Tour to China's Jiangnan - Suzhou

In Suzhou, the 4th destination of our tour, we had the opportunity to visit Tiger Hill which is famous for its slanting pagoda. King Helu, the founding father of Suzhou who died in the 6th century BC was buried on top of the hill where the pagoda is situated. Tiger Hill derived its name after a white tiger which appeared to guard the temple. The tower is 36 meters high and was built in the year 959 consisting of 7 levels and is a symbol of the ancient Suzhou city.


Next we visited the Lion Grove Garden, an ideal sightseeing site with rich ornamental pavilions and towers. It is a representative garden of the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) featuring labyrinthine rocks and attractive scenery made mostly of limestone from the Taihu Lake. It is also known as the Lion Forest Garden covering an area of 1,152 square meters built in 1342 by Monk Tianru and a group of Zen Buddhist disciples in memory of their master, Monk Zhongfeng.


We then proceeded to a silk factory where we witnessed the process of silk fabrication which was followed by a fashion show. The popularity of Suzhou's silk products is clearly evident from the overwhelming response by tourists who bought in busload despite the steep prices. Silk blanket (without cover) such the one above is sold for RMB400 per set (single/queen size).

We also visited the Hanshan Temple which is famous for its bells as mentioned in a poem by the Tang Dynasty's poet, Zhangji.

In the evening, we were brought for shopping at the Suzhou's night market.