市辖区：
吴中区 (面积 672平方千米，人口571851 人。邮政编码215128)
（驻长桥街道） 长桥街道／越溪街道／郭巷街道／横泾街道／香山街道／苏苑街道／龙西街道／城南街道／角直镇／木渎镇／胥口镇／临湖镇／东山镇／光福镇／西山镇
相城区 (面积 416平方千米，人口361082人。邮政编码215131)
（驻元和街道）元和街道／太平街道／黄桥街道／北桥街道／望亭镇／黄埭镇／渭塘镇／阳澄湖镇
金阊区 (面积 37平方千米，人口210832人。邮政编码215008)
（驻石路街道） 石路街道／留园街道／虎丘街道／白洋湾街道／彩香街道
平江区 (面积 22平方千米，人口232053人。邮政编码215005)
（驻平江路街道） 观前街道／平江路街道／苏锦街道／娄门街道／城北街道／桃花坞街道
沧浪区 (面积 25平方千米，人口322922人。邮政编码215006)
（驻双塔街道） 双塔街道／南门街道／胥江街道／吴门桥街道／葑门街道／友新街道
虎丘区 （苏州高新区）面积 258平方千米，人口349518人。邮政编码215004)
（驻狮山街道） 狮山街道／横塘街道／枫桥街道／镇湖街道／浒墅关镇／ 通安镇／东渚镇
工业园区：
人口304761人（驻娄葑镇） 娄葑镇／唯亭镇／胜浦镇
县级市：
常熟市（驻虞山镇）(面积1263平方千米，人口1061410人。邮政编码215500)苏州市行政区划图
虞山镇／梅李镇／海虞镇／新港镇／古里镇／沙家浜镇／支塘镇／董浜镇／尚湖镇／辛庄镇
昆山市（驻玉山镇）(面积 927平方千米，人口679846人。邮政编码215300)
玉山镇／巴城镇／周市镇／陆家镇／花桥镇／淀山湖镇／张浦镇／周庄镇／千灯镇／锦溪镇
张家港市（驻杨舍镇）(面积 813平方千米，人口893039人。邮政编码215600)
杨舍镇／塘桥镇／金港镇／锦丰镇／乐余镇／凤凰镇／南丰镇／大新镇
吴江市（驻松陵镇）(面积1192平方千米，人口793172人。邮政编码215200)
松陵镇／盛泽镇／同里镇／汾湖镇／平望镇／横扇镇／七都镇／震泽镇／桃源镇
太仓市（驻城厢镇）(面积 642平方千米，人口463825人。邮政编码215400)
城厢镇／沙溪镇／浏河镇／浮桥镇／璜泾镇／双凤镇／陆渡镇
[编辑本段]二、自然环境
苏州地处温带，属亚热带季风和季风性湿润气候，四季分明，气候温和，雨量充沛。全市地势低平，平原占总面积的55%，水网密布，土地肥沃，物产丰富。主要种植水稻、麦子、油菜，出产棉花、蚕桑、林果，特产有碧螺春茶叶、长江刀鱼、太湖银鱼、阳澄湖大闸蟹等。苏州市闻名遐迩的鱼米之乡、丝绸之府，素有“人间天堂”之美誉。
苏州地区河网密布，市区是江南水网的中心和全国河流最密集的地区，周围是全国著名的水稻高产区，农业发达，有“水乡泽国”、“天下粮仓”、“鱼米之乡”之称。这里物华天宝，人杰地灵，因其从古至今繁荣发达、长盛不衰的文化和经济，被誉为“人间天堂”，素有“丝绸之都（丝绸之府）”、“园林之城”的美誉。又因其小桥流水人家的水乡古城特色，而有“东方威尼斯”、“东方水都（东方水城）”之称。现今的苏州已经成为“城中有园”、“园中有城”，山、水、城、林、园、镇为一体，古典与现代完美结合、古韵今风、和谐发展的国际化大都市。2004年曾经成功举办世界遗产大会。2006年又举办了第三届全国体育大会。
[编辑本段]三、交通情况
苏州自古有京杭运河贯穿而过。现有京沪铁路以及312，204等多条国道经过苏州。苏州周边有上海虹桥机场，浦东机场，无锡硕放机场。2007年苏州正在建设轻轨 。预计2012年左右投入使用。其高速公路密度达到德国水平，是交通部授予的公路交通枢纽城市。
[编辑本段]四、历史文化
苏州建城于公元前514年，吴王夫差的父亲阖闾命楚国叛将伍子胥建阖闾城，距今已有2500多年的历史了。春秋时期，这里是吴国的都城，至今还保留着许多有关西施、伍子胥等的古迹。隋开皇九年（公元589年）始称苏州，沿用至今。苏州城建城早，规模大，水陆并行，河街相邻，古城区至今仍坐落在原址上，为国内外所罕见。 苏州园林甲天下，已被列入世界文化遗产名录，在中国四大名园中，苏州就占有拙政园、留园两席；“吴中第一名胜”虎丘深厚的文化积淀，使其成为游客来苏州的必游之地；而唐朝诗人张继的一首《枫桥夜泊》，令古今游客争相来访枫桥，闻听寒山寺的钟声。 姑苏城外自然风光秀丽，灵岩、天平、天池和洞庭诸山，点缀于太湖之滨，形成了富有江南风情的湖光山色。 苏州既有园林之美，又有山水之胜，自然、人文景观交相辉映，加之文人墨客题咏吟唱，使苏州成为名副其实的“人间天堂”。 苏州园林是文化意蕴深厚的“文人写意山水园”。古代的造园者都有很高的文化修养，能诗善画，造园时多以画为本，以诗为题，通过凿池堆山、栽花种树，创造出具有诗情画意的景观，被称为是“无声的诗，立体的画”。在园林中游赏，犹如在品诗，又如在赏画。为了表达园主的情趣、理想、追求，园林建筑与景观又有匾额、楹联之类的诗文题刻，有以清幽的荷香自喻人品（拙政园“远香堂”），有以清雅的香草自喻性情高洁（拙政园“香洲”），有追慕古人似小船自由漂荡怡然自得的（怡园“画舫斋”），还有表现园主企慕恬淡的四园生活的（网师园“真意”、留园“小桃源”）等等，不一而足。这些充满着书卷气的诗文题刻与园内的建筑、山水、花木自然和谐地揉和在一起，使园林的一山一水、一草一木均能产生出深远的意境，徜徉其中，可得到心灵的陶冶和美的享受。其中沧浪亭、狮子林、拙政园和留园分别代表着宋（公元960～1278年）、元（公元1271～1368年）、明（公元1368～1644年）、清（公元1644～1911年）四个朝代的艺术风格，被称为“苏州四大名园”，拙政园和留园更跻身“中国四大名园”之列，网师园也颇负盛名。
苏州发现了许多远古文化遗址，尤其是新石器时代晚期的良渚文化最为丰富，著名的有赵陵山遗址、少卿山遗址、绰墩遗址、草鞋山遗址、罗墩遗址等，其中赵陵山遗址1992年被列为全国十大考古遗址重大发现之一。天堂苏州，东方水城——典型的“小桥、流水、人家”苏州是中国著名古都，曾为春秋之吴国、战国之越国、三国之孙吴、元末之张吴等多个政权的首都，也是中国现存最古老的城市，经著名史学家顾颉刚先生考证为中国第一古城。她是吴文化的发祥地和集大成者，亦为中华文明的重要发源地，是传统文化发达、历史底蕴深厚、风景秀美如画的城市，拥有世界文化遗产、中国十大风景名胜之一的苏州园林和其他大量的自然景观和历史古迹。苏州有文字记载的历史已逾4200年，是举世闻名的历史文化名城和典型的园林城市。是国家首批历史文化名城之一．古城的古迹密度在中国仅次于北京和西安，列全国第三位．一般认为，苏州城始建于公元前514年，已历经2500多年的沧桑。苏州也是中国最精致的城市，古城基本保持着古代“水陆并行、河街相邻”的双棋盘格局、“三纵三横一环”的河道水系和“小桥流水、粉墙黛瓦、古迹名园”的独特风貌。其中苏州古城是世界文化遗产苏州园林和世界非物质文化遗产昆曲”双遗产”集于一身．现在进入国家申请世界文化遗产名录预备清单的有苏州古城历史街区和江南水乡古镇．苏州是中国世界文化遗产最多的城市，迄今有九座园林列世界文化遗产之列．昆曲和以虞山派为代表之一的古琴列世界非物质文化遗产之列．苏州现有2个国家历史文化名城（苏州、常熟），3个中国历史文化名镇（昆山周庄、吴江同里、苏州角直），7个江苏省历史文化名镇（苏州东山、苏州西山、苏州光福、苏州木渎、吴江震泽、太仓沙溪、昆山千灯），还有一大批保存较好的古镇（如吴江的黎里、盛泽，昆山锦溪，太仓浏河等）、古村落（吴中区的东山村、明月湾）。
[编辑本段]五、名称由来
相传商代末年，周君古公亶父有三个儿子：长子泰伯，次子仲雍和幼子季历。季历有子昌，古公亶父认为昌有兴王业的才能，想把君位传给季历再传于昌。泰伯、仲雍了解了这一意图后，为尊重父意，避让君位而逃避到当时被称为荆蛮之地的江南。并随乡入俗，自行“断发文身”。表示他们已是荆蛮之人，而不能再回去继位了。他们的这一义行，以及他们带来的周族先进的文化和农业生产技术，受到了当地居民的拥护，在梅里（今无锡县梅村）泰伯被拥立为君长，国号为“匀吴”（匀吴的“匀”是荆蛮语的发声词，无实际意义，匀吴即吴。由于笔误，匀吴也被误写为勾吴）。
从泰伯起十九传至寿梦继位称王（公元前585年），吴国始有确切纪年。随着吴国的崛起，梅里的都城已日益不能适应国家发展的需要了，而位于太湖东北岸的苏州，由于自然条件十分优越，交通方便，土地肥沃，物产丰富，人口众多，寿梦二十五年（公元前561年），正式将都城迁至苏州。并经过多年的不断经营，具有相当规模。可是由于史籍没有记载,当时城址已无从查考。自此，当时的苏州称为吴国。
公元前514年，吴王阖闾下令伍子胥督造水陆双棋盘格局的城池，自此，苏州的地理位置沿革致今。公元前222年，秦始皇在吴都城设会稽郡、吴县，自此，当时的苏州称为吴县，或有时称为吴州。公元589年，隋改吴州为苏州（以苏州城西姑苏山得名，苏州的名称始此。另姑苏山由吴王阖闾建姑苏台得名，现山上仍有遗迹）。公元778年，唐朝设苏州为江南唯一的“雄州”（唐制州分七等，“雄州”为二等）,从此，苏州名称被固定作为通称。公元1113年，宋改苏州为平江府。综合历史变革，苏州有很多的别称：姑苏、吴、吴县、东吴、平江、吴中等等。又由于苏州城内河道纵横,又称为水都、水城、水乡,十三世纪的《马可波罗游记》将苏州赞誉为东方威尼斯．苏州古城被法国启蒙思想家孟德斯鸠称赞为”鬼斧神工“。
[编辑本段]六、苏州方言
苏州话，一种吴语方言(英文Goetian)，属于吴语太湖片苏沪嘉小片。长期以来一直是吴语的主要代表方言之一（上海话也是吴语的代表方言，但实际上苏州话和上海话差别很小，苏州话比上海郊区一些吴语方言更容易被上海市区人理解）。
苏州话以软糯著称，所谓吴侬软语（侬作人解）就是由此而来。昆曲和评弹都使用苏州话，并流行于整个吴语太湖片。现代新派苏州话有28个声母，43个韵母，7 个声调，这个声韵调系统也是吴语的一般情况。而老派的苏州话则具有27个声母，49个韵母，7调。苏州郊区很多都保留了翘舌音声母，故部分地区具有33个声母。
苏州话是吴语的代表，在历史上有很高的地位。近代中国有四大白话：京白、韵白、苏白和粤白。而苏白无疑是江南地区最流行的语言。由于江南地区的发达，较多苏州人能够从劳动中解放出来，从事其他行业。其中读书是苏州人从事较多的行业。从唐代到清代，苏州地区的状元占有所有状元的很大的比例，明清一度达到五分之一。上层社会的精英中较多的也是苏州籍。苏白在明代从江南的流行语言成为士大夫的流行语言。越剧、昆曲、评弹都以苏白为标准音，甚至一开始的京剧都曾使用过苏白。古人云：“善操海内上下进退之权，苏人以为雅者，则四方随之而雅，俗者，则随而俗之。”上层社会，尤其是江南地区的上层人物大多以苏州话为荣。甚至不同地区的人交流也有使用苏州话的。和官方“普通话”京白相对而言，苏州话在当时社会的地位相当于民间的“普通话”。
姑苏城被大明士绅名流列为游学天下必得一游的五大都会之一，上至后妃宫眷、官宦妻女，下至民间匹妇乃至江湖艺女，更以穿着苏式服装，学说苏白，操唱吴歌，引为骄傲。尤其对各式妓女来说，衣必吴妆，话必苏白，擅长吴歌，成为必备之技能，非如此不足以自抬身价。
《海上花列传》是最著名的吴语小说，作者江苏松江府人韩邦庆。全书由文言和苏白写成，对话皆用苏州方言是该书的鲜明特点，使用苏白也是19世纪兴起的吴语小说的共同特点。
[编辑本段]七、苏州戏曲
苏州，是国务院公布的第一批重点保护的历史文化名城之一，是一座具有二千五百多年历史的古老城市。苏州不但为中华民族创造了丰富富的物质财富，也为中华民族优秀传统文化写下了光辉灿烂的篇章，其中，苏州的戏曲艺术尤令人瞩目，在中国戏曲发展史中，具有极为重要的地位。
苏州是昆剧和苏剧的故乡。被人们誉为戏曲艺术瑰宝的昆剧，兴起于元末明初时的昆山太仓一带，自明代隆庆、万历之交，至清代康熙、嘉庆年问，昆剧由于得到革新而迅速兴盛，其时在苏州城镇、乡村，人们对昆剧迷恋到了如醉如狂地步，组织业余班社，举行唱曲活动，一年一度的虎丘曲会，几至“倾城阖户”，“唱者千百”。在昆剧鼎盛时期，以苏州为中心，其流布范围几乎遍及全国各大城市，独霸剧坛二百余年。昆剧的繁荣，涌现了一大批优秀的演员，也出现了一批著名的作家，为后人留下了一大批著名的传奇剧本。
中华人民共和国成立后，苏州的戏曲事业，在党的“推陈出新”、“百花齐放”方针指引下，进入了一个新的发展阶段。为了抢救和继承昆剧、发展苏剧，早在五十年代初，中共苏州市委、市人民政府对苏、昆剧工作就十分重视。全国重大昆剧活动，也都在苏州举行，这对苏州的戏曲艺术起了很大的促进作用。一些新剧目的创作和演出，如昆剧《窦娥冤》，苏剧《醉归》、《窦公送子》，京剧《李慧娘》，滑稽戏《满意勿满意》等，在全国产生了一定影响；同时也培养了一批优秀演员。近半个世纪来，苏州地区的戏曲艺术有了可喜的发展。
苏州戏曲源远流长。历史上无数剧作家、曲家、演员对戏曲发展，作出了卓越的贡献，可是以往的地方史志中很少记载。如不少演员的演剧事迹和艺术成就已湮没无传，或仅在一些笔记中见到他们的名字和一些片段记述；不少剧目，仅留存其名或残曲。又如近代的“薪尽火传”的昆剧传习所的某些史实，因往事已久，即使当事者回忆，已尽难一致；当年曾演出过名剧的舞台，不少已遗迹难寻。由此可见，编纂戏曲志是带有一定程度的开创性和抢救性。
[编辑本段]八、综合经济
2008年，全市经济在高平台上继续实现稳定增长，产业发展更趋协调，结构升级调整优化，发展方式有效转变。初步核算，2008年全市实现地区生产总值6701亿元，按可比价计算比上年增长13%。其中第三产业增加值2436亿元，比上年增长15.5%。三次产业的比例为1.6：62.0：36.4，第三产业比重比上年提高1.8个百分点。按现行汇率计算人均GDP超过1万美元。
全市实现地方一般预算收入668.91亿元，比上年增长23.5%。全年地方一般预算支出619.55亿元，比上年增长24.7%。
全市工业总产值达到22103亿元，其中规模以上工业总产值达到18630亿元，分别比上年增长16.0%和15.3%。
全市实现社会消费品零售总额1551.75亿元，比上年增长24.1％。
年末金融机构本外币存、贷款余额分别为8800亿元和6580亿元，分别比年初增加1328亿元和770亿元。
全市完成房地产开发投资718.08亿元，比上年增长19.3％，占全社会固定资产投资的比重为27.5％。商品房施工面积为7036.91万平方米，增长15.4％；竣工面积为1481.24万平方米，比上年下降20.9％。商品房屋销售面积1007.36万平方米，比上年下降47.4%，其中住宅销售面积830.26万平方米，下降49.8%。全年实现商品房销售额573.42亿元，下降41.8%，其中住宅销售额为459.38亿元，下降44.5％。
市区二手房交易成交面积187.21万平方米，其中住宅100.19万平方米。全市拍卖、招标和挂牌交易用地3200.13公顷。
全市实现旅游总收入724亿元，比上年增长13.5%；接待境外游客219万人次，比上年增长6.5%；旅游外汇收入9.78亿美元，增长10%；接待国内游客5270万人次，增长10%。
全市实现进出口总额2285亿美元，比上年增长8%，其中出口总额1317亿美元，比上年增长10.7%。
全市新增注册外资163.4亿美元，比上年下降11%；实际利用外资81.3亿美元，比上年增长13.5%。
全社会固定资产投资2611.16亿元，比上年增长10.3%。
市区居民人均可支配收入23867元，比上年增长12.3%；农村居民人均纯收入11680元，比上年增长11.5%。
全市出生47772人，出生率为7.62‰，人口自然增长率为0.96‰，户籍人口出生婴儿性别比为104.1。年末全市户籍总人口629.75万人，比上年增加5.32万人，其中市区户籍人口238.21万人，比上年增加2.91万人。
[编辑本段]九、科技教育
科技
2006年全市组织实施省级以上科技项目358项，其中国家级项目142项，省级项目216项。127项科技成果获市级以上科技进步奖，其中江苏省奖13项。全年专利申请量12874件，比上年增长89.9%，其中发明专利2002件，占15.6%；专利授权量4855件，比上年增长46.5%，其中发明专利180件，占3.7%。大力促进产学研和区域科技合作，创新创业的平台和载体建设成效显著，新建、扩建了6个科技创业园，累计科技创业孵化器26个，创业孵化面积突破100万平方米。全市高新技术产业产值突破4000亿元，达4016.73亿元，占规模以上工业产值的比重达32%。全市新认定省级以上高新技术产品487个，累计已达2126个。当年新增省级以上高新技术企业162家，年末实有总数达到844家，新增国家认定的软件企业48家。人才发展环境得到优化，高层次人才队伍进一步壮大，全市引进各类人才12.4万人，引进留学归国人员352名。
教育
2006年苏州现代国民教育体系不断完善，教育资源配置日趋合理。全市初中毕业生升学率为97.5%，高等教育普及化程度提高，高考录取率为84.4%，高等教育毛入学率达52.3%。新增劳动力人均受教育年限达14.54年。全市实施九年制免费义务教育，小学在校学生35.15万人，初中在校学生21.25万人，普通高中在校学生11.21万人。职业教育实现优质化、规模化，职业中学在校学生2万人，技工学校在校学生2.89万人，毕业生0.6万人。中等专业学校在校学生8.27万人，毕业生1.65万人；普通高等学校在校学生13.06万人，毕业生2.27万人；成人高等学校在校学生3.85万人，毕业生0.53万人。全市中外合作办学项目达到30个，双语教育实验学校达到120所。独墅湖高等教育区和国际教育园入驻师生超过10万人。
吴中区 (面积 672平方千米，人口571851 人。邮政编码215128)
（驻长桥街道） 长桥街道／越溪街道／郭巷街道／横泾街道／香山街道／苏苑街道／龙西街道／城南街道／角直镇／木渎镇／胥口镇／临湖镇／东山镇／光福镇／西山镇
相城区 (面积 416平方千米，人口361082人。邮政编码215131)
（驻元和街道）元和街道／太平街道／黄桥街道／北桥街道／望亭镇／黄埭镇／渭塘镇／阳澄湖镇
金阊区 (面积 37平方千米，人口210832人。邮政编码215008)
（驻石路街道） 石路街道／留园街道／虎丘街道／白洋湾街道／彩香街道
平江区 (面积 22平方千米，人口232053人。邮政编码215005)
（驻平江路街道） 观前街道／平江路街道／苏锦街道／娄门街道／城北街道／桃花坞街道
沧浪区 (面积 25平方千米，人口322922人。邮政编码215006)
（驻双塔街道） 双塔街道／南门街道／胥江街道／吴门桥街道／葑门街道／友新街道
虎丘区 （苏州高新区）面积 258平方千米，人口349518人。邮政编码215004)
（驻狮山街道） 狮山街道／横塘街道／枫桥街道／镇湖街道／浒墅关镇／ 通安镇／东渚镇
工业园区：
人口304761人（驻娄葑镇） 娄葑镇／唯亭镇／胜浦镇
县级市：
常熟市（驻虞山镇）(面积1263平方千米，人口1061410人。邮政编码215500)苏州市行政区划图
虞山镇／梅李镇／海虞镇／新港镇／古里镇／沙家浜镇／支塘镇／董浜镇／尚湖镇／辛庄镇
昆山市（驻玉山镇）(面积 927平方千米，人口679846人。邮政编码215300)
玉山镇／巴城镇／周市镇／陆家镇／花桥镇／淀山湖镇／张浦镇／周庄镇／千灯镇／锦溪镇
张家港市（驻杨舍镇）(面积 813平方千米，人口893039人。邮政编码215600)
杨舍镇／塘桥镇／金港镇／锦丰镇／乐余镇／凤凰镇／南丰镇／大新镇
吴江市（驻松陵镇）(面积1192平方千米，人口793172人。邮政编码215200)
松陵镇／盛泽镇／同里镇／汾湖镇／平望镇／横扇镇／七都镇／震泽镇／桃源镇
太仓市（驻城厢镇）(面积 642平方千米，人口463825人。邮政编码215400)
城厢镇／沙溪镇／浏河镇／浮桥镇／璜泾镇／双凤镇／陆渡镇
[编辑本段]二、自然环境
苏州地处温带，属亚热带季风和季风性湿润气候，四季分明，气候温和，雨量充沛。全市地势低平，平原占总面积的55%，水网密布，土地肥沃，物产丰富。主要种植水稻、麦子、油菜，出产棉花、蚕桑、林果，特产有碧螺春茶叶、长江刀鱼、太湖银鱼、阳澄湖大闸蟹等。苏州市闻名遐迩的鱼米之乡、丝绸之府，素有“人间天堂”之美誉。
苏州地区河网密布，市区是江南水网的中心和全国河流最密集的地区，周围是全国著名的水稻高产区，农业发达，有“水乡泽国”、“天下粮仓”、“鱼米之乡”之称。这里物华天宝，人杰地灵，因其从古至今繁荣发达、长盛不衰的文化和经济，被誉为“人间天堂”，素有“丝绸之都（丝绸之府）”、“园林之城”的美誉。又因其小桥流水人家的水乡古城特色，而有“东方威尼斯”、“东方水都（东方水城）”之称。现今的苏州已经成为“城中有园”、“园中有城”，山、水、城、林、园、镇为一体，古典与现代完美结合、古韵今风、和谐发展的国际化大都市。2004年曾经成功举办世界遗产大会。2006年又举办了第三届全国体育大会。
[编辑本段]三、交通情况
苏州自古有京杭运河贯穿而过。现有京沪铁路以及312，204等多条国道经过苏州。苏州周边有上海虹桥机场，浦东机场，无锡硕放机场。2007年苏州正在建设轻轨 。预计2012年左右投入使用。其高速公路密度达到德国水平，是交通部授予的公路交通枢纽城市。
[编辑本段]四、历史文化
苏州建城于公元前514年，吴王夫差的父亲阖闾命楚国叛将伍子胥建阖闾城，距今已有2500多年的历史了。春秋时期，这里是吴国的都城，至今还保留着许多有关西施、伍子胥等的古迹。隋开皇九年（公元589年）始称苏州，沿用至今。苏州城建城早，规模大，水陆并行，河街相邻，古城区至今仍坐落在原址上，为国内外所罕见。 苏州园林甲天下，已被列入世界文化遗产名录，在中国四大名园中，苏州就占有拙政园、留园两席；“吴中第一名胜”虎丘深厚的文化积淀，使其成为游客来苏州的必游之地；而唐朝诗人张继的一首《枫桥夜泊》，令古今游客争相来访枫桥，闻听寒山寺的钟声。 姑苏城外自然风光秀丽，灵岩、天平、天池和洞庭诸山，点缀于太湖之滨，形成了富有江南风情的湖光山色。 苏州既有园林之美，又有山水之胜，自然、人文景观交相辉映，加之文人墨客题咏吟唱，使苏州成为名副其实的“人间天堂”。 苏州园林是文化意蕴深厚的“文人写意山水园”。古代的造园者都有很高的文化修养，能诗善画，造园时多以画为本，以诗为题，通过凿池堆山、栽花种树，创造出具有诗情画意的景观，被称为是“无声的诗，立体的画”。在园林中游赏，犹如在品诗，又如在赏画。为了表达园主的情趣、理想、追求，园林建筑与景观又有匾额、楹联之类的诗文题刻，有以清幽的荷香自喻人品（拙政园“远香堂”），有以清雅的香草自喻性情高洁（拙政园“香洲”），有追慕古人似小船自由漂荡怡然自得的（怡园“画舫斋”），还有表现园主企慕恬淡的四园生活的（网师园“真意”、留园“小桃源”）等等，不一而足。这些充满着书卷气的诗文题刻与园内的建筑、山水、花木自然和谐地揉和在一起，使园林的一山一水、一草一木均能产生出深远的意境，徜徉其中，可得到心灵的陶冶和美的享受。其中沧浪亭、狮子林、拙政园和留园分别代表着宋（公元960～1278年）、元（公元1271～1368年）、明（公元1368～1644年）、清（公元1644～1911年）四个朝代的艺术风格，被称为“苏州四大名园”，拙政园和留园更跻身“中国四大名园”之列，网师园也颇负盛名。
苏州发现了许多远古文化遗址，尤其是新石器时代晚期的良渚文化最为丰富，著名的有赵陵山遗址、少卿山遗址、绰墩遗址、草鞋山遗址、罗墩遗址等，其中赵陵山遗址1992年被列为全国十大考古遗址重大发现之一。天堂苏州，东方水城——典型的“小桥、流水、人家”苏州是中国著名古都，曾为春秋之吴国、战国之越国、三国之孙吴、元末之张吴等多个政权的首都，也是中国现存最古老的城市，经著名史学家顾颉刚先生考证为中国第一古城。她是吴文化的发祥地和集大成者，亦为中华文明的重要发源地，是传统文化发达、历史底蕴深厚、风景秀美如画的城市，拥有世界文化遗产、中国十大风景名胜之一的苏州园林和其他大量的自然景观和历史古迹。苏州有文字记载的历史已逾4200年，是举世闻名的历史文化名城和典型的园林城市。是国家首批历史文化名城之一．古城的古迹密度在中国仅次于北京和西安，列全国第三位．一般认为，苏州城始建于公元前514年，已历经2500多年的沧桑。苏州也是中国最精致的城市，古城基本保持着古代“水陆并行、河街相邻”的双棋盘格局、“三纵三横一环”的河道水系和“小桥流水、粉墙黛瓦、古迹名园”的独特风貌。其中苏州古城是世界文化遗产苏州园林和世界非物质文化遗产昆曲”双遗产”集于一身．现在进入国家申请世界文化遗产名录预备清单的有苏州古城历史街区和江南水乡古镇．苏州是中国世界文化遗产最多的城市，迄今有九座园林列世界文化遗产之列．昆曲和以虞山派为代表之一的古琴列世界非物质文化遗产之列．苏州现有2个国家历史文化名城（苏州、常熟），3个中国历史文化名镇（昆山周庄、吴江同里、苏州角直），7个江苏省历史文化名镇（苏州东山、苏州西山、苏州光福、苏州木渎、吴江震泽、太仓沙溪、昆山千灯），还有一大批保存较好的古镇（如吴江的黎里、盛泽，昆山锦溪，太仓浏河等）、古村落（吴中区的东山村、明月湾）。
[编辑本段]五、名称由来
相传商代末年，周君古公亶父有三个儿子：长子泰伯，次子仲雍和幼子季历。季历有子昌，古公亶父认为昌有兴王业的才能，想把君位传给季历再传于昌。泰伯、仲雍了解了这一意图后，为尊重父意，避让君位而逃避到当时被称为荆蛮之地的江南。并随乡入俗，自行“断发文身”。表示他们已是荆蛮之人，而不能再回去继位了。他们的这一义行，以及他们带来的周族先进的文化和农业生产技术，受到了当地居民的拥护，在梅里（今无锡县梅村）泰伯被拥立为君长，国号为“匀吴”（匀吴的“匀”是荆蛮语的发声词，无实际意义，匀吴即吴。由于笔误，匀吴也被误写为勾吴）。
从泰伯起十九传至寿梦继位称王（公元前585年），吴国始有确切纪年。随着吴国的崛起，梅里的都城已日益不能适应国家发展的需要了，而位于太湖东北岸的苏州，由于自然条件十分优越，交通方便，土地肥沃，物产丰富，人口众多，寿梦二十五年（公元前561年），正式将都城迁至苏州。并经过多年的不断经营，具有相当规模。可是由于史籍没有记载,当时城址已无从查考。自此，当时的苏州称为吴国。
公元前514年，吴王阖闾下令伍子胥督造水陆双棋盘格局的城池，自此，苏州的地理位置沿革致今。公元前222年，秦始皇在吴都城设会稽郡、吴县，自此，当时的苏州称为吴县，或有时称为吴州。公元589年，隋改吴州为苏州（以苏州城西姑苏山得名，苏州的名称始此。另姑苏山由吴王阖闾建姑苏台得名，现山上仍有遗迹）。公元778年，唐朝设苏州为江南唯一的“雄州”（唐制州分七等，“雄州”为二等）,从此，苏州名称被固定作为通称。公元1113年，宋改苏州为平江府。综合历史变革，苏州有很多的别称：姑苏、吴、吴县、东吴、平江、吴中等等。又由于苏州城内河道纵横,又称为水都、水城、水乡,十三世纪的《马可波罗游记》将苏州赞誉为东方威尼斯．苏州古城被法国启蒙思想家孟德斯鸠称赞为”鬼斧神工“。
[编辑本段]六、苏州方言
苏州话，一种吴语方言(英文Goetian)，属于吴语太湖片苏沪嘉小片。长期以来一直是吴语的主要代表方言之一（上海话也是吴语的代表方言，但实际上苏州话和上海话差别很小，苏州话比上海郊区一些吴语方言更容易被上海市区人理解）。
苏州话以软糯著称，所谓吴侬软语（侬作人解）就是由此而来。昆曲和评弹都使用苏州话，并流行于整个吴语太湖片。现代新派苏州话有28个声母，43个韵母，7 个声调，这个声韵调系统也是吴语的一般情况。而老派的苏州话则具有27个声母，49个韵母，7调。苏州郊区很多都保留了翘舌音声母，故部分地区具有33个声母。
苏州话是吴语的代表，在历史上有很高的地位。近代中国有四大白话：京白、韵白、苏白和粤白。而苏白无疑是江南地区最流行的语言。由于江南地区的发达，较多苏州人能够从劳动中解放出来，从事其他行业。其中读书是苏州人从事较多的行业。从唐代到清代，苏州地区的状元占有所有状元的很大的比例，明清一度达到五分之一。上层社会的精英中较多的也是苏州籍。苏白在明代从江南的流行语言成为士大夫的流行语言。越剧、昆曲、评弹都以苏白为标准音，甚至一开始的京剧都曾使用过苏白。古人云：“善操海内上下进退之权，苏人以为雅者，则四方随之而雅，俗者，则随而俗之。”上层社会，尤其是江南地区的上层人物大多以苏州话为荣。甚至不同地区的人交流也有使用苏州话的。和官方“普通话”京白相对而言，苏州话在当时社会的地位相当于民间的“普通话”。
姑苏城被大明士绅名流列为游学天下必得一游的五大都会之一，上至后妃宫眷、官宦妻女，下至民间匹妇乃至江湖艺女，更以穿着苏式服装，学说苏白，操唱吴歌，引为骄傲。尤其对各式妓女来说，衣必吴妆，话必苏白，擅长吴歌，成为必备之技能，非如此不足以自抬身价。
《海上花列传》是最著名的吴语小说，作者江苏松江府人韩邦庆。全书由文言和苏白写成，对话皆用苏州方言是该书的鲜明特点，使用苏白也是19世纪兴起的吴语小说的共同特点。
[编辑本段]七、苏州戏曲
苏州，是国务院公布的第一批重点保护的历史文化名城之一，是一座具有二千五百多年历史的古老城市。苏州不但为中华民族创造了丰富富的物质财富，也为中华民族优秀传统文化写下了光辉灿烂的篇章，其中，苏州的戏曲艺术尤令人瞩目，在中国戏曲发展史中，具有极为重要的地位。
苏州是昆剧和苏剧的故乡。被人们誉为戏曲艺术瑰宝的昆剧，兴起于元末明初时的昆山太仓一带，自明代隆庆、万历之交，至清代康熙、嘉庆年问，昆剧由于得到革新而迅速兴盛，其时在苏州城镇、乡村，人们对昆剧迷恋到了如醉如狂地步，组织业余班社，举行唱曲活动，一年一度的虎丘曲会，几至“倾城阖户”，“唱者千百”。在昆剧鼎盛时期，以苏州为中心，其流布范围几乎遍及全国各大城市，独霸剧坛二百余年。昆剧的繁荣，涌现了一大批优秀的演员，也出现了一批著名的作家，为后人留下了一大批著名的传奇剧本。
中华人民共和国成立后，苏州的戏曲事业，在党的“推陈出新”、“百花齐放”方针指引下，进入了一个新的发展阶段。为了抢救和继承昆剧、发展苏剧，早在五十年代初，中共苏州市委、市人民政府对苏、昆剧工作就十分重视。全国重大昆剧活动，也都在苏州举行，这对苏州的戏曲艺术起了很大的促进作用。一些新剧目的创作和演出，如昆剧《窦娥冤》，苏剧《醉归》、《窦公送子》，京剧《李慧娘》，滑稽戏《满意勿满意》等，在全国产生了一定影响；同时也培养了一批优秀演员。近半个世纪来，苏州地区的戏曲艺术有了可喜的发展。
苏州戏曲源远流长。历史上无数剧作家、曲家、演员对戏曲发展，作出了卓越的贡献，可是以往的地方史志中很少记载。如不少演员的演剧事迹和艺术成就已湮没无传，或仅在一些笔记中见到他们的名字和一些片段记述；不少剧目，仅留存其名或残曲。又如近代的“薪尽火传”的昆剧传习所的某些史实，因往事已久，即使当事者回忆，已尽难一致；当年曾演出过名剧的舞台，不少已遗迹难寻。由此可见，编纂戏曲志是带有一定程度的开创性和抢救性。
[编辑本段]八、综合经济
2008年，全市经济在高平台上继续实现稳定增长，产业发展更趋协调，结构升级调整优化，发展方式有效转变。初步核算，2008年全市实现地区生产总值6701亿元，按可比价计算比上年增长13%。其中第三产业增加值2436亿元，比上年增长15.5%。三次产业的比例为1.6：62.0：36.4，第三产业比重比上年提高1.8个百分点。按现行汇率计算人均GDP超过1万美元。
全市实现地方一般预算收入668.91亿元，比上年增长23.5%。全年地方一般预算支出619.55亿元，比上年增长24.7%。
全市工业总产值达到22103亿元，其中规模以上工业总产值达到18630亿元，分别比上年增长16.0%和15.3%。
全市实现社会消费品零售总额1551.75亿元，比上年增长24.1％。
年末金融机构本外币存、贷款余额分别为8800亿元和6580亿元，分别比年初增加1328亿元和770亿元。
全市完成房地产开发投资718.08亿元，比上年增长19.3％，占全社会固定资产投资的比重为27.5％。商品房施工面积为7036.91万平方米，增长15.4％；竣工面积为1481.24万平方米，比上年下降20.9％。商品房屋销售面积1007.36万平方米，比上年下降47.4%，其中住宅销售面积830.26万平方米，下降49.8%。全年实现商品房销售额573.42亿元，下降41.8%，其中住宅销售额为459.38亿元，下降44.5％。
市区二手房交易成交面积187.21万平方米，其中住宅100.19万平方米。全市拍卖、招标和挂牌交易用地3200.13公顷。
全市实现旅游总收入724亿元，比上年增长13.5%；接待境外游客219万人次，比上年增长6.5%；旅游外汇收入9.78亿美元，增长10%；接待国内游客5270万人次，增长10%。
全市实现进出口总额2285亿美元，比上年增长8%，其中出口总额1317亿美元，比上年增长10.7%。
全市新增注册外资163.4亿美元，比上年下降11%；实际利用外资81.3亿美元，比上年增长13.5%。
全社会固定资产投资2611.16亿元，比上年增长10.3%。
市区居民人均可支配收入23867元，比上年增长12.3%；农村居民人均纯收入11680元，比上年增长11.5%。
全市出生47772人，出生率为7.62‰，人口自然增长率为0.96‰，户籍人口出生婴儿性别比为104.1。年末全市户籍总人口629.75万人，比上年增加5.32万人，其中市区户籍人口238.21万人，比上年增加2.91万人。
[编辑本段]九、科技教育
科技
2006年全市组织实施省级以上科技项目358项，其中国家级项目142项，省级项目216项。127项科技成果获市级以上科技进步奖，其中江苏省奖13项。全年专利申请量12874件，比上年增长89.9%，其中发明专利2002件，占15.6%；专利授权量4855件，比上年增长46.5%，其中发明专利180件，占3.7%。大力促进产学研和区域科技合作，创新创业的平台和载体建设成效显著，新建、扩建了6个科技创业园，累计科技创业孵化器26个，创业孵化面积突破100万平方米。全市高新技术产业产值突破4000亿元，达4016.73亿元，占规模以上工业产值的比重达32%。全市新认定省级以上高新技术产品487个，累计已达2126个。当年新增省级以上高新技术企业162家，年末实有总数达到844家，新增国家认定的软件企业48家。人才发展环境得到优化，高层次人才队伍进一步壮大，全市引进各类人才12.4万人，引进留学归国人员352名。
教育
2006年苏州现代国民教育体系不断完善，教育资源配置日趋合理。全市初中毕业生升学率为97.5%，高等教育普及化程度提高，高考录取率为84.4%，高等教育毛入学率达52.3%。新增劳动力人均受教育年限达14.54年。全市实施九年制免费义务教育，小学在校学生35.15万人，初中在校学生21.25万人，普通高中在校学生11.21万人。职业教育实现优质化、规模化，职业中学在校学生2万人，技工学校在校学生2.89万人，毕业生0.6万人。中等专业学校在校学生8.27万人，毕业生1.65万人；普通高等学校在校学生13.06万人，毕业生2.27万人；成人高等学校在校学生3.85万人，毕业生0.53万人。全市中外合作办学项目达到30个，双语教育实验学校达到120所。独墅湖高等教育区和国际教育园入驻师生超过10万人。
温馨提示：内容为网友见解，仅供参考
第1个回答 2008-08-06
可以介绍苏州的园林、刺绣、小吃、特产、历史名人、古城概括等。本回答被网友采纳
第2个回答 2008-08-06
苏州古吴轩出版社新出2006版《苏州指南》上对苏州已全方位有介绍
第3个回答 2008-08-07
东方威尼斯
如果介绍给外籍游客，我相信这个会对你有用的。
Suzhou is located in the southeastern part of Jiangsu Province. The city was established as the capital of the state of Wu during the Warring States Period of the Eastern Zhou dynasty, c.476-221 BCE. When the Grand Canal linking many older canals in China was constructed during the Sui dynasty, Suzhou prospered, becoming a center of the silk trade. During the Song dynasty, nearby Hangzhou became the imperial capital and Suzhou grew as well, a convenient retreat for scholars, officials and merchants.
Marco Polo visited "Su-chau" and remarked on the large size of the city, its prosperity, the silk trade and its "6,000 stone bridges". He said that the name of the city meant "Earth", and that there was another nearby city designated as "Heaven". Other early sources referred to Suzhou as "Earthly Paradise".
Gardening in Suzhou reached its height during the Ming and Qing dynasties. There were over 280 private gardens then in Suzhou and landscaping became an art with established masters. The mild climate, along with 230 frost-free days and around 43 inches of rain annually the area is perfect for gardening endeavors.
Sixty-nine gardens in and around Suzhou are still in good condition. In 1997, UNESCO added four of the private gardens of Suzhou to the World Heritage list, extending this in 2000 to include the historic section of the city and five other gardens in the area.
Northern Song Dynasty
The Canglang Pavilion （沧浪亭）
The Blue Waves Pavilion, The Surging Waves Pavilion, Cang Lang Ting
The Blue Waves Pavilion is the oldest of the existing private gardens of Suzhou. It began as an imperial flower garden in the Five Dynasties period. Su Shunqin, a poet and a judge in the high courts of the Northern Song dynasty, bought the property and built a pavilion beside the water. When he left office he lived there and wrote articles which were later collected in a book called Scholar Su's Writings. During the Southern Song dynasty Han Shizhong, a famous general who fought the Nuzhen Tartars, lived on the property. During the Ming dynasty the garden became a temple and later fell into disrepair. The garden was reconstructed in the Qing dynasty, at which time it was expanded into the nearby fields and more buildings and other features were added.
While most of the gardens of Suzhou are surrounded by walls, this one is centered on a large lake and its streams which wind through the grounds. The focal point is the Facing the Water Pavilion which sits at the edge of the water. There is a miniature mountain at the center of the garden and a smaller mountain at the southern end. There are twenty buildings, and a number of steles and tablets throughout the garden, along with very old trees and eighteen kinds of bamboo.
Yuan Dynasty
The Lion Grove Garden （狮子林）
The Lion Forest Garden, Shi Zi Lin
The Lion Grove Garden was begun in 1342 as a temple garden, part of the Puti Zhengzong Temple. During the Ming Dynasty, it drew Buddhist scholars, painters and poets. The Qing emperor Qian Long was so impressed with the garden that he inscribed three characters on a tablet, called the True Delight tablet, which can still be seen today.
This garden takes its name from the numerous lion-shaped stones there, though erosion has altered many of them past recognition. Enclosed by high walls are rockeries which cover half of the garden with a shallow lake at the center, along with many very old pines and cypress trees. The most important features of this garden are its man-made mountains. The Lion Peak is the highest of these and contains many grottoes connected by a labyrinth of stone paths.
Ming Dynasty
The Humble Administrator's Garden （拙政园）
Zhuo Zheng Yuan
Developed over several centuries, the Humble Administrator's Garden is the largest and most famous of the gardens in Suzhou and its many styles are representative of the history of classical gardening in Suzhou. It was begun in the early 16th century by Wang Xianchen, a government official who either retired or was demoted before returning to his hometown. Originally built on the site of the Da Hong Monastery, the garden was named from a line in a Jin Dynasty poem: "Building a house and planting trees, watering the garden and selling vegetables constitute a humble administrator's business". The garden frequently changed owners, each contributing his own vision. During the era of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the mid 1800s, the Loyal Prince Li Xiucheng lived here.
Water comprises three-fifths of the whole garden which is divided into three parts. The Garden of the Unsuccessful Politician is at the center and took on its present appearance in the Later Qing dynasty though the original structure remained. It features mountains and a lake at its center with many of the forty-eight buildings in the garden along its shore.
The Affiliated Garden to the west, once a garden belonging to a separate family, features elegant pavilions and a series of halls separated by glass and carved gingko screens. There are over seven hundred bonsai in this part of the garden, representing the Suzhou style bonsai, one of the four leading bonsai styles in China, and eighteen kinds of camellias. An undulating corridor built on a wall by the water simulates walking on waves
The eastern section of the garden, the site of the old Hermit's Farmhouse, Gui Tianyuan Ju, was once owned by the aide Wang Xinyi. Wang was very talented at mountain and water painting, and he therefore designed and arranged artistic landscapes. Long neglected, this section was reconstructed in 1955 and now contains lawns and and a grove of pine trees. The house to which the gardens belong is to the south.
The Lingering Garden （留园）
Liu Yuan
Originally called the Eastern Garden, construction of the Lingering Garden began during the Ming dynasty by Xu Taishi, a high-ranking official in charge of the emperor's horses and vehicles. During the Qing Dynasty, the garden was taken over by Liu Rongfeng, an official in charge of the province's finance, taxes and personnel matters. It was rebuilt and renamed Hanbi Shanzhuang, which means Cold Azure Mountain Village or Cold Mountain Villa. In 1875, Sheng Xuren acquired the garden and renovated it. He renamed it Liu Yuan, meaning "long lasting between heaven and earth". During the Sino-Japanese War the garden was ruined but it was restored to its former beauty in 1953.
One of the largest gardens in Suzhou, the Lingering Garden is divided into four distinct areas by buildings with many small courtyards throughout. The architectural elements occupy one third of the space. This garden is known for its many carefully placed doors and patterned windows, each of which serves to frame the scene to be viewed from it. The sections are connected by a long roofed corridor which shapes itself to the changing terrain. The Lingering Garden contains 373 stelae inscribed with the works of more than a hundred calligraphers from six dynasties which serve to illustrate the development of Chinese calligraphy over 1000 years.
The central area consists of a quiet pond, surrounded by artificial hills on four sides. Fine buildings occupy most of the eastern section. In the west there is miniature mountain scattered with yellow stones and planted with maple trees. On top of the mountain stands a pavilion which commands a view of the entire garden. There is an islet in the western lake which is connected to the east shore by a bridge and a winding brook lined with peach trees and weeping willows. The northern part of the Lingering Garden contains a miniature mountain and pavillions situated in a grove, along with a bonsai garden enclosed by a bamboo fence.
Garden of Cultivation （艺圃）
This very small garden was begun in the Ming Dynasty. Originally called Jingting Mountain Cottage, it was improved during the early Qing Dynasty and renamed the Garden of Cultivation. The house occupies over half of the garden's area and a rectangular pond takes up another quarter of the space. Open sided galleries provide many different views which add a sense of spaciousness to the garden. Pavilions can be found throughout the garden, as well as deep pools and springs and artistically arranged rockeries and plantings.
Qing Dynasty
Mountain Villa with Embracing Beauty （环秀山庄）
Another small garden, the Mountain Villa with Embracing Beauty is known for its man-made limestone mountain around which the other elements are arranged. This garden was begun in the Five Dynasties Period but the mountain was not added until the Qing Dynasty by Gu Yuliang, a master builder.
There is a feeling of spaciousness despite the small size due to artistic divisions created by pathways, stone steps, and bridges. Ravines and cliffs are carefully contrived to give the visitor a sense of being in a mountainous terrain. Always the mountain is within view, its aspect changing at every turn, even appearing in places to be more than one mountain. There are only eight buildings in this garden. The most interesting of these which has a long walkway at ground level and viewing rooms on the second floor is to the west of the mountain.
The Retreat and Reflection Garden （退思园）
Tuisi Yuan
The Retreat and Reflection Garden is located in Tongli, a water town eleven miles south of Suzhou. It was built by Ren Lansheng, an imperial scholar, upon his dismissal from office. The name Tuisiyuan means Garden Close to the Water. The small garden is laid out horizontally instead of vertically. The residence is in the western section and opens into an outer garden which contains halls for entertaining guests. The focal point of the inner garden to the east is a large pond. Most of the structures and rockeries were built right at the water's edge. They appear to float on the water and create a sense of space through their reflections.
The town of Tongli itself was built roughly in the shape of a circle around five lakes. It is divided into seven islands by more than ten rivers or canals and linked by forty-nine bridges. Nearly all the buildings in the town were built facing water.
The Couple's Garden Retreat （耦园）
This garden was originally begun in the 1700s. Nearly one hundred years later, a government official bought the property and divided the garden into the present east and west sections. He named it the Couple's Garden Retreat which refers to the two sections as well as to the more romantic meaning.
The Couple's Garden Retreat is surrounded by a canal on three sides and has two piers on the canal. The house is in an unusual center location. The East Garden features a mountain of yellow stones sloping upward from a pond. Other yellow stones can be seen in the rockeries, as well as flowers and trees. The West Garden features a limestone mountain with caves which can be seen from the numerous pavilions and garden courts.
The Garden of the Master of Nets （网狮园）
Garden of the Fisherman, Wang Shi Yuan
The Garden of the Master of Nets is one of the smallest in Suzhou, yet one of the finest. It was built in the mid-12th century as the residence of Shi Zhengzhi, a retired government official of the Song Dynasty who named his hall The Fisherman's Retreat. He had a library in the garden known as The Hall of 10,000 Volumes. During the reign of Qian Long in the 1700s, Song Zongyuan bought the property and remodeled the gardens and renamed it based on the name of the original hall.
The garden is divided into three parts: the eastern residential area, the central landscape garden and the western garden court. Pavilions, corridors, and rockeries line the shores of the central lake, which is encircled by a covered walkway. One pavilion sits out over the water and is called The Washing-My-Ribbon Pavilion after a fisherman's song written by Mencius, a Confucian philosopher of the Warring States Period. Off the lake is a small bay to the northwest and a stream to the southeast, each of which have stone arched bridges.
The northwestern part of the garden features courtyards and buildings designed for specific activities such as studying, painting, sharing tea or meals with friends, or presenting musicales. To the west of the lake is a cottage and a courtyard which was the model for the Astor Court at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
如果介绍给外籍游客，我相信这个会对你有用的。
Suzhou is located in the southeastern part of Jiangsu Province. The city was established as the capital of the state of Wu during the Warring States Period of the Eastern Zhou dynasty, c.476-221 BCE. When the Grand Canal linking many older canals in China was constructed during the Sui dynasty, Suzhou prospered, becoming a center of the silk trade. During the Song dynasty, nearby Hangzhou became the imperial capital and Suzhou grew as well, a convenient retreat for scholars, officials and merchants.
Marco Polo visited "Su-chau" and remarked on the large size of the city, its prosperity, the silk trade and its "6,000 stone bridges". He said that the name of the city meant "Earth", and that there was another nearby city designated as "Heaven". Other early sources referred to Suzhou as "Earthly Paradise".
Gardening in Suzhou reached its height during the Ming and Qing dynasties. There were over 280 private gardens then in Suzhou and landscaping became an art with established masters. The mild climate, along with 230 frost-free days and around 43 inches of rain annually the area is perfect for gardening endeavors.
Sixty-nine gardens in and around Suzhou are still in good condition. In 1997, UNESCO added four of the private gardens of Suzhou to the World Heritage list, extending this in 2000 to include the historic section of the city and five other gardens in the area.
Northern Song Dynasty
The Canglang Pavilion （沧浪亭）
The Blue Waves Pavilion, The Surging Waves Pavilion, Cang Lang Ting
The Blue Waves Pavilion is the oldest of the existing private gardens of Suzhou. It began as an imperial flower garden in the Five Dynasties period. Su Shunqin, a poet and a judge in the high courts of the Northern Song dynasty, bought the property and built a pavilion beside the water. When he left office he lived there and wrote articles which were later collected in a book called Scholar Su's Writings. During the Southern Song dynasty Han Shizhong, a famous general who fought the Nuzhen Tartars, lived on the property. During the Ming dynasty the garden became a temple and later fell into disrepair. The garden was reconstructed in the Qing dynasty, at which time it was expanded into the nearby fields and more buildings and other features were added.
While most of the gardens of Suzhou are surrounded by walls, this one is centered on a large lake and its streams which wind through the grounds. The focal point is the Facing the Water Pavilion which sits at the edge of the water. There is a miniature mountain at the center of the garden and a smaller mountain at the southern end. There are twenty buildings, and a number of steles and tablets throughout the garden, along with very old trees and eighteen kinds of bamboo.
Yuan Dynasty
The Lion Grove Garden （狮子林）
The Lion Forest Garden, Shi Zi Lin
The Lion Grove Garden was begun in 1342 as a temple garden, part of the Puti Zhengzong Temple. During the Ming Dynasty, it drew Buddhist scholars, painters and poets. The Qing emperor Qian Long was so impressed with the garden that he inscribed three characters on a tablet, called the True Delight tablet, which can still be seen today.
This garden takes its name from the numerous lion-shaped stones there, though erosion has altered many of them past recognition. Enclosed by high walls are rockeries which cover half of the garden with a shallow lake at the center, along with many very old pines and cypress trees. The most important features of this garden are its man-made mountains. The Lion Peak is the highest of these and contains many grottoes connected by a labyrinth of stone paths.
Ming Dynasty
The Humble Administrator's Garden （拙政园）
Zhuo Zheng Yuan
Developed over several centuries, the Humble Administrator's Garden is the largest and most famous of the gardens in Suzhou and its many styles are representative of the history of classical gardening in Suzhou. It was begun in the early 16th century by Wang Xianchen, a government official who either retired or was demoted before returning to his hometown. Originally built on the site of the Da Hong Monastery, the garden was named from a line in a Jin Dynasty poem: "Building a house and planting trees, watering the garden and selling vegetables constitute a humble administrator's business". The garden frequently changed owners, each contributing his own vision. During the era of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the mid 1800s, the Loyal Prince Li Xiucheng lived here.
Water comprises three-fifths of the whole garden which is divided into three parts. The Garden of the Unsuccessful Politician is at the center and took on its present appearance in the Later Qing dynasty though the original structure remained. It features mountains and a lake at its center with many of the forty-eight buildings in the garden along its shore.
The Affiliated Garden to the west, once a garden belonging to a separate family, features elegant pavilions and a series of halls separated by glass and carved gingko screens. There are over seven hundred bonsai in this part of the garden, representing the Suzhou style bonsai, one of the four leading bonsai styles in China, and eighteen kinds of camellias. An undulating corridor built on a wall by the water simulates walking on waves
The eastern section of the garden, the site of the old Hermit's Farmhouse, Gui Tianyuan Ju, was once owned by the aide Wang Xinyi. Wang was very talented at mountain and water painting, and he therefore designed and arranged artistic landscapes. Long neglected, this section was reconstructed in 1955 and now contains lawns and and a grove of pine trees. The house to which the gardens belong is to the south.
The Lingering Garden （留园）
Liu Yuan
Originally called the Eastern Garden, construction of the Lingering Garden began during the Ming dynasty by Xu Taishi, a high-ranking official in charge of the emperor's horses and vehicles. During the Qing Dynasty, the garden was taken over by Liu Rongfeng, an official in charge of the province's finance, taxes and personnel matters. It was rebuilt and renamed Hanbi Shanzhuang, which means Cold Azure Mountain Village or Cold Mountain Villa. In 1875, Sheng Xuren acquired the garden and renovated it. He renamed it Liu Yuan, meaning "long lasting between heaven and earth". During the Sino-Japanese War the garden was ruined but it was restored to its former beauty in 1953.
One of the largest gardens in Suzhou, the Lingering Garden is divided into four distinct areas by buildings with many small courtyards throughout. The architectural elements occupy one third of the space. This garden is known for its many carefully placed doors and patterned windows, each of which serves to frame the scene to be viewed from it. The sections are connected by a long roofed corridor which shapes itself to the changing terrain. The Lingering Garden contains 373 stelae inscribed with the works of more than a hundred calligraphers from six dynasties which serve to illustrate the development of Chinese calligraphy over 1000 years.
The central area consists of a quiet pond, surrounded by artificial hills on four sides. Fine buildings occupy most of the eastern section. In the west there is miniature mountain scattered with yellow stones and planted with maple trees. On top of the mountain stands a pavilion which commands a view of the entire garden. There is an islet in the western lake which is connected to the east shore by a bridge and a winding brook lined with peach trees and weeping willows. The northern part of the Lingering Garden contains a miniature mountain and pavillions situated in a grove, along with a bonsai garden enclosed by a bamboo fence.
Garden of Cultivation （艺圃）
This very small garden was begun in the Ming Dynasty. Originally called Jingting Mountain Cottage, it was improved during the early Qing Dynasty and renamed the Garden of Cultivation. The house occupies over half of the garden's area and a rectangular pond takes up another quarter of the space. Open sided galleries provide many different views which add a sense of spaciousness to the garden. Pavilions can be found throughout the garden, as well as deep pools and springs and artistically arranged rockeries and plantings.
Qing Dynasty
Mountain Villa with Embracing Beauty （环秀山庄）
Another small garden, the Mountain Villa with Embracing Beauty is known for its man-made limestone mountain around which the other elements are arranged. This garden was begun in the Five Dynasties Period but the mountain was not added until the Qing Dynasty by Gu Yuliang, a master builder.
There is a feeling of spaciousness despite the small size due to artistic divisions created by pathways, stone steps, and bridges. Ravines and cliffs are carefully contrived to give the visitor a sense of being in a mountainous terrain. Always the mountain is within view, its aspect changing at every turn, even appearing in places to be more than one mountain. There are only eight buildings in this garden. The most interesting of these which has a long walkway at ground level and viewing rooms on the second floor is to the west of the mountain.
The Retreat and Reflection Garden （退思园）
Tuisi Yuan
The Retreat and Reflection Garden is located in Tongli, a water town eleven miles south of Suzhou. It was built by Ren Lansheng, an imperial scholar, upon his dismissal from office. The name Tuisiyuan means Garden Close to the Water. The small garden is laid out horizontally instead of vertically. The residence is in the western section and opens into an outer garden which contains halls for entertaining guests. The focal point of the inner garden to the east is a large pond. Most of the structures and rockeries were built right at the water's edge. They appear to float on the water and create a sense of space through their reflections.
The town of Tongli itself was built roughly in the shape of a circle around five lakes. It is divided into seven islands by more than ten rivers or canals and linked by forty-nine bridges. Nearly all the buildings in the town were built facing water.
The Couple's Garden Retreat （耦园）
This garden was originally begun in the 1700s. Nearly one hundred years later, a government official bought the property and divided the garden into the present east and west sections. He named it the Couple's Garden Retreat which refers to the two sections as well as to the more romantic meaning.
The Couple's Garden Retreat is surrounded by a canal on three sides and has two piers on the canal. The house is in an unusual center location. The East Garden features a mountain of yellow stones sloping upward from a pond. Other yellow stones can be seen in the rockeries, as well as flowers and trees. The West Garden features a limestone mountain with caves which can be seen from the numerous pavilions and garden courts.
The Garden of the Master of Nets （网狮园）
Garden of the Fisherman, Wang Shi Yuan
The Garden of the Master of Nets is one of the smallest in Suzhou, yet one of the finest. It was built in the mid-12th century as the residence of Shi Zhengzhi, a retired government official of the Song Dynasty who named his hall The Fisherman's Retreat. He had a library in the garden known as The Hall of 10,000 Volumes. During the reign of Qian Long in the 1700s, Song Zongyuan bought the property and remodeled the gardens and renamed it based on the name of the original hall.
The garden is divided into three parts: the eastern residential area, the central landscape garden and the western garden court. Pavilions, corridors, and rockeries line the shores of the central lake, which is encircled by a covered walkway. One pavilion sits out over the water and is called The Washing-My-Ribbon Pavilion after a fisherman's song written by Mencius, a Confucian philosopher of the Warring States Period. Off the lake is a small bay to the northwest and a stream to the southeast, each of which have stone arched bridges.
The northwestern part of the garden features courtyards and buildings designed for specific activities such as studying, painting, sharing tea or meals with friends, or presenting musicales. To the west of the lake is a cottage and a courtyard which was the model for the Astor Court at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
第4个回答 2008-08-06
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