Is it just me, or is Suzhou kinda overrated?
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Hey, friends in Suzhou! Just hold your horses for a moment; these are merely my personal reflections.
I visited Suzhou during the Dragon Boat Festival, which is a public holiday in China, generally celebrated at the early summer time.
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Oh dear, it was super hot there!
- I noticed that the major streets near the scenic spots were almost bare. There weren't many trees lining the road to provide shade from the sun.
- Personally, I thought Suzhou would be abundant with beautiful gardens and green canopies all over town. However, reality turned out to be very different. There simply wasn’t much of a green canopy to speak of.
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The Suzhou Museum...
- Frankly, there didn’t seem to be an overwhelming number of exhibits inside. But people mainly visited for the renowned architectural design of the museum itself.
- However! The number of people taking photos was crazy!
- Every popular ‘Instagrammable spot’ online was having long queues of people waiting to take pictures – even by the fountains. It really astonished me how packed everything was.
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There were also the small shops selling Qipao/Cheongsams:
- These shops were brimming with customers. Trying on a new dress meant dodging the crowds continuously.
- (Qipao is a beautiful traditional Chinese style dress which many visitors purchase as souvenirs or wear for photographs.)
- After finally purchasing a satisfactory Qipao, I changed my ticket and left for Shanghai earlier than planned.
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I wondered if perhaps it’s just not really a good idea to visit Suzhou in summer?
- Besides, it seemed like many roads were undergoing repairs during my stay, which affected my mood. The traffic was awful!
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️ Important tips and recommendations!- Watch out for the heat: If you visit in the summer, make sure to pack items that help keep you cool as it is extremely hot outdoors during the day, especially with limited green canopies around.
- A sea of people: Prepare for waiting in line at popular attractions (like the museum) and specialty stores (like the Qipao shops). During public holidays, there will be even more crowds.
- Traffic congestion: City traffic might be terrible due to road construction or the large influx of tourists.
- What can you do? I strongly recommend you rent a motorized scooter! This will not only help you avoid traffic jams but also provide some fresh air, resulting in a much better travel experience.
To sum up, this trip left me somewhat disappointed, but this is just based on my own experience. Hope this provides some insights for you, but don't take it too seriously.
#TravelTips #Holiday #Suzhou
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It's not just you; everyone online feels the same way. As a local born and raised here, I agree even more. Apart from its famous name, Suzhou really isn't fun at all. Tell anyone you know who's planning a trip to Suzhou to steer clear.
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Haha, you're just speaking the plain truth! Perhaps it's a city better suited for a slower pace of life.
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You're absolutely right. Summer isn't the best time to visit; it feels really uncomfortable. Plus, with the subway construction, many downtown areas are undergoing roadwork.
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Oh, so that's why they're building the subway!
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If you're looking for fun, you should choose a city based on what you like. For instance, if you love hotpot, go to Chengdu. If you enjoy hiking and scenic views, head to the mountains. If you're a fan of the ocean, pick a coastal city. And if you appreciate gardens and Pingtan opera, then Suzhou is for you. Every city has its own unique charm and won't change to suit you, so you need to choose selectively. For example, I'm not a fan of crowds or nightlife, so I wouldn't visit cities famous for their bustling bar and entertainment scenes because I wouldn't have a good time. It's not that those cities aren't fun; they're just not my cup of tea. As for people who complain about the food in other cities, I'd say: if you don't like it, you're just missing out on an option, which is your loss. Why criticize a culinary culture that has evolved over hundreds, even thousands, of years?
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Hey, no need to get worked up! Perhaps I came with certain expectations, like imagining Suzhou's gardens full of lush trees. But with the ongoing roadwork, it just wasn't quite what I pictured. The timing of my visit probably wasn't ideal either, so overall, the experience was a bit underwhelming.
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Even Suzhou locals feel that way... But you could check out the university campuses in Suzhou; the scenery there is quite nice.
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Oh my goodness, it's so beautiful!
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Suzhou isn't that fun to begin with. We Suzhou locals usually go to Zhejiang for fun.
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Zhejiang is even less fun. You sure know how to pick 'em...
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It's not fun to begin with. I just want to stay home.
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Locally certified fun places: hotels & home.
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Same here.
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Friend: What's there to do in Suzhou? Me: It's a 25-min high-speed train ride to Shanghai. By the same token, what's there to do in Sydney? It's a 1.5-hour flight to Melbourne.
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By that logic, what's fun to do in Australia? Take a boat to Antarctica?
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You can't do much about the crowds. They heavily promote it online, and then everyone wants to visit. Tourists usually only know a few famous attractions, so they all flock to those spots, leading to massive overcrowding. It wasn't like this before; I remember weekends at Guanqian or Shantang Street being quite empty. Guanqian even felt a bit desolate, and I stopped bothering to go. We locals don't usually visit those tourist traps anyway; I personally don't enjoy them or see the appeal. On top of that, Suzhou traffic is already bad. You'll see some elderly people on tricycles riding right in the middle of the road, completely ignoring car horns. There's no way to manage them, and it's incredibly frustrating.
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Suzhou's traffic is terrible. You'd expect it to be orderly, but looking at the road conditions, it feels more like a large, less developed town.
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It was scorching hot and super crowded. Yesterday, it was forecast to rain in Suzhou. It poured heavily for a short while, then turned into a light drizzle. Walking along Pingjiang Road in that atmosphere – fewer people, gentle raindrops, not too hot, with the slow, melodic sounds of Pingtan opera in the background – felt incredibly pleasant. It was the quintessential 'misty, rainy Jiangnan' experience. Today, however, was a completely different story: packed with people and blazing hot. The experience was far worse. I spent most of my time hopping between milk tea shops to cool down and rest. After just two or three hours, I couldn't take it anymore and even considered changing my train ticket to leave earlier.