Suzhou

Suzhou (Chinese苏州 市/苏州 市, pinyin Suzhou Shì, W.-G. Su -chou ) is a prefecture-level city in eastern China near Shanghai. Because the city is criss-crossed by canals, it is also called the Venice of the East. Due to good transport links it is one of the booming cities of modern China.

• 4.1 universities
• 4.2 Museums
• 4.3 gardens and temples
• 4.4 skyscraper
• 4.5 Sports

• 5.1 traffic
• 5.2 in

Administrative Divisions

At county level, Suzhou is composed of five boroughs and four independent cities. These are:

• Municipality Gusu (姑苏 区), 84 km ², 780,000 inhabitants;
• Municipality Huqiu (虎丘 区), 258 km ², 550,000 inhabitants;
• City Wuzhong District (吴中 区), 672 km ², 540,000 inhabitants;
• City Xiangcheng District (相 城区), 416 km ², 340,000 inhabitants;
• Wujiang City district (吴江 区), 1192 km ², 780,000 inhabitants;
• Kunshan City (昆山 市), 927 km ², population of 1.3 million (January 2006);
• Taicang City (太仓 市), 642 km ², 450,000 inhabitants;
• Changshu City (常熟 市), 1263 km ², 1.04 million inhabitants;
• Zhangjiagang City (张家港 市), 813 km ², 870,000 inhabitants.

Geography

Geographical location

It is located in the province of Jiangsu on the Grand Canal and is capital of the district of Suzhou. To the south is the Taihu (太湖, " Taihu Lake " ), the third largest lake in the People's Republic.

Neighboring provinces

• Zhejiang
• Anhui
• Shandong

History

Suzhou has over 2,500 years of history, one of the oldest cities in the Yangtze River Basin. The area is the cradle of Wu culture; the tribes who lived here during the Shang Dynasty, is " Guo Wu " called.

In the year 514 BC, during the "Spring and Autumn Period", Suzhou was founded as a " Large City of Helu " by the legendary King Helu of Wu.

The city's name comes from the year 589 during the Sui Dynasty. In the history of China Suzhou has always been a center of trade and commerce. With the completion of the Grand Canal as a trade route to the north Suzhou took a special recovery.

Marco Polo visited the city in 1276 and claims to be perceived as great. Also known as the " silk capital" of the former Empire of China 's Suzhou since the 14th century leading up to today in the production of silk.

Except for brief periods of occupation by the Japanese during the Second World War and by the army of the Taiping Kingdom in the 19th century Suzhou was not drawn into the turmoil of the 19th and 20th centuries affected. Many historical systems are therefore original. Since 1981, Suzhou was taken (along with Beijing, Hangzhou and Guilin) ​​in the list of cities whose historical and cultural heritage should be placed under special protection.

Apart from the Suzhou silk is now a center of high-tech industry. Since 1985, Suzhou is one of the special economic zones.

Since 1997, some of the parks are included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. At the same time many ancient houses, canals and bridges disappear at high speed to make modernity place.

Culture and sights

Universities

In Suzhou, there are several universities, such as the founded in 1900, Soochow University, founded in 2006, or the Xi'an Jiaotong - Liverpool University. Under the name of German - Chinese Institute of Middle Class ( DCMI ) has the Soochow University in cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences of the middle class (FHM ) Bielefeld offered a joint degree program in international business management, the funds from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and by the German Academic exchange Service ( DAAD) has been promoted.

Museums

• Museum of Opera and Theater
• Silk Museum
• Suzhou Museum (built by IM Pei )

Gardens and Temples

• Beisi Ta (Chinese北 寺塔, North Temple Pagoda)
• Canglang Ting ( Dark Blue Wave Pavilion)
• Hanshan Si (Temple of the cold mountain )
• Huqiu Shan (Tiger Hill )
• Liu Yuan ( Lingering Garden )
• Ou yuan
• Ruiguang Ta
• Shizi Lin ( Lion Forest Garden )
• Shuang Ta ( twin pagodas )
• Wangshi Yuan (The Garden of the Master of the Nets )
• Xu Yuan (West Garden )
• Xuanmiao Guan ( secret temple )
• Zhuozheng Yuan (Chinese拙政园/拙政园, Pinyin Zhuozheng Yuán, The Humble Administrator's Garden, engl. The Humble Administrator's Garden )

Skyscraper

After its completion planned for 2014, the 302 -meter high gate of the Orient will be the tallest building on the banks of Suzhou Jinjisees.

Sports

2005 World Championships in speed skating took place in Suzhou, 2008, the World Championships in RoboCup.

In the city, the 6,000 -seat Suzhou Sports Center Gym is located.

Economy and infrastructure

Traffic

Suzhou is located on the busy railway line Shanghai -Nanjing - also there are numerous bus connections to other cities. At the two airports of Shanghai, there are depending on the time of about 1.5 to 2.5 hours drive by taxi ( 450-600 CNY ). Alternatively, the distance to Shanghai Central in just half an hour with the CRH high-speed train to travel for 40 CNY. However, one needs may approximately one hour by bus to one of the stations of Suzhou. In addition to these two options, there is also a remote bus; This starts at the Pudong International Airport and runs on a stopover on the Hongqiao Domestic Airport for 86 CNY directly to Suzhou.

Public transport is carried out by buses. The subway Suzhou opened on 28 April 2012 with the first running east -west line. More lines are under construction.

Business

In Suzhou, including the hardware and computer mouse manufacturer Logitech maintains a factory. Even for Apple Inc. are produced there, inter alia, notebooks and iPods. Also produces the largest automotive supplier in the world, Robert Bosch GmbH, brake systems, (engine ) ECU and Audio-/Navigationssysteme in Suzhou. MTU Friedrichshafen manufactures in Suzhou series diesel engines in 2000. Since 2002 SCHOTT AG maintains a production of ceramic hobs in Suzhou, since 2007 there the Customer Technical Service Center resident and pharmaceutical packaging since 2008 produced there. Resident since 2006 the Upper Austrian Miba AG with plain bearings and sintering production in the industrial park. Suzhou also operates the Carl Zeiss MicroImaging GmbH, a manufacturing plant, as well as the Japanese camera maker Canon Inc.

GlaxoSmithKline maintains a production facility in Suzhou for drugs for the Chinese market. The Second world market for industrial gear motors, the company Gear Nord GmbH & Co. KG, has in Suzhou their production center for Asia. Since 1992, one of the world's largest optics manufacturer, the company Synta Optics, headquartered in Suzhou. Philips Healthcare is currently building a new center for the Asian market in Suzhou. The German company WIKA can produce pressure and temperature measurement in Suzhou. The valve specialist Bürkert Fluid Control Systems is also represented in Suzhou. The Gleason Corporation with offices in Germany produced since 2012 in Suzhou machines and tools with its own production for the Chinese market gear.

Samsung is the largest US-based Suzhou employer.

Sons and daughters of the town

• Jin Renqing (1944 ), 2003-2007 Minister of Finance of the People's Republic of China
• Fei Junlong, Chinese费 俊 龙/费 俊 龙, Fei Junlong (born 1965 ), Chinese Taikonaut

Twinning

Suzhou maintains a connection with Constance and other cities twinned with Riesa, Riga, Victoria (British Columbia) and Venice.