The Mysterious Taoist Temple

The Mysterious Taoist Temple

The Mysterious Taoist Temple lies on the Guanqian Street at the center of Suzhou and is convenient to be accessed by taking Buses. The building of the Mysterious Taoist Temple began in the second year of the reign of Hanning in the West Jin Dynasty and is the monastery resort of the Taoist faction of Zhengyi. It was originally called the Zhengqing Taoist Monastery and was renamed the Mysterious Taoist Temple in the Yuan Dynasty. In order to avoiding using the King’s name during the reign of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, the name was changed into the Xuanmiao Taoist Temple. In the early years of the Republic of China, the name of the Mysterious Taoist Temple was reused. 　　
The most magnificent building of the Mysterious Taoist Temple is the Hall of Three Qings as the main hall which is spacious, towering and solemn. It is a wooden hall building of the Southern Song Dynasty with the largest scale in the south of the Yangtse River and holds a very important position in the history of building of China. In front of the temple is a broad heterogeneously built open-air terrace of green stones. The terrace is surrounded by finely engraved railings of green stones in the eastern, southern and western sides, with a stepping battlement in each side. On the sunk panel of the temple’s ceiling are all magnificent paintings of cranes, deer, clouds, and the instruments used by the Eight Immortals in the Taoist legend. The pedestal for the Statue of Xumi at the center of the hall is elaborately wrought. 　　
Just like the Heavenly Bridge in Beijing, the Town God’s Temple in Shanghai and the Confucian Scholars’ Temple in Nanjing, the Mysterious Taoist Temple is also a busy traditional bazaar all through the ages with stores and stalls of snacks and vaudevilles standing in great numbers, where visitors to Suzhou would like to go sightseeing.

The West Garden

The West Garden

The West Garden Temple is located to the west of Suzhou. It consists of the Commandments Temple and the West Garden. The West Garden was originally built in the Yuan Dynasty, called “the Guiyuan Temple”. In the eighth year of the Ming Dynasty, the monk Maolin changed name into “the Commandments Temple” in order to expand “commandments”, popularly called “the West Garden”. 　　
With neat arrangement, grand halls and solemn Buddhist statues, the West Garden Temple is one of the ancient temples south of the Yangtze River. Its main buildings are: the Heavenly King’s hall, the Grand Precious Hall, the Hall of Arhats, the Hall of Avalokitesvara and the Buddhist Sutra Building. To the west of Grand Precious Hall is the famous Hall of Five Hundred Arhats. The two most outstanding sculptures among the five hundred arhats are the Crazy Monk and the revered Monk of Succour. Another famous sculpture in the Hall of Arhats is the Avalokitesvara with One Thousand Hands, which is more than thirteen meters high and is engraved with whole piece of scented camphor wood. 　　
To the west of the Hall of Arhats is the West Garden which is the ruins of Xu Tai in the Ming Dynasty. The whole garden centers on the Pond for Freeing Captive Animals. The Mid-lake Pavilion stands erect in the center of the pond. In the pond there is a big soft-shelled turtle that is bred in the Ming Dynasty. Visitors like to take a rest leaning on the railings and throw food to seduce the turtle to come up.

The Hanshan Temple

The Hanshan Temple

The Hanshan Temple Scenic Spot of Suzhou is a provincial scenic spot of Jiangsu, which lies on the side of the ancient canal 3.5 kilometers west to Suzhou and covers 45 hectares. With many places of interest and four provincial preservation units of historical and cultural relics in the scenic spot, the humanistic scenes are plentiful and the natural sights are beautiful. 　　
The Hanshan Temple was originally built during the reign of Tianjan in the Liang Dynasty. The poem of “Mooring to the Maple Bridge at Night” by Zhang Ji of the Tang Dynasty is so oft-quoted and widely loved that the poetic rhyme and the bell-tolling sounds have made the Hanshan Temple famous at home and abroad. The characteristic tourist program of listening to the bell tolls of the Hanshan Temple on the New Year’s Eve has been an exceptionally grand occasion since it’s beginning in 1979. On every New Year’s Eve, thousands of visitors at home and abroad gather inside and outside of the temple to listen to the one hundred and eight bell tolls and pray for luck and happiness in the new year. The Maple Bridge and the Jiangchun Bridge stretch over the ancient canal and are simple and elegant in shape. Looking into the distance on the bridges, the sights of hills, waters and fields outside of the city of Suzhou leap up into the eyes and are unfolding in all their majesty. 　　
With the historical and cultural style and features of “Five Ancients”, the Hanshan Temple Scenic Spot is such a tourist resort where visitors at home and abroad will be carried away.

The Millenniums-old City

The Millenniums-old City

Suzhou is the only city in the world that has not changed its site since its founding 2,500 years ago, and even to this day, it has kept its original form of double chess lines of streets running in parallel with canals. 9 of its classical gardens and the native Kunqu Opera have been listed as World Cultural Heritage. The number of its cultural relics, 15 under state protection and 419 under provincial protection, is next only to that of Beijing and Xi’an. Among them, the scenic areas of Panmen Gate, the Tiger Hill, the Maple Bridge, and 7-li Shantang Canal have become most popular sites of tourist attraction of the ancient city. 　

Strolling down the streets and alleys of Suzhou, or boat-touring on canals and water alleys, you will surely be enchanted by the unique scenes of traditional dwellings over flowing waters and delicate bridges, and by the reminders of the distant past.

The North Temple Pagoda

The North Temple Pagoda

Covering about 40 mu, the North Temple Pagoda was built by Sun Quan, the Emperor of Wu, in the Three States. It was granted as the “Epoch-making Temple” in the Tang Dynasty and began to be called the “ Reciprocation Temple ” at the end of the Five Dynasties. So far it has a history of more than 1,700 years. 　

The North Temple Pagoda is a brick and wooden Buddhist pagoda of the style of building and has nine storeys with eight sides each. With the height of 76 meters, it is the highest of the pagodas in Suzhou . It is famous for double eaves and flying corners and is a building in the same type as the Liuhe Pagoda in Hangzhou . 　　The North Temple Pagoda, is a provincial preservation unit of historical and cultural relics and is popularly praised as the “ Number One Pagoda in South of the Yangtse River ” . Standing far apart facing the Tiger Hill Pagoda, the North Temple Pagoda is also a famous old pagoda and an important symbol of Suzhou .

The Twin Pagodas

The Twin Pagodas

The Twin Pagodas are the two pagodas most characteristic of Suzhou. They are artistic and natural as they are close at hand. These two precious pagodas lie in the Dinghui Temple Lane in the southeastern corner of the city proper of Suzhou. One of them is called Clarity Dispensing Pagoda and the other Beneficence Pagoda and they are in the same form of building. Both the twin Pagodas are wooden building structure in appearance. They are octagonal in plan and have seven storeys, each with doors in four sides and straight lattices in other sides. 　　There are many legends about the one-thousand-year-old pagodas. It is charming that the exquisite and straight Twin Pagoda look like two inserted writing brushes. To the east of the pagoda is a square five-storeyed bell building built in the Ming Dynasty which is exactly like a thick ink stick. So there is also a saying that “the Twin Pagodas are as writing brushes while the bell building as ink stick”. Though these are some fantastic talks, they are often dwelled upon with great relish by visitors to Suzhou .

The Tiger Hill

The Tiger Hill

Lying to the west of the ancient city of Suzhou with a history of over 2,500 years, the Tiger Hill has the reputation of being No.1 Sight of the Wu region. "It would be a loss if you miss the Tiger Hill in your visit to Suzhou," said the Song poet Su Dongpo. There are three ideal vantage points and nine different ways of enjoying the sights of the hill under nine different weather conditions. Though only 36 meters in height, the hill impresses the visitor with its sheer cliffs and deep ravines normally found in famous mountains. The Sword Pond conceals the secrets of the Tomb of King Wu with his valuable swords. At the top of the hill stands the Learning Tower of Suzhou, a brick pagoda dating from the 2nd year of Jianlong reign of the Northern Song Dynasty and serving as the landmark of the ancient city. There are beautiful legends about the Hall of Broken Beam, the Sword Testing Stone, the Thousand Men's Rock, the Nodding Stone, and other historical relics.