Suzhou is home to some of China's most popular and well-known sights. While you are there therefore, it's a good idea to pick up any of the "typically" Chinese souvenirs you want to take home with you.
Suzhou is home to some of China's most popular and well-known sights. While you are there therefore, it's a good idea to pick up any of the "typically" Chinese souvenirs you want to take home with you.
Suzhou's 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! 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 RMB200 and RMB5000 for a kilogram. There are numerous teahouses around the city selling the leaves, particularly try some of the shops near Renmin Lu.
Suzhou Silk
The variety and selection of fans available in Suzhou 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. 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 rounding 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.
Suzhou 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.