Roaming through the hundred scenes of Jiangnan, experience the slow life of Suzhou tourism, with recommendations for canal attractions

1️⃣Pingwang·Four Rivers Convergence 🔹Pingwang is located in Wujiang, surrounded by lakes of various sizes. The Grand Canal winds from the north to Pingwang, where it splits into three waterways. One goes to Huzhou along the Tai Lake, and two to Jiaxing. Pingwang is bordered by the Taipu River to the north and the Yingou Lake to the south, with numerous lakes around, reflecting the reality of a water town. 🔹During the Sui Dynasty, the Grand Canal connected the north and south, where it meets the Ditan, excavated during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, in Pingwang. The place is vast with misty waves, and from south to north, only the paths divide among the reeds, with the sky and water blending into the horizon, hence the name Pingwang. Since the Song and Yuan dynasties, water and land post stations were established, with abundant trade and travelers around, and numerous inns and stations in Pingwang town, 'where thousands of boats gather from afar, commonly known as Xiaofeng Bridge'. 🔹To this day, the Grand Canal's route does not pass through Pingwang town, but historical traces brought by the canal can still be seen everywhere. 2️⃣Baodai Bridge 🔹Baodai Bridge, having endured a thousand years of weathering, lies horizontally between the Grand Canal and Dantai Lake at the mouth of the Dai Dai River, parallel to the ancient canal. It is about 316 meters long with 53 arches, the longest and best-preserved ancient stone arch bridge in China, known as 'Suzhou's First Bridge'. 🔹The Wu Culture Museum, located in the Baodai Bridge scenic area, officially opened in June 2020. Viewed from the lakeside, the main building of the museum, with its gray-white walls and glass curtain walls, is scattered among the river network of the water town, like a whitewashed compound, encapsulating the treasures and subtleties of Wu culture. 3️⃣Shihu Five Dikes 🔹Shihu is one of the bays of Tai Lake, together with Qizi Mountain, forming the southwest corner of the Suzhou ancient city's mountain and water landscape. Historically, it has been praised as 'the best place to travel near Wu County'. 🔹Located southwest of Suzhou's ancient city, Shihu is divided into East Shihu, West Shihu, and South Shihu, with five dikes: Wu, Yue, Shi, Yang, and Fan lying across the water. 🔹Shihu is a scenic area known for its Wu-Yue relics and pastoral scenery, part of the Tai Lake National Scenic Area, with attractions such as the Fisherman's Village, Tianjing Pavilion, Xingchun Bridge, and Shihu Chuan Yue. 4️⃣Hengtang Post Station 🔹At the junction of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and the Suzhou Xujian River, there is a triangular river island where the old site of Hengtang Post Station is located. 🔹There is one pavilion remaining at Hengtang Post Station, one of the few ancient post station buildings in the country. This pavilion was the gate of the original Hengtang Post Station, with a couplet in front of the door 'Guests are greeted with tea as if hosting, the lantern hangs waiting for the moon, illuminating the distant Xujian River'. 🔹As the only remaining ancient postal relay along the Jiangnan Canal, it witnesses the Grand Canal connecting the north and south, linking ancient and modern times, and is an important landmark of Jiangnan culture. 5️⃣Shuilu Panmen 🔹Panmen is one of the eight gates of the ancient Wu capital, the only one in China that preserves the complete ancient city gate with both water and land entrances, and is the bustling place described by Fan Chengda as 'People laugh and chat in the cool evening breeze, with thousands of lights reflecting on the river and ponds'. 🔹Panmen is easy to defend but hard to attack, with water and land gates side by side, an important military defense structure of the ancient city. Ruiguang Tower is an ancient tower from the Song Dynasty located within Panmen. 🔹Facing Panmen, the single-arch Wumen Bridge spans the outer city river, an important passage for entering and exiting Panmen by land, and is the highest single-hole ancient stone arch bridge in Suzhou.