Suzhou Museum consists of two parts: the new building opened in 2006 and the ancient building of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Zhongwang Mansion (old building). The entire museum resembles a small garden. In the new building, you can see artifacts such as pottery, jade, and calligraphy and paintings from ancient to modern times. In the Zhongwang Mansion, you can also see the elegant and exquisite 'Suzhou-style paintings.' The designer of Suzhou Museum is the famous architectural master I.M. Pei.
Suzhou is not only a city of gardens but also a hub of silk. The theme of the Silk Museum's architecture is the 'Silk Road,' capturing the historical connection between the ancient Silk Road and the modern silk city, reflecting the open-mindedness of cultural exchanges between the East and the West. Suzhou Silk Museum is the first professional silk museum in China.
Suzhou Opera Museum
Kunqu, known as the 'ancestor of a hundred operas,' features elegant lyrics and beautiful melodies. It is one of China's first intangible cultural heritages, and its birthplace is Suzhou. The China Kunqu Museum is dedicated to rescuing, protecting, inheriting, and promoting Kunqu art. Its main functions include collecting, researching, displaying, and performing Kunqu heritage. The museum aims to showcase both the tangible Kunqu relics and materials, as well as the intangible traditional Kunqu art. The museum's treasure, the ancient relic—Baohetang Hall's famous lantern stand, is worth seeing.
Suzhou Folk Museum is a museum that mainly showcases the folk customs of the Suzhou area. Here, you can see the long-standing cultural customs of the ancient city of Gusu from a hundred years ago. The museum currently has five exhibition halls: 'Marriage Customs, Birth Customs, Festival Customs, Longevity Customs, and Wu Songs Customs'. The basic exhibits in the museum are composed of 'Life Rituals, Seasonal Festivals, and Wu Songs Customs'. Suzhou Folk Museum is a specialized local folk museum in China.
City Wall Museum
The Suzhou City Wall Museum is located in the hollow section of the southern part of the Xiangmen section of the Suzhou City Wall. The museum exhibition area includes two floors, covering nearly 1400 square meters, and is divided into six exhibition halls: 'Preface Hall', 'Millennium Chronicle of the City', 'Stories of the City Gates', 'Inside and Outside the City', 'Memories of the City Wall', and 'Reappearance of the City Wall'. It showcases the historical changes and archaeological achievements of the Suzhou City Wall, with many pictures, models, and some actual artifacts. The Suzhou City Wall Museum is located in the hollow section of the southern part of the Xiangmen section of the Suzhou City Wall.
The new Suzhou Garden Museum is adjacent to the Humble Administrator's Garden and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom King's Mansion. The new museum uses various forms such as calligraphy and painting, models, and projection TV to showcase Suzhou gardens, allowing visitors to easily and intuitively understand the characteristics, history, and culture of Suzhou gardens. This new museum consists of five parts: the Preface Hall, the Garden History Hall, the Garden Art Hall, the Garden Culture Hall, and the Garden Heritage Hall. Visit the Garden Museum to savor the culture of Suzhou gardens.
