Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Suzhou

 
Dictionary: Su·zhou   (sū'jō') pronunciation also Soo·chow
Home > Library > Travel > Dictionary - Places
(-chou', -jō')

A city of eastern China west-northwest of Shanghai. The capital (sixth-fifth century B.C.) of an ancient feudal kingdom, the city was almost destroyed (1853) in the Taiping Rebellion against the Manchu dynasty but was rebuilt. It became a treaty port in 1896, was occupied by the Japanese during World War II, and fell to Chinese Communists in 1949. Suzhou is famous for its beautiful bridges and pagodas and for its silk industry, which dates back to the Song dynasty (960-1279). Population: 1,170,000.

 

Search unanswered questions...

Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: Suzhou
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Columbia Encyclopedia
Suzhou, Soochow (both: sū'jō'), or Wuxian (wū'shēĕn'), city (1994 pop. 710,900), SE Jiangsu prov., E central China, on the Grand Canal near Tai Lake. Suzhou, famous for its silks since the Sung dynasty, is still a silk center; it also has cotton and embroidery manufactures and food-processing, pharmaceutical, and computer and electronics industries. On the city's outskirts are a small integrated steel complex and plants making chemicals, paper, machine tools, and motor vehicles.

Suzhou was capital of the Wu kingdom in the 5th cent. B.C., from whence it derives the name Wuxian; it was renamed Suzhou in the 6th cent. A.D. The city was almost destroyed in the Taiping Rebellion but was quickly rebuilt. In 1896, it became a treaty port. It was occupied by the Japanese in World War II, and in 1949 it passed to the Chinese Communists. Suzhou is famous for its beauty, with many canals crossed by arched bridges and lovely gardens. A nine-storied pagoda there (c.250 ft/80 m high) is among the tallest in China. The city has several institutions of higher learning; the Suzhou Museum was designed by I. M. Pei.

Shopping: Suzhou
Top
Suzhou Eup Electric
 
 

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.  Read more