China's Little known Secret

The plan was to visit Shanghai which is what we initially did but we found that we had a day extra so we asked one of the locals which city was the best apart from Shanghai. The local said china has many unknown secrets and this place is one of them. I think in terms of secrets he meant secrets from tourists, Places where tourists dont really venture too. We decided why not give it a go its only a hour away by car and worst case we just turn back. When we got there we were pleasantly surprised. It was such a bustling and vibrant city just on the outskirts of Shanghai. A place where there were hardly any tourists. This was the real china. We spent a couple of hours just roaming around and walking about checking out the best sites and what the ciity has to offer. There was this absolutely stunning garden which unfortunately photography was prohibited but it reminded me of the japanese gardens just way more intense and vibrant. Some people called it the Venice of the east due to the way it looks and its rivers and canals.

The gardens to the south of Yangtze River are the best in the world, and Suzhou's gardens are the best among them. If you love chinese culture and gardens this is the place for you, it's rated as the best 18th City on Trip Advisor. When I asked when the best time to visit Suzhou was he said between april and september because it can get a bit cold in the autumn winter months. We traveled to china late november so there was not any snow yet and still in the autumn months but we heard it must be simply stunning in the winter months too, so whenever you choose to go, you will have an incredible time.

One of the Buddha's at the Gardens. Absolutely massive statue!

Suzhou city at night

One of the best things about Suzhou is its many parks and gardens