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1 History

Suzhou, the cradle of Wu culture, is one of the oldest towns in the Yangzi Basin. 2500 years ago, local tribes who named themselves "Gou Wu" in the late Shang DynastyShang Dynasty ( Chinese: ) or Yin Dynasty ( 1600 BC 1046 BC) followed the legendary Xia Dynasty and preceded Zhou Dynasty in China. Information about the Shang Dynasty comes from bronze artifacts and oracle bones, were turtle shells or cattle scapula on w lived in the area which would become Suzhou.

In 514 BC, during the Spring and Autumn PeriodThe Spring and Autumn Period ( ch. pinyin Chunqiu Shidai) represented an era in Chinese history between 722 BC and 481 BC. The term comes from the Annals of Spring and Autumn a historical record penned by Confucius that chronicles this era. During the Spr, King Helu (阖闾) of WuWu may refer to: Kingdom of Wu a state in southeastern China during the Three Kingdoms Period State of Wu a state in the Wu region during the Spring and Autumn Period Wu (linguistics a subdivision of spoken Chinese spoken in the Wu region wu (negative Zha (吴) established "Great City of Helu", the ancient name for Suzhou, as his capital.

In 496 BCCenturies: 6th century BC 5th century BC 4th century BC Decades: 540s BC 530s BC 520s BC 510s BC 500s BC 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC Years: 499 BC 498 BC 497 BC 496 BC 495 BC 490 BC 489 BC 488 BC 487 BC Events Battle of Lake Regillus:, Helu was buried in Huqiu (Tiger Hill).

In 473 BCCenturies: 4th century BC 5th century BC 6th century BC Decades: 520s BC 510s BC 500s BC 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 478 BC 477 BC 476 BC 475 BC 474 BC 473 BC 472 BC 471 BC 470 BC 469 BC 468 BC Births Deaths Events ., Wu was defeated by YueYue can refer to: Yu (( T: S: ), an abbreviation for Guangdong province of the People's Republic of China, and also: Yue, a subdivision of spoken Chinese spoken in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong, and Macau. Its prestige form is called Standard Cant, another kingdom to the east that was soon annexed by ChuChu could refer to: The Chu river valley in modern Kyrgyzstan. Chu (city), a city in Kazakhstan. See List of cities in Kazakhstan state of Chu, a state in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods of ancient China. Chu, the state proclaimed by Xian in 306 BC. The golden era of Suzhou was over.

By the time of Qin Dynasty, the city was known as Wu County. Xiang Yu (项羽) staged his historical uprising here in 209 BC; Qin was overthrown.

During Sui Dynasty, the city was renamed Suzhou in 589 AD.

When the Grand Canal was completed, Suzhou found itself placed strategically on a major trading route. In the course of the history of China, it has been a metropolis of industry and commerce in the south-eastern coast of China.

During Tang Dynasty (825 AD), the great poet Bai Juyi (白居易) constructed the Shantang Canal to connect the city with Huqiu for the tourists. In 1035 AD, the Confucius temple was founded.

In February 1130, the advancing Jin army from the north sacked the city and committed a holocaust, which was to be followed by Mongol invasion ( 1275 AD) and destruction of the royal city (in the centre of the walled city) in the beginning of Ming Dynasty ( 1367 AD).

Afterwards, the city had a more prosperous time; many of the famous private gardens were constructed by the gentiles of Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty. However, the city was to see another disaster in 1860 AD when the Taiping rebellion advanced on the city, to be followed by the Japanese invasion ( 1937 AD). Many gardens were devastated by the end of the war. In the early 1950’s, restoration was done on Zhuo-Zheng Yuan (Humble Administrator's Garden), Dong Yuan (East Garden), and others, to bring them back to life. Consequently, most of the existing gardens reflects the architecture style of Qing Dynasty (1616-1911 AD), albeit many of had a history dating back to Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD). The Humble Administrator's Garden, Suzhou, P.R. China

In 1981, this ancient city was listed by the State Council as one of the four cities (the other three being Beijing, Hangzhou and Guilin) where the protection of historical and cultural heritage as well as natural scenery should be treated as a priority project.

Gardens in Suzhou were added to the list of the World Heritage Sites in 1997 and 2000.