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Suzhou

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This article is about the city in Jiangsu. See also Suzhou, Anhui.
File:Suzhou-CityCoatOfArm.png
Suzhou
Location Eastern China, near Shanghai
Area
- Total Area		 ?
8,848 km²
- Population
Total population
Urban population		 Number in Jiangsu Province
5.78 million
2.05 million
Language Chinese - Wu (Suzhouhua)
City flower Osmanthus
City tree Camphor Tree
Political division Prefecture-level city

Suzhou (simplified Chinese: 苏州; traditional Chinese: 蘇州; pinyin: Sūzhōu; Wade–Giles: Su-chou; sometimes seen transliterated as Su-chow, Suchow, or Soochow) is a famous city on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the shores of Lake Taihu in the province of Jiangsu, China. The city is renowned for its beautiful stone bridges, pagodas, and meticulously designed gardens. Suzhou has also been an important center for China's silk industry since the Song Dynasty (960-1279), and continues to hold that prominent position today. It is part of the Golden Triangle region. The GDP per capita was ¥57992 (ca. US$7249) in 2005, ranked no. 5 among 659 Chinese cities.

History

Suzhou, the cradle of Wu culture, is one of the oldest towns in the Yangtze Basin. 2500 years ago, local tribes who named themselves "Gou Wu" in the late Shang Dynasty lived in the area which would become Suzhou.

File:ChinaTrip2005-179.jpg
Master of the Nets Garden

In 514 BC, during the Spring and Autumn Period, King Helu (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).

In 473 BC, Wu was defeated by Yue, another kingdom to the east that was soon annexed by Chu in 306 BC. The golden era of Suzhou was over.

By the time of 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 Sui Dynasty, the city was renamed Suzhou in 589 AD.

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 in the south-eastern coast of China.

During Tang Dynasty (825 AD), the great poet Bai Juyi (白居易) constructed the Shantang Canal (called "Shantang Jie" or street) to connect the city with Huqiu for the tourists. In 1035 AD, the temple of Confucius was founded by the great poet and writer Fan Zhongyan. It became the venue for imperial civil examinationss.

Canal side house in Suzhou

In February 1130, the advancing Jin army from the north sacked and massacred the city. This was followed by the Mongol invasion (1275) and destruction of the royal city (in the centre of the walled city) in the beginning of Ming Dynasty (1367).

The Humble Administrator's Garden, Suzhou, P.R. China

Afterwards, the city had a more prosperous time. Many of the famous private gardens were constructed by the gentry of Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty. 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.

After this, the next crisis was the Japanese invasion (1937). Many gardens were devastated by the end of the war. In the early 1950’s, restoration was done on Zhuo-Zheng Yuan (Humble Administrator's Garden), Dong Yuan (East Garden), and others, to bring them back to life. Consequently, most of the existing gardens reflects the architecture style of Qing Dynasty (1616-1911 AD), albeit many of had a history dating back to Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD).

In 1981, this ancient city was listed by the State Council as one of the four cities (the other three being Beijing, Hangzhou and Guilin) where the protection of historical and cultural heritage as well as natural scenery should be treated as a priority project.

Classical gardens in Suzhou were added to the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1997 and 2000.

Districts and satellite cities

  • Area: 8,488 km² (city proper: 1,650 km²)
  • Population: about 5.91 million (city proper: 2.17 million)

Suzhou has jurisdiction over (at county level):

Landmarks

Entrance into one of the gardens in Suzhou

Transportation

Yunyan Pagoda

Culture

Notable people from Suzhou

File:SuzhouCanal.jpg
Canal in Suzhou

Quotes

"A very great and noble city... It has 1600 stone bridges under which a galley may pass." - Marco Polo
"Capital of Silk", "Land of Abundance", "Gusu city", "Oriental Venice", "Cradle of the Wu Culture", and "World of Gardens"
- nicknames of Suzhou
"Paradise in Heaven, Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth." - Chinese saying
"Born in Suzhou, live in Hangzhou, eat in Guangzhou, and die in Liuzhou." - Chinese saying

Education

Public institutions having full-time Bachelor's degree programs include Suzhou University (苏州大学) and the University of Science and Technology of Suzhou (苏州科技学院).

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Suzhou.
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