Enjoy your ancient elegant life inside typical Southern China’s style garden mansions in and around Suzhou !
Part I 

We suggest you choose from the following 2 hotels:

1. Pingjiang Lodge in the well-protected area in the downtown of the ancient Suzhou city

   Description of Pingjiang Lodge

   Room Rate of this hotel offered by our company

   Locations of this hotel

   Description for the ancient Suzhou City

  Description for Pingjiang Historical and Cultural Street Block

  Comments on this Pingjinag Lodge

2. Baojian Tang Garden in the well-protected ancient Luxiang Village by the side of Taihu Lake (around 1 hour drive to the west of Suzhou)    (Please find it by click here: Elegant Life in Suzhou Part 2)

Pingjiang Lodge:

The 4-Star standard Pingjiang Lodge is converted from the pervious historical residential courtyard properties (Stately Homes). it originally was built by the very rich Fang Family during the middle of Ming dynasty (450 years ago). Now anyone can have the opportunity to see and stay in this antique house. It has been kept as much original as possible. A lot of furniture is real antiques.

Getting into the Pingjiang Lodge is just like traveling back in time. When you stroll down, you will find pieces of relics dating back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and also the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976).  The traditional ambience also allows you to experience the Chinese culture to its fullest.  Take your time to play the stone piano (Qin), Chinese Chess and Checker (Qi), as well as Chinese Brushes and Black Ink Bar for calligraphy (Shu) and painting (Hua) at the lobby lounge where local tea is served.  

The décor of the guest rooms preserves the indigenousness of the building and captivates the cultural aura of Suzhou.  There are 52 rooms altogether and they are arrayed within 11 yards, such as Tao Yuan ("Peach Blossom Yard") and Zhu Yuan ("Bamboo Yard").  They are designed to blend with local traditions that include cloistered gardens, wooden pillars and tiled roofs, providing a cozy and tranquil environment for guests to experience the lifestyle of the ancient Suzhou.
 
  

                                                                                           Back To Top

Room Rate of this hotel offered by our company:

The discount room rate we can offer:
Standard room: RMB500 include 2 breakfasts & service fee

Superior Room: RMB620 include 2 breakfasts & service fee
Deluxe Room:   RMB738 include 2 breakfasts & service fee (I prefer this Deluxe Room. Because it is much more specious and with 2 bathroom – one is shower and one is Chinese traditional wooden bathtub.) All deluxe rooms are the one big size bed room.

The above room rates are cheaper than Ctrip. For instance, Ctrip’s price is RMB430 with no breakfasts (2 breakfasts costs RMB96.) for the standard room.

For the traffic between Shanghai and Suzhou, we can buy the train ticket for you. The round trip train ticket include service fee around RMB100.

Locations of this hotel:

Pingjiang Lodge is conveniently located right inside the Pingjing Street Block, in the center of downtown Suzhou.

                                                                                            Back To Top

Description for the ancient Suzhou City:

The ancient city of Suzhou occupies an area of 14.2 square kilometers, and the city is situated on the ancient site of the capital city of the Wu Kingdom. In 514 BC, during the Spring and Autumn Period, King Helu of Wu Kingdom established "Great City of Helu", the ancient name for Suzhou, as his capital. With a history of more than 2,500 years, the city (old city with around 14 square meters) still stands at its original location in the Spring and Autumn Period(2500 years ago). The two moats inside and outside the city wall and the city gates of Chang, Qi, Lou, Xiang, Pan and Xu remain basically unchanged. According to the inscribed stone "Pingjiang Map" in the second year of the Shaoding reign of the Southern Song Dynasty (1229), there were seven north-south rivers and 14 east-west rivers inside the city of Suzhou, totaling 82 kilometers, and 314 bridges. In Suzhou today, there are still 35 kilometers of rivers and more than 160 bridges.

The layout of the ancient city of Suzhou was in the form of double chessboards, that is, rivers and streets run parallel to each other. The river and streets were intermingled, and the waterfront houses varied in height, together representing a rich flavor of water town. There are numerous cultural heritages such as ancient pagodas and temples, government offices, former residences of celebrities, gardens and mansions, ancestral temples, halls and public places, archways and ancient wells in the city.

The ancient city of Suzhou has rich cultural heritages. There are now 47 historical and cultural areas and 126 historic sites under protection, including 11 under national protection, 30 at provincial level and 85 at municipal level. In addition, there are also 200 buildings under controlled protection, 22 sections of ancient revetments, 22 ancient archways, 70 ancient bridges, 37 gate towers with brick carvings, and 639 ancient wells. Of these cultural heritages, eight classical gardens have already been inscribed in the World Heritage List. The historical and cultural street blocks of Pingjiang, the Humble Administrator's Garden and Shantang, as typical areas of the ancient city of Suzhou, will apply for being inscribed in the World Heritage List.

Situated at the temperate zone and with subtropical oceanic monsoon climate, Suzhou enjoys four distinct seasons, a mild temperature and abundant rainfall. The city spreads on a low terrain, with the plain covering 55% of the total area. With a network of rivers and canals as well as a fertile land, the city is rich in a variety of agricultural products. Major crops vary from rice to wheat, rape, cotton, mulberry, and fruit. Its specialties include Biluochun Tea, Dao Fish from Yangtze River, Silver Fish from Taihu Lake and Hairy Crabs from Yangchenhu Lake . As a well-known "Land of Fish and Rice" as well as a "Silk Capital",Suzhou enjoys a fame of "Paradise on Earth".
                                                                                             Back To Top

Description for Pingjiang Historical and Cultural Street Block:
The conservation program of Suzhou's Pingjiang Block received the Honorable Mention Prize of 2005 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation June 3.

The Pingjiang historical and cultural street block N 31 18, E 120 38

The Pingjiang historical and cultural street block, located on both sides of the Pingjiang River in the eastern part of the ancient city and with an area of 30.66 hectares, is the most typical and the best preserved historical and cultural street block in Suzhou. The Garden of Couple's Retreat, the World Cultural Heritage, is located in the east of this street block. The street pattern has come into being since 13th century. The rivers, bridges, lanes, civilian residences, archways, temples, ancestral temples and halls exist all in harmony with the Garden of Couple's Retreat, forming an inseparable whole.

This street block is a typical section of the double chessboard pattern of the layout of the ancient city of Suzhou - with streets and waterways running parallel. The civilian residences along the streets, with black tiles and whitewashed walls, vary in height. The length the two north-south rivers and four east-west rivers is up to 3.5 kilometers, and there are 13 bridges in the block. It is the street block in the city with the highest density of rivers and bridges. The locations and names of lanes and bridges are basically identical to that contained in the monument inscribed with the Pingjiang Map drawn in the 13th century. Civilian residences along the rivers in the street block connect to one another, forming deep and tranquil lanes.

Within this street block, there are one World Cultural Heritage (and also a historic unit under national protection), one historic unit under protection at provincial level, seven historic units under protection at municipal level, 34 buildings under municipal controlled protection, ten ancient bridges and three archways.

Main sites and cultural heritages: the Garden of Couple's Retreat (inscribed in the World Heritage List in 2000), Shanxi Guild Hall, the Ligeng (farming ritual) Hall also known as the Mansion of the Pans, the former residence and the ancestral hall of Hong Jun

For more about the Pingjiang Street Block, please view website of the UNESCO here.

For more about the Classical Gardens of Suzhou, please view website of the UNESCO here.
                                                                                             Back To Top

The followings are some comments I got on the internet about this hotel. You can take them as the reference:
"A Hidden Delight!!"

Nelson  Sep 17, 2009

This was a lovely hotel in an old mansion, with antique furniture. A nice feature was the "extra" padding you could put on the bed, because as in most Chinese hotels, the bed are rather "firm' to most western tastes. Staff were very helpful. The location was a bit out of the way, and our first taxi driver dropped us quite a way from the hotel, which took us at least 20 minutes to find. I would suggest that that the hotel management adds a map and their address in Mandarin to their website. A subsequent taxi driver took us right to their front door when he had a map to refer to. There is also a decent restaurant accros the street to the hotel with reasonable prices. And the added bonus - it's right on one of the canals.

"Bad value for money"

Singapore   Aug 28, 2009

Despite its great and quiet location on canal, a very beautiful layout and amazing traditional Chinese architecture and furniture, this hotel is really overpriced and did not meet our expectations for a self-proclaimed 4-star hotel. We stayed in a deluxe room which could accommodate 2 adults, 1 infant and 1 child. The room was really dusty (no vacuum under the bed and cabinets) and the wall-to-wall carpet was dirty. Check in / check out was slow and inefficient (respectively 20 and 35 minutes), service at the restaurant was poor and it was really hard to communicate in English with the staff. It was not possible to get a cab from the hotel, we had to walk 5 minutes to the main street and wait for a taxi besides a busy road (up to 25 minutes at peak hours). This hotel is more expensive than any 5-star international hotels in town, but is definitely not up to their quality and service standards. All in all, poor value for money!

"Charming lodging in historic location"

Arcadia_R Los Angeles, California  Aug 19, 2009 | Trip type: Family 

We were most impressed with the quality of our large comfortable room and the quiet but central location in an historic neighborhood adjacent to a canal. A main street with access to taxis and restaurants was a minute's walk away.

The rooms upstairs are brighter and larger than those on the ground floor, and the front desk was accomodating when we asked to move to a brighter room. Even the room we saw on the ground floor seemed large, however.

Breakfast was excellent, with many choices of delicious Chinese and western food, served in a building across the street, and overseen by attentive and helpful staff. When we had to leave very early one morning, they didn't give us a boxed meal (which was more than we would expect anyway), but served us breakfast in a small private dining room before the hotel breakfast began.

In general, the staff were friendly and helpful, though few of them spoke English well.

The bathroom was modern and clean. No bugs. No problems with internet or air conditioning.

One caveat: The third person in our party, our 12 year old daughter, did not have a real bed or cot, but slept on one of the Ming dynasty settees, which had a wood base. It did have a cushion and was made up as a bed with good quality sheets, blankets, and a pillow, but some people may find it too hard and uncomfortable.

“Charming character hotel”

English_Al  Jul 29, 2009

My husband loved this hotel whilst I’m still not sure. I think it’s a question of expectation and I was expecting something luxurious, which it isn’t. Having said that, it was charming and something quite different to other hotels. The hotel is situated down a quiet street near one of the canals and has been converted from old houses.

The staff were friendly and spoke enough English.

The bedrooms were very clean and furnished with what appeared to be antiques. The bed was reasonably comfortable. The bathroom seemed very new and well equipped. There were Roman blinds on the bedrooms windows which I didn’t like as I felt other people could peek in. The air conditioning worked fine. The self service tea in the room was proper Chinese tea which was a lovely touch.

The breakfast was not good as only room service is available (no restaurant at the hotel) and the limited choice was not to my taste.

Would I stay at this hotel again? Possibly not but then I wouldn’t return to Suzhou either as I feel its character probably disappeared a long time ago.
                                                                                             Back To Top
Enquires and Reservation:
Tel:     (0086-21) 53062060, 53069239, 63587910, 63586997
Fax:     (0086-21) 63722508
E-Mail:  elitetor@hotmail.com