortment of Ming (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) houses situated amidst a network of canals spanned by 49 classic Chinese bridges.Charming scenes abound: willows reflect in waters plied by sampans. Whitewashed walls and black-tiled roofs with graceful upturned eaves shelter elderly couples lingering over tea. Temples and gardens emerge from the mist or glow in the sun, adorned with woodcarvings of figures from classical Chinese literature and folklore.

Zhouzhuang

One of the finest of the water towns within easy day-trip range of Shanghai or Suzhou, Zhouzhuang boasts a stock of Ming, Qing and even Yuan Dynasty buildings that comprise some 60% of its total architectural heritage. Willow-lined canals flow past houses with whitewashed walls shaded by grey-slated roofs and carved, curving wooden eaves. These historic sights, the local folklore, traditions and legends of this water township are the indispensable elements for an unforgettable tour.