Suzhou, the cradle of Wu Culture, is a city with a history of more than 2,500 years, tracing back to the later Shang Dynasty. While talking about Suzhou, the old saying mentions it as a “Paradise on the Earth” or the "East Venice of the World”, referring to its natural beauty, classical gardens, bridges and waters, traditional operas and soft dialect tone.

The city is well-known to its classical gardens, in which two of them have been listed as the great world heritage sites. Situated in the downstream of Yangtze River Drainage Basin and Yangtze River Delta economic zone, Suzhou has been a national tourist center and has attracted visitors around the world.

Not just for its natural beauty, its splendid history, or its cultural heritage, Suzhou’s economy represents the highest growth and the fastest expansion in the past 5-10 years in the region and in China. The city’ GDP has surpassed its any other neighbor cities except Shanghai in the region and more than 80 of the world top 500 corporations listed on the Fortune have set their offices in the town.

Suzhou is one of thirteen prefecture cities of Jiangsu and the cities including Changshu, Taicang, Kunshan, Wujiang and Zhangjiagang are under its jurisdiction. The flower emblematic of the city is osmanthus and the city tree is camphor laurel.

Because Suzhou is one of the most prosperous cities in China, its development has a direct correlation with the growth of its satellite cities, most notably Kunshan, Taicang, Mudu, and Zhangjiagang, which together form the greater Suzhou region. Suzhou's jurisdictional areas are home to many high-tech development enterprises.
Suzhou has jurisdiction over (at county level):

• Districts:

• Canglang District
• Jinchang District
• Pingjiang District
• Suzhou Industrial Park
• Suzhou High & New Technology Development Zone
• Xiangcheng District, Suzhou
• >Wuzhong District

• County-level cities:

• Changshu
• Taicang
• Kunshan
• Wujiang
• Zhangjiagang