Suzhou

This article is about the city (苏州市) in Jiangsu. For the city in Anhui, see Suzhou (宿州市), Anhui. For other uses, see Suzhou (disambiguation).
Suzhou
苏州市
Soochow, Sou-tseu
Prefecture-level city
Gate to the East at Suzhou Industrial Park
Zhouzhuang Town
Garden of Cultivation
Suzhou HSR New Town
Lingering Garden
Map
Location of Suzhou in Jiangsu
Location of Suzhou in Jiangsu
Suzhou is located in China
Suzhou
Suzhou
Coordinates (Suzhou municipal government): 31°18′00″N 120°37′10″E / 31.30000°N 120.61944°E / 31.30000; 120.61944
CountryPeople's Republic of China
ProvinceJiangsu
County-level divisions11
Established514 BC
Municipal seatGusu District
Government
 • TypePrefecture-level city
 • Party SecretaryLiu Xiaotao
 • MayorWu Qingwen
Area
[1]
8,488.42 km2 (3,277.40 sq mi)
 • Land5,851 km2 (2,259 sq mi)
 • Water2,394.50 km2 (924.52 sq mi)
 • Urban
2,944.4 km2 (1,136.8 sq mi)
 • Metro
12,493 km2 (4,824 sq mi)
Population
 (2020 census)
12,748,252
 • Density1,500/km2 (3,900/sq mi)
 • Urban
6,715,559
 • Urban density2,300/km2 (5,900/sq mi)
DemonymSuzhounese
GDP[2]
 • Prefecture-level cityCN¥ 2.272 trillion
US$ 352.2 billion
 • Per capitaCN¥ 178,207
US$ 27,629
Time zoneUTC+8 (Beijing Time)
Postal code
215000
Area code512
ISO 3166 codeCN-JS-05
HDI (2015)0.868– very high[3]
City flowerOsmanthus
City treeCamphor laurel
Regional dialectWu: Suzhou dialect
License plate prefix苏E and 苏U[4]
Websitewww.suzhou.gov.cn
Suzhou
"Suzhou" in Simplified (top) and Traditional (bottom) Chinese characters
Simplified Chinese苏州
Traditional Chinese蘇州
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinSūzhōu
Wade–GilesSu1-chou1
IPA[sú.ʈʂóʊ]
Wu
SuzhouneseSou-tseü
Hakka
RomanizationSû-chû
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationSōujāu
JyutpingSou1-zau1
IPA[sɔw˥.tsɐw˥]
Southern Min
Hokkien POJSoo-ciŭ

Suzhou[a] is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce.

Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the Eastern Han dynasty, mostly due to emigration from northern China.[6] From the 10th century onwards, it has been an important economic, cultural, and commercial center,[7] as well as the largest non-capital city in the world, until it was overtaken by Shanghai.[8][9] Since economic reforms began in 1978, Suzhou attained GDP growth rates of about 14% in 35 years.[10][11] In 2023, Suzhou had 5 million registered residents.[12] Suzhou is listed as the 48th cities by scientific output according to the Nature Index 2022.[13] The city is home to universities, including Soochow University, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong–Liverpool University, and Changshu Institute of Technology.[14][15]

The city's tourist attractions include canals, stone bridges, pagodas, and gardens. The Classical Gardens of Suzhou were added to the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1997 and 2000.[16][17][18]

  1. ^ "Table showing land area and population". Suzhou People's Government. 2003. Archived from the original on 2 December 2007. Retrieved 7 September 2007.
  2. ^ "2021年江苏13市Gdp出炉 苏州2.27万亿位居第一". Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  3. ^ Calculated using data from Suzhou Statistics Bureau. Life Expectancy Index = 0.9672, Education Index = 0.8244, Income Index = 0.868. Refs:
  4. ^ 苏U号牌来了！苏州将成江苏首个启用双号牌的城市. 交汇点. 24 October 2018. Archived from the original on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  5. ^ "Suzhou". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020.
  6. ^ Tertius Chandler (1987). Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth: An Historical Census. St. David's University Press. ISBN 978-0889462076.
  7. ^ "The Grand Canal". UNESCO World Heritage Center. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  8. ^ Xu (2000), pp. 16, 72–73, 159.
  9. ^ Marme, Michael (2005). Suzhou: Where the Goods of All the Provinces Converge. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804731126.
  10. ^ Suzhou Bureau of Statistics. 2014年苏州市情市力 (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  11. ^ 寻梦苏州 探寻一座城市的现代化之路. 人民网. 26 January 2005. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  12. ^ "苏州常住人口超500万 跻身特大城市 _大公网". www.takungpao.com. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  13. ^ "Nature Index 2020 Science Cities | Supplements | Nature Index". www.natureindex.com. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  14. ^ "Nature Index 2018 Science Cities | Nature Index Supplements | Nature Index". www.natureindex.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  15. ^ "US News Best Global Universities Rankings in Suzhou". U.S. News & World Report. 26 October 2021. Archived from the original on 31 October 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  16. ^ Visit some of China's best gardens next week without a passport » Arts/Entertainment » Andover Townsman, Andover, MA. Andovertownsman.com. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  17. ^ Thorpe, Annabelle. "Suzhou: Real China outside Shanghai". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  18. ^ Fussell, Betty (13 March 1988). "Exploring Twin Cities By Canal Boat". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2010.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).