SUZHOU GUIDE | Shopping
Tourist Shopping
Suzhou is home to some of China’s most popular and well known sights. While you are here therefore, it’s a good idea to pick up any of the “typically” Chinese souvenirs you want to take home with you!
The most well known souvenirs from here include, Suzhou embroidery (which is regarded as some of the best in the country), Suzhou tea (which has a distinctive aroma and delicate flavor), the Song brocade, writing brushes and Taohua Wu wood carvings.
Suzhou has been recognized as a world leader in silk production since ancient times. The variety and quality of silk available here is almost unbeatable in China. Along with Hangzhou, this is THE place to buy silk dresses, silk fans, jackets, pajamas; underwear….the list is endless. There are numerous souvenir shops selling all these things. Try the night market next to the Temple of Mystery for good priced silk and a fair selection. There are tailors all over town who can whip you up a creation in a couple of days and most cloth shops have in house tailors.
Biluochun Tea
Suzhou’s Biluochun Tea is one of the ten most famous teas in China. It is locally known as “Fearful Incense” due to the strong aroma of the brew!
During the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Kangxi visited Suzhou and praised the flavor of this aromatic tea. The tea leaves are picked from the Biluo Mountain near Tai Lake, and are collected traditionally in early spring between what is known as “Tomb-sweeping Day” and “Grain Rain Day”!
The technique for collecting tea leaves is very complex. Only the tender tip of the leaf is used for the tea making process. This part of the leaf should be no longer than one inch long and shaped like the tip of a spear. One tin of tea uses 60 thousand spears! It’s no surprise then, that some of the finest Chinese teas are very expensive. The next step in the process is to repeatedly knead, rub and roll the leaves by hand. The Biluochun tea involves a particularly labor intensive process but the end result are leaves that are compact, tender and wonderfully fresh and aromatic.
If you have never sampled Chinese green tea, the Biluochun is a good one to start with. Chinese tea not only smells and tastes great but is reportedly very good for you! Take a few tea leaves and sprinkle them at the bottom of your cup. Next, cover them with boiling water until the tea leaves sink. Leave it to rest for a minute and then fill the cup to the top. The tea will then change color, to a light green shade and should taste delicious! It is an acquired taste but certainly one that grows on you, and is much healthier and more refreshing than black tea. The tea is quite expensive and can cost between RMB 200 and RMB 5000 for a kilogram. There are numerous tea houses around the city selling the leaves, particularly try some of the shops near Renmin Lu.
Suzhou Embroidery
Along with the Xiang embroidery from Hunan, embroidery from Sichuan and Yuen embroidery from Guangdong, Suzhou Embroidery is one of the best types of embroidery in China. Suzhou embroidery has developed as a result of unique workmanship throughout the past 2,600 years. Common subject matter depicted in the embroidery includes characters, scenery, flowers and birds. Inheriting the workmanship and elegant designs of the traditional embroidery, craftsmen in Suzhou further developed the art when they invented the technique for double-sided embroidery after the foundation of the People’s Republic of China. Marked by exquisite craftsmanship and elegant colors, the products include handkerchiefs and screens
Writing Brushes
The special writing brush that is now associated with Suzhou actually originated in Zhejiang province and gradually became popular in Jiangsu. This “Huzhou” writing brush (as it is known), is now a specialty of Suzhou. These brushes are used in the expert art of calligraphy. The Huzhou brush uses only the finest raw materials and expert technology in production. There are more than 300 varieties of brush, classified into six categories and each one made from a different type of hair. Goat hair, mixed hair, Purple hair and weasel hair are just a few of the varieties available. The type of brush also varies. Some artists prefer to use a “sharp” brush which has a cone shaped tip, others use a “round” or “robust” tip whereby the brush is elastic and flexible.
There are some gorgeous calligraphy sets available throughout China and Suzhou is a good place to purchase one. Most of the souvenir shops stock them and there are usually some at the city’s Night Market near the Temple of Mystery.
Caishizhai Candies
Suzhou-style candy is regarded as one of the most popular and tasty traditional Chinese sweets. There are 150 different kinds of Suzhou “Caishizhai” candy including; colorful jelly drops, candy fruits, pepper-mint drops, pine nut candy, pyramid-shaped sweets, peanut brittle, assorted pine nut jelly, crisp candy, and pine nut jujube. So, if you’ve got a sweet tooth, Suzhou is a great place to indulge yourself!
Suzhou Silk Fan
In China, there are really only two authentic places to buy fans; Suzhou and Hangzhou. The variety and selection of fans available in both these cities is incredible and they make a beautiful gift for yourself or someone else.
The folding fan (or sandalwood fan) is very elegant and actually originated in Korea. During the Tang Dynasty this type of fan became fashionable in Suzhou and was mass produced for visiting aristocrats and artists who bought the fans to cool themselves or just to pose with! The surface of the fan is made from a very delicate rice paper. Some fans are painted with intricate pictures of scenery.
Suzhou also produces “Gong” or silk fans. During the Han Dynasty in China, only noblewomen were permitted to use silk fans! In the Tang Dynasty, standards were relaxed a little and the fan became very fashionable and popular. There are many different types of silk fan including the hand painted silk fan, the single sided embroidered fan, the double sided embroidered and the dyed silk fan. Most are round in shape but a few more unusual ones are styled to resemble plum blossom or lotus leaves. The handles of the fans are usually made from bamboo, hardwood, animal bones or ivory.
These fans can be bought all over the city in most of the tourist shops. For the best prices try the city Night Market near the Temple of Mystery.
Taicang Dried Meat Floss
“Rousong” actually means shredded, dry, lean meat. The Rousong Meat from Suzhou comes in pork and beef flavor and tastes a bit like a beef jerky. This meat undergoes four different cooking processes; chopping, steaming, frying and rubbing. Using soy sauce, crystal sugar, fennel, ginger and yellow wine as seasoning, the pork is stewed and baked at different temperatures and then rubbed by hand into floss. The meat floss is golden in color and has a distinctive flavor. It is worth trying this meat as it does taste good although the idea of it is alien to most foreigners!
Woodcut New Year Pictures
Suzhou’s Taohuawu New Year wood carving originated in the Ming Dynasty. The carving is named after a place called Taohuawu, where the first artist’s studio was located. Taohuawu is one of the three regions in China producing these woodcut pictures.
These pieces are very popular in south China and Southeast Asian countries. The designs for the painting are rooted in traditional Chinese realist art and characterized by fine brushwork and attention to detail. The colors used in these carvings are usually strong such as red, lemon, emerald green, shocking pink, and cobalt blue. These vibrant colors help to emphasize the idea behind the carvings which is to celebrate the New Year! The pictures carved have various contents but usually depict gods, customs or traditional living styles.
GrandOcean Store 大洋百货
1331 Renmin Road
平江区人民路1331号
Golden Eagle
金鹰国际购物中心
1 Guanqian Road观前街1号
Matro Store 美罗商城
245Guanqian Rd 观前街245号
Renmin Store 人民商场
22 Beiju.Rd平江区北局路22号
Sz Tower 泰华商城
人民路23-29号
Suzhou No1 Department Store 苏州第一百货
1381 Renmin Rd 人民路1381号
Shilu International Store
石路国际商城
18 Shi Road石路18号
Yuyuan Tourist Mart
豫园商城
57-59 Guanqiani Rd
观前街57-59号
Daily Shopping
Chinese Grocery Shopping
Venturing beyond the foods that you recognize is part of the fun in supermarket shopping in China. There are a large assortment of delicious Chinese fruits and vegetables that are rarely found anywhere else.
Food of this region of China is different from other regions that it had a wide assortment of starters that are best eaten cold before the meal. They are pre-packed and sold in many supermarkets. This makes it easier to try new foods in the comfort of your home. In bigger markets there are ready-to-eat counters (much like the American delis) that offer trays of such snacks. There is no minimum so feel free to ask for a handful.
In the refrigerated cases, there are semi-cooked foods like fish and meat in pre-packed containers, which come with everything that you will need to make that one dish, including the ginger and scallions. All you need to add at home is the oil, salt, and soy sauce.
24-hour Convenience Stores – Lots of Chinese or joint-venture owned round-the-clock stores, has made 24-hour convenience shopping an expectation in almost every neighborhood of Shanghai. The well-stocked and well-lit aisles of these chains offer quick shopping items that one might need at any time of the day, like cold drinks, milk, cigarettes, snack food, and instant noodles. Also available is instant food that costs next-to-nothing, sitting in tubs of broth, or in a warmer. It’s not haute cuisine but it does offer a bite size taste of something different.
Wet Markets – So called because the ground always seems to be wet from the water being splashed on the vegetables. These open air markets that are no more than stalls on wooden stands can still be found in almost all neighborhoods. Once the place where farmers sold their goods, these semi-permanents “shops” are run much like stores today. Owners order their goods from the main distribution centers and sell them like the supermarkets do. The difference is that as small businesses, they can be coaxed into giving you a better price, or helping you picks the freshest produce for your party.
Common Tricks to watch out for at the wet market-As a foreigner, you will not be considered a “regular” so watch out for:
Loading vegetables with water so that they weigh more
Telling you something is fresh when it isn’t (no truth in advertising!)
Not knowing the price of an items means that you may end up paying double or triple the going rate. Check with a few stalls before buying.
Bread Shops – Most supermarkets make their own breads. Local breads are sweet and soft. If a good whole wheat or rye is what you want, try the delis in the major hotels. The Chinese are not known for their pastries, much of it being dry and hard. However, there are now chains that sell neon-colored cream “western” cakes and some baguette style breads. If you do your own baking and used to using American all-purpose flour, you will have to experiment with the local kind since it reacts very differently. Even imported flour, unless it is an American brand, will react very differently in baking. This includes European flour.
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