Travel Notes | Long Vacation in Suzhou

4.30 Beijing – Shanghai z281

5.4 Shanghai – Beijing z282

Tips, it’s really hard to buy tickets in Suzhou, even on weekends, let alone May Day. So I decisively changed the ticket from Beijing to Shanghai. Spending one more stop is better than not buying it at all... As a result, I didn't get a high-end soft sleeper until two days before departure... It cost more than 900, and my liver hurt... I actually I'm ready to take the bus, but I can't put Teacher Jin on the train alone... After thinking about it, I think it's more expensive. Just take a seat and feel what a high-end soft sleeper is like^-^

One night on the train is nothing. Gaoruan is really spacious. There are two people in one room, two bunks on one side, and a small sofa, wardrobe, separate toilet and washroom on the other side. It can fly up to 6. My roommate is in the video-related industry and also went to Suzhou to participate in some midi music festival. After a brief chat, we rested.

Guanqian Street – Lion Grove – Canglang Pavilion – Night Tour of the Ancient Canal

After leaving the train station, we took the subway to the hotel we had booked. You can scan the QR code to take the Suzhou subway and download the "Su e-Xing" app in advance, which is very convenient and saves you the trouble of breaking change.

The hotel is located on Guanqian Street and is not a particularly new five-star hotel. Because of the wrong season, the swimming pool was not open, but the breakfast buffet was great.

After checking in and settling our luggage, our first stop was to find food. Hey, didn’t you say that the breakfast in your hotel is good? Haha, I’m checking in today, and I won’t have breakfast until tomorrow...

After some research, I came across De Yue Lou, a representative of old-school Suzhou cuisine. Business is really good, and the three-story restaurant is full. The hotel expenses are not low, more than 300 oceans for two people. Recommend Xiangyou Eel Silk, Gorgon Fruit, and Taihu Three Whites.

After you’ve had enough wine and food, take a walk around Guanqian Street.

To be honest, it is just a commercial street. Every tourist city has a place that is a trap for tourists, and this is the one in Suzhou. Walk along Guanqian Street to the Lion Forest. Starting from May Day this year, all major attractions in Suzhou have started to make time-sharing online reservations. Follow the WeChat ID "Suzhou Tourism General Entrance" to make reservations at Subo, Lion Forest, etc. If you go there, they won't sell tickets. At several tourist attractions, I saw conflicts between uninformed tourists and staff. Also, they were here on May Day and couldn’t buy tickets. Thank you...

The Lion Grove is highly recommended. It is one of the four major gardens in Suzhou. It is famous for its rockery. You can crawl around in it, which is quite interesting.

After coming out of the Lion Grove, go to the next stop, Canglang Pavilion.

This scenic spot is not as famous as the Lion Grove and the Humble Administrator's Garden, but it still has a unique flavor. Canglang Pavilion is also among the four major gardens and is the oldest existing garden in Suzhou. Opposite is Keyuan, if you have time, you can visit it together. The garden is not big and is famous for its green plants. The bamboo forest in the garden is very nice, there are many big trees, and it is a very cool garden.

When we came out of Canglang Pavilion, we made an appointment for a cruise in the evening and headed to the pier.

Passing by the famous Baoen Temple, it was already evening and the scenic spot was closed, so we took a few photos and left.

We passed by a well-decorated Su-style noodle shop and ordered two bowls of noodles to fill our stomachs. It is said that every family has a secret recipe for Su-style noodles, so you don’t have to go to famous restaurants to get more authentic noodles.

After eating, I saw a shared bicycle with piles on the street, and I thought I was going to ride one. As a result... I couldn't return it when I got there, there was no space... As a result, I had to ink half a point in order to find a drop-off point with space.

May Day is indeed May Day. It was written on the cruise ship. Normally it would be gone at 7:30. It was already 8 o'clock, and the queue was expected to be a little longer... The staff reassured me, "Everyone with a ticket can get on the boat!" From time to time, two people would ask, "The electronic ticket I bought can be used directly. "?" "Sorry, you need to exchange it for a physical ticket at the designated location before 5 p.m...." Fortunately, I exchanged my ticket as soon as I came out of Shilin.

The cruise lasted for half a minute to see the night view, there was an introduction and a short Kunqu opera performance. Overall it's okay. If you are short on time, I suggest you give up here and make an appointment at the nightclub in the Master of the Nets Garden or go to Qili Shantang.

Make an appointment with Didi to go back to the hotel, buy some oden, plum wine and other things from the convenience store downstairs, and then go back and have a bathtub party.

Tongdeli – Tongli Ancient Town – Master of the Nets Garden Nightclub

At that time, big-mouthed Yao Chen's drama "Everything Is Good" was on the air, and the Su family's old house also became popular. After checking, it was right in front of the hotel. As soon as I crossed the road, I saw a bunch of people taking pictures there, and I knew it was the right place. It's just a small alley, well preserved and suitable for taking pictures.

There are many newly developed ancient towns near Suzhou. Tongli is directly connected by subway, so we chose this ancient town. Tickets for scenic spots can be booked in advance, and you can take the shuttle bus to the scenic spot with your tickets when you exit the subway.

There are places to eat, drink and stay in the scenic area, there are gardens to stroll around and small shops to buy. It takes about half a day to walk to all the scenic spots.

Tongdeli-Tongli Ancient Town-Master of the Nets Garden Night Club

Come back from Tongli, take the subway back to the city, and go to the Wangshi Garden. Tickets for Master of the Nets Garden are 30 during the day and 100 at night. Not only because of the night view, but also because of the various performances. After entering the gate, the park tour guide will take you from place to place. There will be different performances at each place, including guzheng, guqin, Xiao, Kun Opera, and Pingtan. The experience was very good, highly recommended.

Wuzhen-Dongzha-Xizha

I booked a bus ticket from Suzhou to Wuzhen in the morning on the 1st. The earliest bus at that time had already disappeared, so if you are traveling during the holidays, make arrangements as early as possible. If you want to see the night view, it’s best to stay in Wuzhen. Otherwise, it is strongly recommended to take the last bus back to Suzhou at 5:30. Don’t follow my example of taking the bus back to Tongxiang Railway Station and then taking the EMU back. It would make me cry if I say too much...

To book bus tickets, search the "Passenger Transport Bang" applet, which is also the recommended channel given by Wuzhen's official website. Suzhou North Bus Station is right opposite Suzhou Station and is easy to find.

Overall, there are no locals left in Wuzhen. All are corporate operations, but they have their own water town flavor. It is recommended to take a cruise. Because the perspective of seeing both sides of the water in the water can only be felt on the boat. There are buses to the east and west. When taking a bus in Wuzhen, you can find the bus code on Alipay and scan the code to take the bus.

Because I sadly chose the return route thinking I could see the night view, I didn’t get back to Suzhou until after 10 o’clock. Even though I was exhausted, I didn’t go to the Qili Mountain Pond as planned to paint the night view.

Humble Administrator's Garden-Tiger Hill

I thought that the tourist army had almost withdrawn on the 4th, so I put the Humble Administrator’s Garden at the back of the popular list. As a result, it was still crowded...

The Humble Administrator's Garden is the largest garden in Suzhou. The designer of Subo, the master architect Mr. Ieoh Ming Pei, lived in the garden when he was young. One place, one view, recommended.

After leaving the Humble Administrator's Garden, there is a tourist bus that goes directly to Tiger Hill. Compared to the bustling gardens in the city, this place is much deserted. The must-sees are Huqiu Pagoda and Jianchi mentioned by Yan Zhenqing.

The Tiger Hill Tower and the Leaning Tower of Pisa are the most tilted leaning towers in the world that do not fall down. At this time, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Tiger Hill Tower were celebrating together, and there were "photos" of the two towers together everywhere around the tower. I happened to have a photo with the Leaning Tower of Pisa, so we put together the picture below.

After visiting Tiger Hill, it’s almost time. We went back to the hotel to pick up our luggage, and didn’t forget to find a time-honored restaurant to taste Taihu Sanbai.

After eating and drinking, we went to the station and boarded the train heading north, ending our trip to Suzhou.

To sum up the experience and lessons, Suzhou’s attractions are already reservation-based, and this will gradually become a trend. So book your trip at least one day in advance. For a short holiday, 3 days in advance is not an exaggeration. On the way to Shilin on the 1st, we heard that the dates for the Subo 51 period were already full... the Humble Administrator's Garden and Wuzhen schedule had to be rescheduled because we ran out of tickets.

You need to stay one night to see the night view of Wuzhen. If you want to see it on the same day, you can only drive by yourself. Think about it, of course the scenic spot wants you to stay and stay, so the buses and the like have disappeared long ago... What you buy will never be as good as selling.

Suzhou is worth visiting. Next time I have a chance, I’ll check out the surrounding Wuxi. Zhenjiang has been helped by many people during the trip.