Is it just me, or is Suzhou kinda overrated?
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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.
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The food was just okay for me. I've been here two or three times and looked up many highly-rated restaurants, but honestly, nothing really wowed me. I prefer stronger, more savory flavors, and the cuisine here tends to be on the sweeter, milder side, so it just tasted average to me. (Though, each visit was short, so maybe I just need more time to dig deeper and find hidden gems.)