Overview
Suzhou, previously transliterated as Su-chou, Suchow, and Soochow, is a major city located in the southeast of Jiangsu Province in Eastern China, located adjacent to Shanghai Municipality. The city is situated on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the shores of Taihu Lake and is a part of the Yangtze River Delta region. Administratively, Suzhou is a prefecture-level city with an urban population of over 4 million expanding to over 10 million in the administrative area.
Originally founded in 514 BCE, Suzhou has over 2,500 years of rich history, and relics of the past are abundant to this day. The city’s canals, stone bridges, pagodas, and meticulously designed gardens have contributed to its status as one of the top tourist attractions in China. Since the Song Dynasty (960-1279), it has also been an important centre for China’s silk industry. The classical gardens in Suzhou were added to the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1997 and 2000. Suzhou is often dubbed the “Venice of the East” or “Venice of China”.
Industry
Suzhou Industrial Park
The Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) is the largest cooperative project between the Chinese and Singaporean governments. It is located beside Jinji Lake, which lies to the east of the Suzhou Old City. On 26 February 1994, Vice Premier Li Lanqing and Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew represented China and Singapore respectively in signing the Agreement to jointly develop Suzhou Industrial Park. The project officially commenced on 12 May in the same year. SIP has a total jurisdiction area of 288 km2, of which, the China-Singapore cooperation area covers 80 km2 with a planned residential population of 1.2 million.[14]
Suzhou Industrial Park Export Processing Zone
The Suzhou Industrial Park Export Processing Zone was approved to be established by the government in April 2000, with a planning area of 2.9 km2. It is located in Suzhou Industrial Park set up by China and Singapore. Inside the Export Processing Zone, all the infrastructures are of high-standard. With the information platform and electronic methods, all the customs declaration and other procedures can be handled on line. Investors can enjoy many preferential policies.[15]
Suzhou New District
The Suzhou New District was established in 1990. In November 1992, the zone was approved to be the national-level hi-tech industrial zone. By the end of 2007, foreign-invested companies had a total registered capital worth of USD 13 billion, of which USD 6.8 billion was paid in. SND hosts now more than 1,500 foreign companies. Some 40 Fortune 500 companies set up 67 projects in the district.[16]
As of September 2012, Suzhou is the largest industrial city in China.
Transportation
Railway
Suzhou is located in the Shanghai-Nanjing corridor which now carries three parallel railways.
Suzhou Railway Station, near the city center, is among the busiest passenger stations in China. It is served by both the Beijing–Shanghai Railway (mostly “conventional” trains to points throughout China) and the Shanghai-Nanjing Intercity Railway (high-speed D- and G-series trains providing frequent service primarily between Shanghai and Nanjing). It takes only 25 minutes to Shanghai on the fastest G-series trains, and less than 2 hours to Nanjing.
The Suzhou North Railway Station, a few kilometers to the north, is on the Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway (opened 2011), served by high-speed trains to Beijing, Qingdao, etc.
Numerous other stations on the Beijing–Shanghai Railway and the Shanghai-Nanjing Intercity Railway serve other points in the same corridor within Suzhou Prefecture-level city, such as Kunshan.
The northern part of the prefecture-level city, including such county-level cities as Zhangjiagang, Changshu, and Taicang, presently has no rail service. However, plans exist for a cross-river railway from Nantong to the Shanghai metropolitan area (the Shanghai–Nantong Railway), which will run through most of these county-level cities. Construction work is expected to start in 2013 and to take five and a half years.[17]
Expressway and highway
The Nanjing-Shanghai Expressway connects Suzhou with Shanghai, alternatively, there is also the Yangtze Riverine Expressway and the Suzhou-Jiaxing-Hangzhou Expressway. In 2005, the new Suzhou Outer Ring was completed, linking the peripheral county-level cities of Taicang, Kunshan, and Changshu. China National Highway 312 also passes through Suzhou.
Air Transport
Although Wuxi Shuofang Airport and Guangfu United Airlines Airport serve as two municipal airports, and the State Council approved of the construction of an airport exclusively serving Suzhou in 2003, air transportation from Suzhou continues to be conducted primarily at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport and Shanghai Pudong International Airport in Shanghai.
Water Transport
By water, Suzhou is connected with Zhangjiagang, Luzhi, Liujiagang, Changshu and Shimonoseki, Japan.
There are also some small rivers in the city serving as touristing lines.
Metro
The Suzhou Rail Transit currently has one line in operation and two lines under construction. The masterplan consists of nine independent lines. Line 1 started operation April 28, 2012.
To learn more, please visit the Wikipedia website of Suzhou.