2-Day Self-Drive Trip from Shanghai to Suzhou, 2016/2017 (Xiyuan Temple, Lingering Garden, Luxiang Ancient Village, Yangwan Ancient Village)

From December 31, 2016 to January 1, 2017, we took a short trip to Suzhou to welcome the New Year. Besides Xiyuan Temple and Lingering Garden in Suzhou city proper, this self-drive tour also visited Luxiang Village and Yangwan Village in Dongshan Town. Both ancient villages are nationally recognized as Famous Historical and Cultural Villages of China, and Luxiang Village is arguably the most popular ancient village by Lake Tai. The entire journey accumulated 7.65 hours of driving, covered 306.8 km, with an average fuel consumption of 6.1 L/100 km.

December 31, 2016 (Suzhou weather: cloudy to sunny, 5–13°C)

11:55 am: Departed from home in Pudong, Shanghai.

12:54 pm: Arrived at Jiangqiao Toll Station on the Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway. Cumulative distance: 28.9 km.

1:15 pm: Arrived at Anting Toll Station. Cumulative distance: 48.3 km. Expressway toll: ¥20.

1:37 pm: Stopped for a break at Yangcheng Lake Service Area. Cumulative distance: 85.7 km. The white car in the photo below is my new Citroën C4L, a 1.6L turbocharged model with automatic transmission/manual mode, manufactured on November 5, 2016, priced at ¥150,800.

1:59 pm: Arrived at Suzhou Toll Station. Cumulative distance: 99.4 km. Toll: ¥25.

Xiyuan Temple parking lot. The building next to the lot houses Yonghui Supermarket, Decathlon, KFC, and other stores. Parking here also allows a walk to Lingering Garden.

Xiyuan Temple, a National Key Buddhist Temple in Han Chinese areas and a Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Heritage Site. Admission: ¥25.

Lingering Garden, among the first batch of State Priority Protected Sites designated by the State Council on March 4, 1961, classified as ancient architecture from the Qing Dynasty. Along with the Humble Administrator's Garden in Suzhou, the Summer Palace in Beijing, and the Mountain Resort in Chengde, it is one of China's Four Famous Gardens, all first-batch State Priority Protected Sites. The first batch includes only 180 sites, such as Tiananmen, the Monument to the People's Heroes, and the Mogao Caves, underscoring the cultural significance of Lingering Garden. In 1997, Suzhou's classical gardens, including the Humble Administrator's Garden and Lingering Garden, were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Admission to Lingering Garden varies by season: January, February, March, June, November, and December are off-peak, priced at ¥45; other months are peak, at ¥55.

On the streets of Suzhou, you often see vendors selling osmanthus cakes.

On the streets of Suzhou, you often see vendors selling osmanthus cakes.

In the evening, a bowl of eel noodles at Lu Zhenxing, ¥13. The taste was far inferior to Zhu Hongxing's noodles; the toppings weren’t freshly stir-fried.

We stayed overnight at Jinjiang Inn Suzhou Mudu Ancient Town, Standard Room A, at the Gold Card member price of ¥169. Located south of Mudu Ancient Town, the hotel is relatively close to Dongshan and Xishan scenic areas. Situated within the Huirun Jinfeng Neighborhood Center—the first community shopping mall in Wuzhong District, Suzhou—the hotel shares a large parking lot. The area is a newly developed residential zone, with Vanke properties across the street, making it very quiet late at night. However, before 9 pm, the promotional shouts for Yanghe Daqu liquor in front of the center were quite noisy. Even stranger, around 1 am a group of young people checked in, talking loudly and blasting TV sound for nearly 10 minutes like a concert.

By that night, cumulative driving time was 3.32 hours, covering 123 km, with an average fuel consumption of 6.2 L/100 km.

January 1, 2017 (Suzhou weather: cloudy, 6–16°C)

Jinjiang Inn Suzhou Mudu Ancient Town hotel.

Hotel guests can park for free at the Huirun Jinfeng Neighborhood Center parking lot. The photo below shows the front side view of the C4L.

Luxiang Village, Dongshan Town, Wuzhong District, recognized in the third batch of Famous Historical and Cultural Villages of China. Admission: ¥65.

Luxiang is the hometown of Wang Ao, a renowned Ming Dynasty official. In recent years, the Wang Ao Memorial Hall has been renovated.

Luxiang is also the hometown of Ye Mengde, a Left Vice Minister of the Southern Song Dynasty. His former residence has been renovated, but part of it has been cordoned off for commercial use as a restaurant, so tourists cannot enter to take photos.

Along the way, I saw many old-model Citroën Elysée cars—the same model I drove for the previous six and a half years on my road trips.

Yangwan Village, Dongshan Town, Wuzhong District, Suzhou, recognized in the sixth batch of Famous Historical and Cultural Villages of China. About 3 km from Luxiang Village, Yangwan has three ancient buildings that are State Priority Protected Sites. The Xuanyuan Palace marked on the map below is a sixth-batch State Priority Protected Site, while Mingshan Hall is one of three buildings designated under the sixth batch as Dongshan folk residences. The Dongshan folk residences include Mingshan Hall, Huaiyin Hall, and Ningde Hall; Huaiyin Hall is also in Yangwan Village. However, neither Mingshan Hall nor Huaiyin Hall is currently open to the public.

4:10 pm: Arrived at Dongshan Toll Station on the Shanghai-Changzhou Expressway. Cumulative distance: 191.3 km.

4:53 pm: Arrived at Dianshan Lake Toll Station. Cumulative distance: 247.5 km. Toll: ¥25.

5:22 pm: Arrived at Jiangqiao Toll Station. Cumulative distance: 277.0 km. Toll: ¥20.

6:23 pm: Returned home in Pudong, Shanghai. Total driving time for the trip: 7.65 hours; distance: 306.8 km; average fuel consumption: 6.1 L/100 km.