Shantang Street in Suzhou

Venice in Italy is well-known as a water city. In China, the water city has become the city name for Suzhou, which is also famous for its classical gardens. With two years' efforts, the Suzhou travel authority has successfully registered Suzhou with a trademark of "Oriental water city." The trademark can be used in various aspects such as transportation, travel agencies, tourist spots, etc. The use of the trademark is due to expire by 2016.

Suzhou is traditionally known for its classic gardens. The successful registration of the new tourist trademark demonstrates that the city aims to transfer its image officially as an "Oriental water city."

Evening view of Shantang Street

With a history of 2,500 years, Suzhou has still preserved its ancient hydro-system, which is also vividly depicted as one with a circular ring, three horizontal lines and four vertical lines.

In Suzhou, 42%of the area is covered by water. Most part (four-fifths) of the Taihu Lake, one of the four major freshwater lakes in China and the famous ancient wonder, the Grand Canal, both traverse the city. The Yangtze River skirts the city, too. The Jinji Lake in the eastern part of the city shows Suzhou's modern image, while the city moat forms a boundary line of the old town. Apart from these, numerous unknown small lakes and rivers make Suzhou a water city in the true sense of the word.