Suzhou Entertainment and Nightlife

Suzhou Entertainment and Nightlife

Suzhou Nightlife and Entertainment introduces the recreation of Suzhou such as the nightlife and all kinds of popular activities and all kinds of tea houses, cafes, bars and other entertainment places in Suzhou. In addition to breath-taking scenery and unique handcrafts, Suzhou is rich in cultural heritage. Kun Qu Opera, Pingtan (a form of storytelling and ballad singing in Suzhou dialect) and Guzheng (a Chinese zither with 25 strings) are the traditional cultural arts of Suzhou and part of the locals’ daily lives.

Water Town Cruise and Night Cruise in Suzhou

Nine-century-old Zhouzhuang Water Town, the oldest water township in China and one of the most famous, comprises a network of scenic canals, 14 stone bridges, and well-preserved buildings from the Ming and Qing dynasties. The late Chinese painter Chen Yifei immortalized the village in his paintings. The Suzhou Grand Canal, like the Great Wall, is one of China’s most magnificent and astounding creations. Approximately 1,200 miles (1,776 km) from tip-to-tip, the Grand Canal is the longest man-made waterway in the world.

Children-Friendly Attractions in Suzhou

Looking out for what can you do with kids and family in Suzhou? Here are the things that you should not miss out on a family vacation with kids, toddlers, or babies. Discover the ultimate places for kids in Suzhou, be it water parks, theme parks, or playgrounds. Children will have fun, learn new things, get good food and will not get bored in long queues. Keep reading to know about awesome places and activities to enjoy with your kids in Suzhou.

More about Children-Friendly Attractions in Suzhou

Night Markets and Entertainment Venues in Suzhou

The Most Popular Food Streets in Suzhou

Taijian Alley(太监弄)

The Taijian Alley is the first place where you can find the delicious food. Many of Suzhou’s most famous restaurants are concentrated here. Fenghuang Street and Shiquan Street are connected in a vertical and horizontal direction, especially the Master of the Nets Garden. It is very close to Shiquan Street. It is a 200-meter lane in Quanqian Street. Tiajian alley in the past time was famous for a place where eunuchs of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) congregated. Nowadays Taijian Alley becomes into a famous gourmet (food) street in Suzhou.

Shiquan Street(十全街)

Shiquan Street is located in the hotel area in the old downtown of Suzhou. There strew many Ming and Qing Dynasties style architectures including characteristic restaurants and craftwork shops, such as tea house featured culture and catering of Wu, Japanese Restaurant, Korean barbecue, Cantonese dish, etc., which are scramble for by both home and oversea travelers. Famous craftworks like Suzhou Embroidery, chinaware antique, calligraphy and painting, chinaware, silk, inscriptions, jade, rosewood articles can be found here.

Shantang Street(山塘街)

Suzhou Shantang Street has a long history of development and is a very prosperous place. There are many businesses and shops on this street. It is very lively. Many old and famous buildings are also on this street, such as De Yue Lou, Song He Lou, at the same time, is also a well-known night market street in Suzhou, not only a variety of local Suzhou cuisine, but also some foreign cuisine.

Guanqian Street(观前街)

Guanqian Street is located in Suzhou city center, an area covering 0.52 square kilometers, the commercial part of the city. There are many features of the street, including the famous century-old shops such as Huangtianyuan, Sanwanchang, Caizhizhai and so on, which gain an international reputation. It is precisely the existence of these century-old shops that make the Guanqian Street not only become a typical commercial street, but also illustrate the culture of Suzhou. Tourists at home and broad are attracted by these century-old shops because there is variety of Jiangnan dishes available in those century-old shops. Meanwhile, some of the shops have a long history of more than 100 years, which gives the tourists deep impressions and many of the tourists visiting Guanqian street just come to enjoy the delicious food.

Suzhou Xizhongshi Street(苏州西中市)

Xizhongshi, Suzhou, is by far the only well-preserved old street of the Republic of China in Suzhou. It was an extremely rich and wealthy place 600 years ago. In this street, countless foods and snacks are hidden. Although many people are exhausted all the way, they are excited to come to this street to taste the characteristic gourmet snacks.

Fenghuang Street(凤凰街)

Fenghuang street is a mile-long ancient street in Suzhou’s old town. There you will find a wide array of bars, bakeries, clothing shops, museums, and traditional Chinese restaurants. Dining on Fenghuang Street is a must when visiting Suzhou. We love eating at Xiehe’s traditional Suzhou Restaurant, snacking on Xishengyuan’s steam dumplings, or slurping up Tongdexing’s soup noodles.

Xindu Square Food Street(馨都广场美食街)

It specializes in all kinds of exotic cuisines. Although this street is only 100 meters long, diners can enjoy different tastes and various types of snacks from all over the world. Customers who come to spend here also come from all over the world. Every lunchtime, dozens of restaurants are crowded with diners speaking various languages inside and outside.

The Most Popular Tea Houses in Suzhou

Chunlai Tea House(春来茶馆)
Add: South Exit, Shajia Scenic Spot, Shajiabang Town(沙家浜镇沙家风景区南出口)
Tel: /
Chunlei Tea House(春蕾茶馆)
Add: No. 33 Ligongdi Road, Jinjihu, Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou(苏州市苏州工业园区金鸡湖李公堤路33号)
Tel: (0512)62858266
Sanwanchang Tea house(三万昌茶馆)
Add: No. 121 Guanqian Street, Gusu District(姑苏区观前街121号)
Tel: (0512)67707730
Nanyuan Tea House(南园茶社)
Add: No. 86 Yuhang Street, Tongli Town, Tongli Scenic Spot, Wujiang District, Suzhou City(苏州市吴江区同里风景区同里镇鱼行街86号)
Tel: (0512)63332332

The Most Popular Bars in Suzhou

Xingdeluo Club(星德罗CLUB)
Add: No. 3 Building, Xuanmiao Square Bar Street, No. 818 Ganjiang East Road(干将东路818号玄妙广场酒吧街3号楼)
Tel: /
Hutaoli Music Pub(胡桃里音乐酒馆(观前店))
Add: Floor 1 of Building 4, Xuanmiao Square, No. 818 Ganjiang East Road, Gusu District, Suzhou(苏州市姑苏区干将东路818号玄妙广场4号楼1楼)
Tel: /
Heiye Bar(黑夜酒吧)
Add: Floor 2 of Building 7, Weitang Commercial City, Xiangcheng District, Suzhou(苏州市相城区渭塘商业城7号楼2楼)
Tel: /
Boss Bar Club(BOSS酒吧CLUB)
Add: No. 2-1007 Huayang City, No. 98 Zhongshan East Road, Wuzhong District, Suzhou City(苏州市吴中区木渎镇中山东路98号花样城2-1007号)
Tel: 18068020342

The Recommended Cafes in Suzhou

Starbucks(星巴克)
Add: Floor 1 of Huihu Building, No. 10 Yueliangwan Road(月亮湾路10号慧湖大厦1层)
Tel: (0512)67259217
Fei She(啡舍)
Add: No. 25-1 Wuyachang, Shiquan Street, Gusu District, Suzhou(苏州市姑苏区十全街吴衙场25-1号)
Tel: (0512)65730083
Diou Coffee(迪欧咖啡)
Add: No. 3188 Renmin Road, Gusu District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province(江苏省苏州市姑苏区人民路3188号)
Tel: (0512)80815777
Dao Coffee(岛咖啡)
Add: Building d of Jinjihu Commercial Plaza, Wangdun Road(旺墩路金鸡湖商业广场d栋)
Tel: (0512)62955222

The Most Beautiful Book Bars in Suzhou

Spock Coffee Book Bar(斯波克咖啡书吧)
Add: No. 26 Minguo Style Street, Changmen North Wharf(阊门北码头民国风情街26号)
Tel: (0512)67280566
Suzhou Xiaoyan Inn Coffee Book Bar(苏州笑颜客栈咖啡书吧)
Add: No. 191 Tongli Yuhang Street, Wujiang District, Suzhou(苏州吴江区同里鱼行街191号)
Tel: 13382162160
Shuyun Book Bar(书韵书吧)
Add: No. 158-2 Haiyu North Road, Changshu City, Suzhou(苏州市常熟市海虞北路158-2号)
Tel: 15995900020
Huiyou Gongyi Book Bar(蕙友公益书吧)
Add: Nearby No. 818 Tongjing South Road, Gusu District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province(江苏省苏州市姑苏区桐泾南路818附近)
Tel: /

Performances in Suzhou

Opera Performance in a Tea House

Discover one of China’s most storied cultural traditions when you attend an evening performance of Kunqu-style opera. A UNESCO-designated Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible History of Humanity, the art form has ancient roots. Before the show begins, discover more about the elaborate costumes and makeup the performers wear. Then sit back and enjoy the performance, which marries storytelling, music, ornamental sets, and more. Afterwards, you’ll even have the opportunity to meet the performers.

Listen to Suzhou Pingtan

“Suzhou Pingtan”, a general term which includes ‘Pinghua’-storytelling without music – and “Tanci”-singing in the local dialect-originated in Suzhou city of Jiangsu province 400 years ago and is performed in the Suzhou dialect. It was listed as China’s intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture of China in 2006. “Pingtan” is known for its story telling, joke telling, music playing and aria singing. For “Pinghua”, there is normally only one narrator who holds a fan and a piece of wood while telling stories. “Tanci” is mostly performed by two singing narrators, accompanied by two traditional Chinese string instruments called “Sanxian” and “Pipa”.

Watch Gusu Performance

During the day, you can visit the gardens and the ancient towns. When “the crows caw when the moon goes down.” and “frost comes to Suzhou”, there are still very powerful large-scale performance, which are worthy of your time. The performances in Suzhou are all very distinctive and the purpose is to show the history of Gusu to tourists from abroad and home, and show the moving story of this watery city. On the stage, you can also feel the cultural characteristics of “Jiangnan water towns”

Tiger Hill Temple Fair(虎丘庙会)

Suzhou has a long history of holding temple fairs at the mountain in autumn. In old times when people had little entertainment, the temple fair was a prime festive event where folks could unwind, celebrate the autumn harvest, satisfy their craving for delicacies and otherwise just have fun. For many Suzhou seniors, it’s a must-have event. Standing in the northwest suburbs of Suzhou, Tiger Hill is a signature spot in the city that rises 36 meters. Built in AD 327, the Tiger Hill Temple is still prosperous today, though most of its buildings were destroyed long ago, leaving behind only the ancient pagoda. The pagoda’s timber has been burned repeatedly by warfare and from lightning strikes, yet it still stands, albeit at a slant to the northeast. Therefore, it is also known as “China’s Leaning Tower of Pisa.”