Since ancient times, Suzhou has been named as "Land of Fish and Rice", for its abundant special local product and mild natural condition, such as Yangcheng-Lake Crab, Pilochum, Silk fans, etc. As time flies, Suzhou is getting more and more modern, bringing a lot of international brands which are popular among people. Combined western style with eastern, Suzhou is a city worth visiting. Join the happy shopping journey with TOC now!
What to shop
Suzhou Silk Fans
In China, there are really only two authentic places to buy fans; Suzhou and Hangzhou. The variety and selection of fans available in both these cities is incredible and they make a beautiful gift for yourself or someone else. The folding fan (or sandalwood fan) is very elegant and actually originated in Korea. During the Tang Dynasty this type of fan became fashionable in Suzhou and was mass produced for visiting aristocrats and artists who bought the fans to cool themselves or just to pose with! The surface of the fan is made from a very delicate rice paper. Some fans are painted with intricate pictures of scenery. Suzhou also produces "Gong" or silk fans. During the Han Dynasty in China, only noblewomen were permitted to use silk fans! In the Tang Dynasty, standards were relaxed a little and the fan became very fashionable and popular. There are many different types of silk fan including the hand painted silk fan, the single sided embroidered fan, the double sided embroidered and the dyed silk fan. Most are round in shape but a few more unusual ones are styled to resemble plum blossom or lotus leaves. The handles of the fans are usually made from bamboo, hardwood, animal bones or ivory. These fans can be bought all over the city in most of the tourist shops. For the best prices try the city Night Market near the Temple of Mystery.
Suzhou Style Bonsai
Suzhou is a city known for its long history and cultural tradition. Its achievements in classical la
ndscape architecture over the past dynasties and the paintings of the Suzhou School in Ming have provided a constant source of inspiration for its potted landscape gardening to draw on.
Tree stumps are used as chief material in Suzhou's potted landscape gardening. Some of them are decades or even hundreds of years old and their branches have withered and crooked, given a strange and picturesque look by the workings of Nature. Some even seem to be dead and rotten and are regarded as useless. However, transplanted in pots and handled carefully, they will put forth green and luxuriant foliage. Hanging low or shooting upwards, many are beautiful by nature and have a high decorative value. Put in old-looking pots and stands, they are given a flavor of antiquity. Hence the unique classic elegance and simplicity of Suzhou's potted landscape, which are both life-like and artistically suggestive.
Dating far back to Tang and Sung Dynasties and flourishing in Ming and Qing Dynasties, Suzhou's potted landscape gardening has continued to develop in our times. Early in Qing, it already attained the artistic standards of traditional Chinese landscape painting.
Suzhou Embroidery
Suzhou embroidery is one of the four famous embroideries in China with a history of more than 2,000 years. Suzhou embroidery enjoyed an enable reputation for its elegant, neat characteristics and excellent craftsmanship. Suzhou embroidery is flat and smooth on surface, neat, well stitched and even, and bright in color and has attained a high artistic level. Suzhou embroidery works have been exhibited in more than a hundred countries and regions, and have attracted thousands of spectators who have highly praised the exquisite workmanship and reputed the Suzhou embroidery as the pearl of the orient art. It includes double-face embroidery, single-face embroidery, random-stitch embroidery and some other hand-woven needlecrafts.
The double-sided embroidery has high reputation for its superb patterns, tasteful colors and matchless execution. It is a gem among the embroidery arts with its vivid and absolutely lifelike themes. Embroidered works are highly complex works today. Some masterpiece like the portrait of the Queen of the U.K took the embroidery several months using ten-odd stitches and silk threads in more than a thousand different colors to complete. The best known pattern of perfection in Suzhou embroidery are kitten and gold fish, the artist use 20 different colored silk threads to embroider one eye of a cat and splits the hair-thin colored silk thread into 48 filaments to embroider the tail of a gold fish.
Where to shop
Guanqian Street
Guanqian Street, a one-century business street, has gathered a great many shops of a century's standing, which nowadays has got big reputation both home and abroad. As early as 1982, Guanqian Street was set up as a pedestrian mall- the oldest one all over the country. After one-century ups and downs, Guanqian commercial center nowadays has been completely renewed by the lead of CPC Suzhou Municipal Committee and Municipal Government with huge capital. The reconstructed Guanqian Street has been becoming a commercial, cultural, religionary and travel center with rich local color, sound traffic network, perfect infrastructure, rational overall commercial arrangement and excellent investment environment.
Nanmen Sowntown
Nanmen sowntown is located at southern part of Suzhou ancient city, to the north of Renmin Road, and well-known "Water Line in Paradise" is sited here. The business and shopping in Nanmen sowntown is prosperous with all manner of department stores, general business buildings and supermarkets. The biggest fruit and vegetable terminal market is right there, and meanwhile, about 20 flavor restaurants lent color to the busiest downtown area in the extreme south of the city.
FYI: bus lines: Y2, Y4, 1, 101, 102, 103, 513, 514, 949, 61, 62, 70, 28, 308, 218, 309, 5
Shiquan Street
Shiquan Street is located in hotel area in ancient downtown of Suzhou, famous Nanlin Restaurant, Suzhou Restaurant ,Nanlin Hotel as well as the classical garden of The Master-of-Nets Garden are on this street. As tourism of Suzhou booming and old streets being reconstructed, the rebuilt Shiquan Street looks brand-new.
There strew many Ming-and-Qing-Dynasty-style architectures including characteristic restaurants and craftwork shops, such as restaurant dealing in fish-head soup, teahouse featured culture and catering of Wu ,mountain-city chaffy dish with west China flavor, Japanese Restaurant, Corean Restaurant, Corean barbecue, Guangzhou-style dish, Huaiyang-style dish, etc., which are scramble for by both home and oversea travelers. Also, Shiquan Street is well-known for its craftworks like Suzhou Embroidery, chinaware antique, calligraphy and painting, chinaware, silk, inscriptions, jade, rosewood articles, there are everything that you expect to find. Suzhou Shiquan Street now has become a far-famed characteristic street for its craftworks and restaurants.
Shilu Pedestrianized Shopping Street
Shilu Pedestrianized Shopping Street is located in Jinchang District, which is named after "Stone Road" in English as it was paved with stones in late Qing Dynasty. It is said it had already been very prosperous in ancient time. Since late 2003, Suzhou Municipal Government has injected a huge amount of capital to reconstruct the street, aiming to forge it one of the best shopping centers in Jiangsu Province and top-ranking in China by integrating its modern image with ancient culture of Suzhou. The project was completed by the end of 2003 and open to public on New Year's Day of 2004.
The renewed street is sprinkled with large-sized musical fountains, towering trees, beautiful neon lights and clean rivers. The commercial arrangement of Shilu pedestrianized shopping street has a new adjustment as well. Xinfeng Lane is to be restored and become a special street with cafes and pubs. Stores in the street are busy with decoration now. People can enjoy the leisure life there after doing shopping. The formal opening of Shilu pedestrianized shopping street also stimulates consumers' popular enthusiasm on the market at night in the Shilu commercial area. The business time of the stores on Shi Road is prolonged to 10 O'clock pm.
Editor's words:
After a visit to the Suzhou Silk Museum or Suzhou Silk Factory where you can learn enough to improve your bargaining position and avoid getting duped by phony material, head out into the town and start shopping.
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