Suzhou Mudu Ancient Town
- Chinese name: 木渎古镇 Mudu Ancient Town
- Location: No. 188, Shantang Street, Mudu Town, Wuzhong District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province
- Opening hours: April 1st – October 31st 08:30-17:00 (last entry 16:30); November 1st – March 31st next year 08:30-16:30 (last entry 16:30) Admission 16:00)
- Attraction level: national AAAA scenic spot
- Ticket price: 78 yuan
- Area: 62 km²
- Famous attractions: Tianping Mountain, Lingyan Mountain, Taihu Lake, Yanjia Garden, etc.天平山、灵岩山、太湖、严家花园等
Suzhou Mudu Ancient Town
The history of Mudu Ancient Town is as long as the ancient city of Suzhou. The ancient water town itself is quite ordinary. Along the main street, Shantang Street, the classical gardens Yanjia Garden, Hongyin Mountain House, Ancient Pine Garden, and Bangyan Mansion are arranged from west to east along the main street, Shantang Street. It brings the characteristics of “ancient garden town”, the visitor center (ticket office) is at the west end of Shantang Street.
Yanjia Garden (Xianyuan) in the Qing Dynasty
In the Yanjia Garden (Xianyuan) in the Qing Dynasty, Shangxian Hall, a nanmu hall that has gone through more than 400 years, is enough to illustrate its “tall and superior”. There is a big stage in Hongyin Mountain House. Qianlong often came here to watch the theater during his six voyages to the south of the Yangtze River. Twenty imperial decrees of the emperor are displayed in the house. The Xiaoyin Garden in Hongyinshanfang is the former residence of Shen Shou, the “Queen of Embroidery”. In the ancient pine garden in the Qing Dynasty, the carvings in the hall are very beautiful. In the back garden there is a podocarpus more than 500 years old. The Yao Jianping Embroidery Art Museum on the west side of the back garden is also worth seeing. Bangsan Mansion is famous for its exquisite brick carvings, wood carvings and stone carvings.
More Time To Visit
After watching these four main attractions, if you have time, you can also visit Mingyue Temple on the east side of Yanjia Garden, Gusu Twelve Niangs Garden (free of charge), which shows the traditional skills of women in water towns, Ming and Qing Ancient Porcelain Museum and other attractions.
River Cruise
Accompanied by the Xiangxi River on Shantang Street in Mudu and the Xujiang River, an artificial canal dug by Wu Zixu, it meets under the inclined bridge of the ancient bridge in the east. You can take a cruise boat on the river full of historical stories, and then listen to the boat mother. Wu Nong’s soft language is also very good. The cruise ship terminal is not far from the tourist center at the west end of Shantang Street. The boat fare is 10 yuan, and 3 people set sail.
Mudu Ancient Town Food
One of the delicacies in the ancient town is the Shijia Restaurant. The signature dish, squid lung soup, is made with cod liver stewed chicken soup. The cod liver is tender and the soup is extremely delicious. The second is Ganshengyuan, the signature jujube sesame cake is even better than Caizhizhai, another famous shop in Suzhou, with more fillings. In fact, you can also buy some other such as brown sugar, rice dumpling sugar, longxu sugar, cloud cake, etc. Go back and share with friends and family.
Local handicrafts
Local handicrafts in Mudu include silk, double-sided embroidery, mahogany carvings, Chengni inkstone, calligraphy and painting, stone carvings, etc., which can be purchased as souvenirs.
Attractions nearby Mudu Ancient Town
The west end of Mudu Ancient Town is connected to Lingyan Mountain, and Tianping Mountain is in the northwest. It is said that Fu Chai, king of Wu, built the Guanwa Palace on the top of Lingyan Mountain in order to please Xishi. You can arrange to visit Mudu together with Tianping Mountain or Lingyan Mountain according to your preference.
Suzhou Mudu Ancient Town Video
