Suzhou is located in the south of Jiangsu province, some 50 miles west of Shanghai, along the old Grand Canal. The city has been famous for its gardens for many centuries. According to a Chinese proverb says: “In heaven there is paradise. On earth there are Suzhou and Hangzhou.” The city is dotted with lakes and ponds connected by a spider's web of canals. And all the canals are lined with whitewashed houses with gray-tiled roofs.

Suzhou, the cradle of Wu culture, is one of the oldest towns in the Yangtze Basin. It was founded in the fifth century B.C., when the King of Wu, H... Read Full Story »