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Visiting City of Gardens Suzhou: 1-Day Itinerary

  • Post last modified:10 August 2025
  • Reading time:15 mins read

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When planning to travel in the Shanghai area, I was sure I wasn’t too interested in spending too much time in Shanghai itself, while its neighbouring Suzhou and Hangzhou fascinated me far more with their history, lovely waterside spots, laid back lifestyle and gorgeous gardens.

Suzhou has a history of over 2500 years. In the 6th century BC the city was already the capital of the Wu kingdom. The city boasts a number of classical gardens dating from 11th-19th centuries, which are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Over 50 of these gardens still exist with UNESCO specially mentioning 9 of them – Administrator’s Garden, Lingering Garden, Net Master’s Garden, Mountain Villa with Embracing Beauty, Canglang Pavilion, Lion Grove Garden, Garden of Cultivation, Couple’s Garden Retreat, and Retreat & Reflection Garden (we included 3 of them in this 1-day itinerary).

Furthermore, due to its lovely canals, Suzhou is often called Venice of the East and Venice of China. The construction of canals (Grant Canal was completed in the 7th century) contributed to the development of trade and made Suzhou important administrative and economic center.

We fell in love with the city from the start, when we saw the beautiful bus stops.

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Practical Details for Visiting Suzhou

Below I will list the Suzhou-specific tips. For general tips for visiting China, which also applies to Suzhou, please, see the relevant post here.

How to Get to Suzhou

Suzhou is served by 4 railway stations. The Suzhou Railway Station and Suzhou North Railway Station are most frequently used for high speed trains to/from Xi’An, Shanghai and Hangzhou.

How to travel from Shanghai to Suzhou: The most convenient way to travel between these cities is the high speed trains. You can take one either from Suzhou Railway Station or Suzhou North Railway station to Shanghai station. It will take you less than half an hour. Some of the trains running to Shanghai also continue to Hangzhou East Railway Station – you can be there within 1.5 hours from Suzhou

How to travel from Shanghai Pudong airport to Suzhou: For this you can either take a long distance direct bus (it will take about 3 hours) or will have to switch a few trains – take line 2 from the airport to People’s Square in Shanghai/switch to line 1 to reach Shanghai Station/hop on the high speed train to Suzhou Station or Suzhou North Station.

How to travel from Xi’an to Suzhou: The best way is to travel by train from Xian North Railway Station to Suzhou North Railway Station. Once in Suzhou you can easily reach locations in central parts of the city by hopping on metro line 2.

Trip.com was the most convenient option for me to book all railway tickets, while in China.

Transport in Suzhou

The transport network is well-developed in Suzhou. Currently, the city has 6 metro lines and that happened in a short period of time from first opening of metro network in 2012. Interestingly, the city’s line 11 is now linked to Shanghai subway, but of course it takes a lot of time for travelers to travel to Shanghai using metro. Either way, metro is a very convenient way to get around the city and reach all major sightseeing locations.

As in other cities, buses are more complicated here, if you don’t know the language. However, with a complex metro network, you won’t be needing them. One note – the Suzhou bus stations are very cute (see the photo above).

You can buy either single tickets, a 1-day pass or a 3-day pass to travel on public transport in Suzhou. You have the following options to purchase them:

  • We purchased our metro tickets using the ticket machines at the metro stations. We could switch the language to English and pay using cash. You can also use your bank card. It will cost 2-8 yuan depending on your destination.
  • Alternatively, you can use Alipay or WeChat, after linking your card to them, to generate a QR code and scan it to pass the gates.

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Accommodation in Suzhou

Suzhou is a great strategic location to stay at, if you are visiting the Shanghai area. That’s what we did and we were very happy about this decision. The hotels here are cheaper than in Shanghai. The city is very easily accessible by high speed trains – you are in Shanghai within an hour most from wherever in Suzhou.

I suggest to find accommodation near a metro station. It’s preferable to do so inside the city walls, which will make getting around even easier.

Where we stayed: We all loved everything about PACE Hotel Suzhou Renmin Road. This was one of the best and most welcoming hotels we ever stayed not only in China. We were only sad that we couldn’t stay longer.

  • The hotel was located near the South gate of the old city, 3 mins from the metro station, which was extremely convenient. Plus it was 10 minutes away from the Canglang pavilion.
  • The reception staff welcomed us with a smile, they knew English, which is a rarity in China 🙂
  • Breakfast was great with European and Chinese options. They also had coffee machine, which was a savior, as no other hotel we stayed at in China had one. The staff at the breakfast were wonderful. As salt is not common in China and we don’t use much sauces, we asked them to get us salt. We used Google translate and gestures and they were very happy to help us.
  • The room was spacious and clean and had everything we needed. We adored the bathroom, it was huge with shower and bathtub both and very clean.

Use E-sim or Consider Using VPN

Given restrictions on social media and communications sites, you may need to do either of the two options: Using e-sim (like Airalo or Saily) will allow you more freedom and access everything without VPN. Alternatively, you can use a VPN to be able to access the restricted websites.

1-Day Itinerary of Suzhou

I wanted to see and do a lot in Suzhou, but with only one day here, we had to choose, what we simply couldn’t miss. Therefore, I had to come up with the perfect itinerary for our limited time. So here is my guide on what to do in Suzhou, if you only have a day.

Cangland Pavilion (Surging Waves Pavilion)

Price for Combo ticket with Ke garden: 40 yuan. Separately: 20 yuan. 

You can easily get tickets on the spot, but if you prefer, you can do so in advance using Trip.com.

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Canglang pavilion is the oldest garden in Suzhou. You can get here by taking metro line 4 and getting off at Sanyuanfang or Nanmen station, it’s the same distance from either of them.

This garden affected us a lot. Maybe the reason was that it wasn’t big, it was compact and cute. Or maybe because we visited very early in the morning, soon after opening at 8am and we walked around before any loud tour groups arrived. Whatever the reason, we absolutely adored this beautiful garden. The other gardens we visited were larger and had completely different vibes.

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We spotted a couple of people working in peace in in the garden. Especially one  man drew our attention in the pavilion. We of course only spotted him from far and decided not to disturb him.

Pingjiang Road

This is a lovely street along the canal with 800 years of history. From Canglang Pavilion take metro line 4 and change to line 2 to get to station Xiangmen, which is south of the canals.

We walked around here for hours. The vibes on this street are lovely. You will find locals and tourists here. This area is obviously touristy, but so beautiful. You will notice some people wearing traditional clothes and posing for photos, the boats with singing boatmen, the cute shops and cafes with beautiful scarves and fans and tea, the small bridges with postcard-worthy views. we couldn’t help but marvel at all the cute things around.

The cafe we visited, doesn’t exist anymore. However, there are a lot of cafes and shops selling books, beautiful souvenirs and tasty cakes. You can find a cute place on this road to sit and enjoy coffee or to buy some cute souvenirs.

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Boat Ride on the Suzhou Canals: Pingjiang Road

Price of the boat ride on the Pingjiang road canal: 180 yuan for 1-6 persons. You can hire the whole boat or share it with others.

Suzhou Canal Boat Tour Options

Before I go into the details of our experience on the Pingjiang canal, I will list the options of canal rides in Suzhou. This information was very difficult to find in one place, so I had to piece it together, let me know, if you have additional information. But whichever option you choose, the canal ride will be an amazing experience.

Shantang Road canal boat ride: This canal is another cute area with narrow Shantang river offering an intimate experience. However, it’s not as quiet and cute, as the Pingjiang road one. They pass the Tiger hill area though, so it’s worth checking out if you have more time – on your second day in the city. Check out this boat cruise option on Trip.com for instance.

Grand Canal boat ride: Boats mostly run from the southern part of the city – approximately this location. It runs through Panmen scenic area and, depending on which ride you choose, even up to the Shantang road. It passes more modern areas of the city, which I personally wasn’t interested in. If you want to book this ride in advance, check out this cruise on Trip.com.

Pingjiang Road canal boat ride: This area of Suzhou is one of the best preserved. The old houses, the quiet atmosphere and authenticity is what drew us in. I chose this over the other two options for this lovely environment, as well as for the convenience, as we had only one day and had to make the most of our time – traveling to other parts of the city and back to see the gardens would take more time.

The small boats on the Pingjiang canal have two locations they leave from – one is farther north, another somewhere in the middle of the road. I suggest to take a boat from the middle – approximately this location, as they run in the south section, which is quieter and more picturesque. The north part is more crowded, as it is closer to the Humble Administrator’s Garden and more tourists go there.

Our Experience with Pingjiang Road Canal Boat Ride

We didn’t have to wait for the boat, as this area is far quieter than other parts. Three of us paid for the full boat in cash and were on our way very quickly.

You technically need to wear the life vest, but you can take it off at times. We adored our boatman, he was absolutely nice. With the translate apps, he “told” us that he was collecting money from around the world, so we found small coins and paper money from Georgia to give him for his collection. This made him very happy. The boatmen generally offer their customers to sing, for this you will have to pay 20 yuan. We obviously opted in for this and it was a very nice experience. I wholeheartedly recommend doing this.

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Actually this boat ride proved to us, why Suzhou is called Venice of the East. It’s lovely atmosphere definitely compares to that of Venice (I am not talking about Grand canal, but the cute smaller canals 🙂 ).

We didn’t wanna leave the canals, but it was getting later in the day and we still had to see Humble Administrator’s Garden and Lion Grove Garden.

The Humble Administrator’s Garden (Zhuozheng Garden)

Price (high season): 80 yuan with no discounts.

As a foreigner, you can buy your tickets at the ticket office using cash or WeChat and Alipay. However, you are advised to book in advance, just in case, not to miss out, if the tickets are sold out on the day. The easiest way to reserve your ticket, as a foreigner is by using the Trip.com, which sells tickets at the same price, as the official WeChat app. If you still can’t get tickets using either of the two sources, then Viator has them too, however with significantly increased price.

From the canals we walked to the Humble Administrator’s Garden. You can do the same or get here by taking the newly opened metro line 5 to the stop with the same name, as the garden.

The garden was originally built in 1509 and it is the largest classical garden in the city. You will first enter through the South Gate. This area is more green, with  Don’t miss the Drifting Fragrance hall (located in the Central Section of the garden) – which is built on water and provides beautiful scenery.

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The garden was extremely crowded, when we visited – it is unfortunately very busy any time of day. The views are absolutely breathtaking, but the loud tour groups and huge numbers of people really is overwhelming. It disturbs the serene atmosphere of the garden. While we loved the garden, we didn’t spend too much time there. We just walked around the main areas, visited the Bonsai trees area, took pictures with beautiful lakes and pavilions and left.

Lion Grove Garden

Price (high season): 40 yuan.

You can get a ticket at the ticket office, however, high season and weekend times can be crowded. If you prefer to book in advance, the easiest way is using Trip.com, which has the same price, as the ticket office and WeChat app. Tickets are more expensive on Viator.

We walked to Lion Grove Garden from Humble Administrator’s Garden. You can also get here by line 5 – stop Humble Administrator’s Garden.

This garden was one of our favourites. it was first built in 1342. Its main attraction is the “forest” of differently shaped rocks. Apparently it’s called Lion Grove, because there are hundreds of lion shaped stones here. Of course, we didn’t spot all of them 🙂 Even though we were already tired from so many new experiences, we came alive while getting lost in the stone maze of this beautiful garden. I suggest to wander around without aim for a while. Do be careful though, as the stairs can be slippery at times and enjoy yourself.

The stone formation area is not easy for people with mobility issues and not at all accessible for wheelchair users. My mom did manage to explore a little, but she got tired easily, as it’s quite hard to walk – you need to go over the stones on narrow paths and it’s quite hard.

Don’t miss the Yanyu Hall standing on the small lake in the central area of the garden. You can have lovely views of this area after wondering the stone formations.

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Shantang road

After visiting the gardens, it was already dark and the canals were lighted. We found some food nearby and sat at the canal enjoying the view. Then we walked towards metro, to the south of the canal and headed to another canal area in the west – Shantang road. This area dates back 1200 years. It was beautiful with lighted lanterns. If you want to buy anything, keep in mind that things are, for some reason, more expensive here. The same simple souvenirs we bought in Xi’an were triple the price. I do advice to visit this part in the evening, as we did, and spend daylight hours visiting other attractions.

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As I mentioned above, boats run here as well. In my opinion though the canals are not as nice and cute as along Pingjiang road and the boats are also far bigger and not remotely as lovely.

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This was a perfect day in Suzhou. I will definitely come back to visit other gardens, water towns and to just enjoy this amazing city.

Suggestions for Additional Days in Suzhou

There’s so much more to do in Suzhou, it’s hard to choose among all the amazing options. With 2 or 3 days in Suzhou you can cover other areas, like:

  • Lingering Garden: Another classical garden in Suzhou, which is smaller than Humble Administrator’s Garden.
  • Master of Nets Garden.
  • Tiger hill: The hill is named that way, due to its shape resembling a tiger.
  • Baodai bridge: Over 300-meter long stone arch bridge first built in 9th century and reconstructed in 15th.
  • Take a boat cruise along the Shantang road and the Grand canal.
  • Suzhou museum: It’s free but you need to book 7 days in advance.

Suzhou is easy to get around. It has a great transportation system and if you follow my guide, your day here will be wonderful. If you prefer to explore with a guide explaining the city’s history to you, you can check out one of the day tours, including this private customizable one from Shanghai, for instance.

See also:

Useful tips for planning your trip to China.

Transport in China.

Beijing 4-day itinerary with detailed tips.

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