City of gardens

If Shanghai is a bustling city, Suzhou, a 20-minute high-speed rail trip from the metropolis, is the exact opposite. This laidback city is best known to tourists for its scenery Suzhou in Jiangsu province is often called Shanghai's backyard. This is because it was here that the groundwork for Shanghai's prosperity was laid.

The war between the Taiping Army rebels and Qing government soldiers in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) drove many local wealthy people from Suzhou to Shanghai to set up shop there, says Gu Fengjuan, a senior tour guide in Suzhou.

"That provided the first signs of prosperity for Shanghai," says Gu.