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Photo: Zhangzhugang, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Said to have cost a boatload of silver and taken sixteen years to build. Free tours through the garden start every 5-10 minutes, though these tours are conducted only in Mandarin. Included in the tour is a "Chinese marriage", a look at carved tree roots, followed by a boat ride through the garden canals. The incredible collection of bonsai trees ('pen cai' or 'pen jing' in Chinese) at the end of the garden furthest from the main entrance is worth a trip all by itself.
The Humble Administrator's Garden is a Chinese garden in Suzhou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most famous of the gardens of Suzhou. The garden is located at 178 Northeast Street, Gusu District. At 78 mu, it is the largest garden in Suzhou and is considered by some to be the finest garden in all of southern China. In 1997, Humble Administrator's Garden was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site as a component of the Classical Gardens of Suzhou.
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Sūzhōu Bówùguǎn
Designed by I.M. Pei, whose family came from Suzhou. Pei lived most of his life in the US and was a very successful architect there, known for the glass pyramid outside the Louvre in Paris, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, and other landmarks. He came out of retirement in his 80s to return to Suzhou to create a museum that married his modernist sensibility with his sense of the region; as a teenager he lived in Shanghai and often visited family in Suzhou. Do not miss the recreation of the Ming Dynasty scholar's study. You'll need to make a reservation in the museum's website.
Lion Forest Garden, Shi Zi Lin 狮子林
Has an incredible collection of pitted, eroded rocks that were greatly appreciated by classical Chinese scholars. It was originally part of a Buddhist monastery. The gardens are a reminder of the Buddhist story of the lions. The layout of the garden follows many twists and turns. It is easy to get quite lost in these winding paths.
苏州丝绸博物馆
This museum is dedicated to the city's millennia-old silk production history. Beyond static exhibits, visitors can often watch live demonstrations of intricate traditional weaving techniques like Song brocade, making it a deeply immersive cultural experience[citation:4].
Sūzhōu Gōngyì Měishù Bówùguǎn 苏州工艺美术博物馆
This is a relatively new museum, opened in 2003, but the building it is in dates back to the reign of Emperor Qianlong, 1735-1796. The museum's collection numbers nearly one-thousand pieces and includes modern Suzhou embroidery, sandalwood, tapestry, wood carving, stone carving, Ming-style furniture, ethnic musical instruments, antique bronze, lacquerwork and metal crafts.
苏州碑刻博物馆
Housed in the former Confucian Temple, this museum holds a rich collection of ancient stone steles, including the renowned "Four Song Dynasty Steles." It's a quieter alternative to the city's more famous museums, focusing on the art of calligraphy and stone carving.
Beisi Ta
Viewable from the train station, the peak of the pagoda is Suzhou's most famous. A garden and temples are on the grounds.