Memories of a 2.1-Day Trip to Suzhou!

Day 1️⃣ Departed from Ningbo by car at 5 PM, arriving in Suzhou after a three-hour drive. Since the next day's itinerary started early, we checked into the Atour Hotel on Guanqian Street. Day 2️⃣ Attractions visited: Humble Administrator's Garden (p1-3), Suzhou Museum (p4-6), Pingjiang Road (p7), Pipa Yu Pingtan (Suzhou Ballad Singing) (p8), Jinji Lake (p9-12) Accommodation: W Suzhou Transportation: Metro Dining: Lunch on Pingjiang Road, dinner at Xinmeihua (Suzhou Center branch) Itinerary and timing: 1. Arrived at Humble Administrator's Garden by 9 AM for ticket check, toured for about 2 hours (entered through main gate, exited via south gate). 2. Suzhou Museum is adjacent to the garden, so we headed there directly after exiting the south gate (1-hour visit). 3. Took metro to Pingjiang Road after the museum - great for experiencing Jiangnan water town charm and having lunch. 4. Pingtan performance started at 14:30 (1-hour duration). 5. After the performance, bought local specialties on Guanqian Street before driving to the hotel for check-in. After settling luggage, visited Jinji Lake and Suzhou Center Mall. ⚠️ Notes: 1. Though March is low season, advance booking is still required for Suzhou Museum (1 week prior) and Humble Administrator's Garden (3 days prior). 2. Latest arrival time for the garden should be no later than 8:30 AM - long queues already formed when we exited. 3. Teacher Wu performs at Guanqian Street location - book tickets on Maoyan 1 week in advance (best seats are first three rows; private boxes have poor views). 4. Xinmeihua at Suzhou Center is extremely crowded - suggest getting queue number by 5 PM before visiting Jinji Lake or returning to hotel. Day 3️⃣ Attractions visited: Tiger Hill (p13-15), Xiyuan Temple (p16-17), Lingering Garden (p18) Transportation: DiDi Dining: Vegetarian noodles at Xiyuan Temple Itinerary and timing: 1. Arrived at Tiger Hill by 9 AM for ticket check (1.5-hour visit, entered through main gate, exited via north gate). 2. Took DiDi to Xiyuan Temple after Tiger Hill - recommend trying vegetarian noodles before exploring (1-hour visit). 3. Walked directly from Xiyuan Temple to Lingering Garden (1-hour visit). ⚠️ Notes: 1. Avoid buying unlicensed cat snacks from street vendors outside Xiyuan Temple. 2. For the temple's vegetarian noodles, purchase meal tickets first before queuing. 3. After Lingering Garden, walk right to the traffic light before hailing taxi - the garden's entrance road is narrow/congested with many people waiting for rides.