A jewel in Suzhou's crown

The Chinese saying "Up above is heaven and down below are Suzhou and Hangzhou" is often cited when talking of the two Chinese cities and their beauty, which seems to know no bounds.

With feet firmly on the ground and in a much more prosaic mood, those who awarded the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize in March gave the nod to Suzhou out of 36 cities worldwide. The prize honors what the organizers call "outstanding contributions towards creating livable and sustainable urban communities".

Three of the jewels in Suzhou's crown are the old city and its canals, often likened to Venice, and a high-tech development park and Suzhou Industrial Park.