Suzhou, China - day trip
- shortandsweetjoy
- Jan 17
- 3 min read
I've been to Shanghai many times, but until now, I had never been to Suzhou, in the Jiangsu province, before despite how close it is. I suggested taking a day trip since a train ride can be as short as twenty minutes. The Didi ride to the train stations takes longer, especially when it takes a while to get picked up by the driver sometimes.
We booked our train tickets through the Railway 12306 app. It is also a mini app within the Alipay app, in the Transport section. With identity verification and facial recognition at the train station, we just needed to scan our U.S. passports at the terminal, and the cameras scan our faces. Then we boarded the train and got in our seats. All the facial recognition technology can feel very surveillance state sometimes, but I can't deny that it comes with its convenience too. My cousin ran into some traffic and was late meeting us at the station. Apparently it is very easy to cancel and rebook train tickets at the last minute too.
Lingering Garden - Liu Yuan 留园
We spent the beginning of the day exploring Liu Yuan（留园）
55 CNY ~ $8 USD Dating back to the 1500s, this huge garden spans a lot of history, and exchanged hands several times. It's beautiful and there's lots to explore. I will say it was extremely crowded in early October, of course due to Golden Week. I tried my best to take photos when crowds had passed.
I don't know what this turtle signifies, but I thought it was interesting that there were offerings placed in front of it.
My cousin requested an English audio guide for us, but they only have human tour guides, and only Chinese speakers. My Chinese proficiency is nowhere near the level it needs to be to understand our guide. She spoke through a mic, and the audio played into our headsets, but it was hard to make out what she said. Not to mention, I don't have the vocabulary to understand historical terms. I appreciate that she provided very detailed descriptions across the entire garden.
Su Mian Zhai - 苏面斋
After a couple sweaty hours exploring the Lingering Garden, we were ready to eat. I think we found this place on the Dianping app simply by searching for 苏面, Suzhou noodles. The noodles don't look like much, but there's something so satisfying about the bite and the chew of these noodles. There are also free preserved vegetables, available for self service.
I love crab roe noodles. There were also pieces of shredded crab. The rich flavor was so satisfying.
I believe the three parts of the shrimp are the bay shrimp meat itself, meat from the head, and roe. Shrimp noodles were good, but not a must have.
That unctuous piece of pork was meaty and tender with a sufficient amount of fat running through it. It literally translates to Maple Town Big Meat Noodles. I don't really know how maple plays a role here. It tastes good. That's all I need to know.
Aren't these noodles beautiful?
PingJiang Road - 平江路
Strolling along the canal is very scenic despite the touristy shops and hectic crowds. If it weren't so humid, I would entertain the idea of taking a boat ride. Instead, we visited a corgi cafe, because it was indoors and air conditioning sounded like a good idea.
There are a ton of young girls doing hanfu photoshoots in traditional 汉服. It looks like a lot of fun, but I don't know how they could bear wearing those heavy looking layers and all that makeup in the heat.
Before long it was time to head back to the train station. More traditional architecture at the train station below.
I look forward to visiting Suzhou again one day.
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