Suzhou Museum — Attraction in Suzhou City

one of the best museums in china, in terms of both overall design and exhibits the museum was designed by Suzhou-born Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei. Pei designed the museum using a blend of traditional Chinese design, local Suzhou flavor, and modern design. The essence of the old city is apparent in the sloping roofs; a traditional color palette of black, white, and gray; and traditional white stucco walls. The materials and construction give the building a modern feel. These include glass incorporated into the roof, a steel structure that replaces traditional wooden beam and rafter framing, and "China black" granite roof tiles instead of traditional brick tiles. The stone and glass roof admits natural light, which is regulated by metal sunshades. The museum houses 4 permanent exhibitions: Relics of Wudi, National Treasure of Wu Tower, Wuzhong Fengya, and Wumen Calligraphy and Painting. The permanent collections display prehistoric pottery and jade and Buddhist cultural relics from the Tiger Hill Yunyan Temple and Ruiguang Temple. The Suzhou History Exhibition takes visitors through the history of the Suzhou area, covering the Paleolithic Age, the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and the Spring and Autumn Period when the settlement that would grow to become Suzhou was established. The modern art exhibition has shown works by artists including Zao Wou-ki, Cai Guoqiang, and Xu Bing however this museum is located at the busiest place in suzhou, bustling with tourists... so it is recommended to come early and book a ticket online beforehand the museum itself may take 2 hour plus to visit carefully, probably can plan another place after here if you come...

So hard to get tickets for this museum. You have to pre-book via their Mini Prog, opens 7 days prior at 8am. Tickets are snapped up in a few minutes! I tried for 19 Aug initially but didn't get it, made the mistake of not setting up my profile in advance so by the time I created my profile, the tickets are all gone.

Learnt my mistake and managed to secure a ticket for 24 Aug morning. The entrance is conveniently located at Metro Line 6, Exit 2. Here, you can only enter during your ticket time slot, 11am to 12nn in my case. Got an audio guide for ¥30 (one of the last few as they have limited pieces).

The main exhibit is just a small section on the 1st floor while there are other special exhibits within the building at additional cost.

This is the most scenic museum I've been to in China. Truly 园林中的博物馆, very Suzhou. The exhibits however are nothing outstanding, perhaps just the 苏绣 section, a heritage, skillful, unique embroidery style founded here. The building itself is the highlight here. This is the work of the famous architect, 贝聿铭, the same man behind the glass pyramid of the Louvre Museum in Paris.

The hexagonal windows throughout create such beautiful photos effortlessly. The outdoor garden area is where most gather and probably spent more time than in the museum itself. The route ends at the 太平天国忠王府. From the exit, one can walk to the Humble Administrator Garden and/or Ping Jiang Road.

Overall, a good 2.5 hrs spent here. Not much in terms of artefacts but still worth a visit to see the beauty of...

Suzhou Museum is one of the best museums in East China. I say this not because the museums are better or worse elsewhere in China, but because I've visited too few cities in the north to make a conclusion.

To start off, the admission is FREE! You may have to wait for 15 minutes if you show up in the morning, but the line moves fast, and you'll get in soon. The collection is well curated, by the end of it you will have a basic understanding of the history of this region. There is also a collection of modern art pieces donated by renowned Chinese artists. I highly recommend checking it out.

You can rent the audio guide for 20 RMB in Chinese and 30 RMB in other languages including English. However, they do run out fast, at least the Chinese ones. If you can read and understand Chinese, I recommend that you use WeChat (WeXin in Chinese) and follow Suzhou Museum's official account. There you can type in the number of the displayed artwork, and receive an interpretation either in text or audio format.

It's a popular place for both locals and tourists, young and old, especially the pre-school-aged kids (idk why but they're everywhere in the museum), so please prepare yourself for a rather noisy atmosphere. There are other places within 30 minutes' walk from the museum to enjoy some serenity, but unfortunately not inside the museum.

Last but not the least, the architecture is a masterpiece of I.M.Pei, the buildings alone are...