Suzhou is the original of every "Jiangnan water town" image you have seen: Ming-dynasty gardens framed on lily ponds, whitewashed lanes where canal water runs at knee height, and strings and soft Wu dialect drifting out of teahouses. The gardens are the draw, but the free canal streets are half the experience — and the food is quietly among China's most refined.
The full handbook is part of the paid series
You have read the free preview — the introduction and the route map. The complete handbook adds the day-by-day plan, tickets and transport, culture and etiquette, food, useful Chinese, and the dated source list.