My Few Days Loitering in Suzhou
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Gusu District is the ancient city center. It's remained largely unchanged for 2500 years – even the roads are the same. This truly shows Suzhou's character. While many places raced to build skyscrapers, letting ancient towns and architecture vanish amidst the roar of machinery, Suzhou prioritized preserving its old city. They've imposed restrictions on building height, color schemes, and even air conditioner installations. Residential buildings must be lower than the third story of Beisi Pagoda, and exterior colors are limited to black, white, and gray, ensuring the Pagoda remains the old city's tallest landmark.
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The old city is very well-preserved, but the road planning could still use some improvement. It's also possible it was just more chaotic because of subway construction when I visited.
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The old city definitely needs to be protected. Next time, try staying in the Suzhou Industrial Park (often referred to as the 'Singapore Industrial Park' due to its origins) – then you'll see what a modern urban area is like.
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Okay, I'll make sure to check out the new district next time too.
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In any city, I wouldn't trust anyone who proactively strikes up a conversation with me near a tourist attraction.
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Sigh, lesson learned the hard way.
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Whether Suzhou feels 'big' or not really depends on your perspective. If you go in with a small-city mindset, it won't feel large. Actually, both locals and long-term residents from other places are generally very friendly; I've often been proactively offered directions or help.
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Actually, I've always wanted to point this out: those rickshaw drivers at the entrance of the Humble Administrator's Garden who offer to take you to Pingjiang Road for 30 yuan... well, Pingjiang Road's rear entrance is literally just 40 meters away from the garden. It makes me chuckle every time I see someone get taken on a roundabout trip from the north side of the garden all the way to the main entrance of Pingjiang Road.
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Suzhou's streets were originally designed for sedan chairs, and its gardens were meant to be lived in, not just visited as tourist spots.
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You should report it to the Suzhou 12345 hotline.