Suzhou, China's Venice

By Samantha Tan Chiew Ting Bernama's correspondent in China, Samantha Tan Chiew Ting shares her take on the China capital city. This week, Samantha writes on Suzhou, dubbed by many as the "Venice of the East" or the "Venice of China". BEIJING, May 18 (Bernama) -- Suzhou, the ancient city located in the southeastern Jiangsu province, is an inspiring place for young artists. The historic city, located in the center of Yangtze delta, is reminiscent of the beautiful canal cities in the west, namely Italy's Venice or the Utrecht in the Netherlands. It comes as no surprise that Suzhou, dubbed by many the "Venice of the East" or the "Venice of China", is in fact a sister city of Venice. However, what differentiates Suzhou from other waterside cities in the West is over 2,500 years of history and the abundant display of relics that comes with it. The city is also famous for its "double chessboard" urban layout, with parallel streets and waterways forming a distinctive grid. A PLACE OF INSPIRATION This ancient city has not only attracted visitors from all over China but foreign tourists from around the world as well. The Pingjiang Historical and Cultural Quarter, located in the northeastern of old Suzhou, is a favourite haunt among young local artists looking for inspiration. It was one of the places I visited during a seven-day reporting trip organised by the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the cooperation of the International Cooperation Centre (ICC). Xi Yiyi, 26, said she often went down to Pingjiang whenever she was in need of ideas for her drawings. "In ancient days, Suzhou is the centre for the Chinese silk trade. It was famous for embroidery work and still is until today. I believe this is the place where ideas for embroidery motifs as well as paintings come from," she said. According to Unesco, Pingjiang is the largest as well as the most protected historical block in Suzhou as it is considered the most complete and characteristic remnant of the ancient city. Located at the heart of the town and covering an area of 116.5 hectares, it features 167,000 sqkm of historical buildings and over 100 provincial and municipal cultural properties, including the World Cultural Heritage Site Ouyuan. This area is also an example of integrated urban rehabilitation, which has restored the physical, social and commercial fabric of one of China's most well-known waterway historic towns. THE ANCIENT AND THE MODERN Suzhou is a major tourist attraction in China not only because of its enchanting canals but its stone bridges, pagodas and meticulously designed gardens as well. One of the more popular attractions is the Humble Administrator's Garden, a Ming-era garden with three individual areas. Another site of interest is the Tiger Hill, which is famous for its leaning pagoda named Yunyan. The Hanshan Temple, an ancient Buddhist temple and monastery, is another site worthy of visit. It is known in East Asia because a poet of the Tang Dynasty described the bell of Hanshan ringing at midnight in one of his famous poems "A Night Mooring Near Maple Bridge". I was told that today, the toll of the bell could be heard every morning and evening, during which the local community would pray for their safety and happiness. The temple is therefore locally dubbed 'a route to peace and harmony'. Despite being rich in ancient relics, Suzhou is one of the fastest growing major cities in the world. Since the 1978 major economic reforms, Suzhou has had GDP growth rates of about 14 percent over the last 35 years. As a result of being one of China's foremost destinations for foreign investment, the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) was opened in 1994. SIP is the largest cooperative project between the Chinese and Singaporean governments and is today a traffic hub connected to major cities around the world through a well-developed network of highways, railways, sea routes and airlines. Due to its short distance to Shanghai via rail transit, the city is also deemed one of the important economic and commercial hub in the Yangtze river delta region of China. --BERNAMA