'Venice of the East'

Suzhou is one of China's must-see cities. Known since the time of Marco Polo as the "Venice of the East", it is a remarkable 2,500-year-old city renowned worldwide for its silk, its vast network of canals and bridges, its delectable food and, most famously of all, its heavenly gardens.


Situated in the eastern province of Jiangsu, at the lower reaches of the Grand Canal, Suzhou's reputation as the maker of the world's finest silk attracted the rich and famous from all over China.

In the Ming and early Qing dynasties, wealthy traders, scholars, officials and merchants, eager to escape the eyes of the imperial court in neighboring Hangzhou, settled in Suzhou. And as they came, they built gardens ... beautiful water gardens, collectively known as "The Gardens of Suzhou".

At one time there were more than 100 of them and while there are less than 20 open to the public today, all are magnificently restored and others are reopening all the time.

The old town of Suzhou has much to be proud of and IM Pei, the distinguished Chinese architect (whose family came from Suzhou), has been given the job of restoring this beautiful old gem to its former glory.

tom.com

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