Suzhou, China

Photo & story by: Debbie Stock

In a visit to several of China's major cities--Shanghai, Beijing and Suzhou--my all time favorite was Suzhou. While the city includes approx five million residents, there are many neighborhoods and attractions that look and feel like a comfortable, small town you could easily call home.

Not to ignore the 74-story skyscraper, Gate to the East, you can still romanticize when visiting Tiger Hill or riding along the Grand Canal in a gondola. Founded in 514 BC, this very ancient city is recognized as one of the top science cities in the world, while still being known for ancient silk manufacturing and design, pagodas, temples, gardens and tea growing.

Located in southeast China at the lower reach of the Yangtze River, one of the world's longest rivers 3,900 miles in length, Suzhou is also situated on the southern section of the Grand Canal on a flat, low-lying plain between the renowned Lake Tai and Shanghai metropolis to the east.

Surrounded by canals on all four sides and crisscrossed by minor canals, the city controls the Yangtze River delta in the center of some of the richest agricultural land in China.

This "Heaven on Earth" or "Paradise on Earth" as some call it, is best appreciated (in my opinion) after a visit to Beijing where winters are colder, streets typically more crowded, and I saw more pollution, trash, clutter and dated structures. I guess it's no wonder why Suzhou is one of the world's fastest growing cities with its largest influx of occupants moving there from within China.

In addition to sight-seeing at Suzhou's tourist hotspots, one of my favorite parts of visiting was the drive we took from Shanghai to Suzhou approx. 60 miles distance.  The highways were in excellent condition as we passed miles of four-to-six story residential buildings surrounded by farm land and canals. I was surprised to see very few people along this journey between two major cities and assumed the residents were working at jobs somewhere else.

Top attractions include: Silk factories and Silk Museum, Pagodas and Temples such as Yunyansi or Tiger Hill and Besei Pagoda, Historic Gardens such as Lingering Garden, the Tea Plantations and Sampling, Grand Canal boat rides and water-oriented shows and tours, and Dining (some say Suzhou is the culinary capital of China!)