When people in China talk about Suzhou, the primary thought in their mind is the classic gardens. There is a saying that the gardens to the south of ChangJiang River are the best in China and Suzhou gardens are the best among them. Apart from the classic gardens in the city of Suzhou, the water towns near Suzhou are a destination that tourists can't miss as Suzhou has another nickname 'water city'. After visiting the charming gardens in Suzhou, the water towns will definitely attract your attention. Unlike the large buildings in the north part of China, the water towns of Suzhou  have typical styles of southern China, attractive watery scenery and old houses built along the riverside.

The water town Zhou Zhuang, one of most famous water towns that inherited the splendid culture of Wu very well, displays as an excellent example of water country in China. The view you see there is just like a traditional Chinese landscape brush painting. It is almost impossible to describe the natural beauty of the water town by words. Ancient stone bridges, clear water, old-style houses along the river side, women wearing traditional costumes, all bring a picture of pastoral and harmonious environment. Many tourists like the peaceful and quiet life so much that they rent an old house along the river side to live there some days.

The three most well-known water towns close to Suzhou are Tongli, Zhouzhuang, and Xitang. Rivers and old traditional style buildings can be seen everywhere in these water towns. Each water town has some ancient stone bridges. Some of the bridges may have very interesting stories behind them. The local residents living in the town enjoy the simple but peaceful life with a boat as their main tool for transportation.  Walking in one of these water towns, you will find some local people sitting along the river side, having tea and chatting with their friends happily. If you are tired of the busy city life, hiring a boat and rowing down the river in the water town can be a very good experience to relax yourself.

The following water town pictures are not oil paintings, nor photographs. They are silk embroidery works, all hand embroidered with fine silk threads on silk. Each of these silk embroideries takes several months to complete. Making such a neat silk embroidery requires superb high embroidery skills and great patience and maybe only the ladies born and living in the water towns are able to fulfill the job.
 

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