Jinji Lake is located in Suzhou Industrial Park. Compared with the antique ancient city area, the high-rise buildings and modernization here show another side of Suzhou. Jinji Lake is slightly larger than West Lake in Hangzhou. Every day, many tourists come to the lakeside for leisure walks, shopping, and enjoying delicious food. New couples also like to come here to take wedding photos. The scenic area has four entrances and is an open park. You can enter from any entrance. Generally, tourists will enter from the west entrance. Near the entrance, there is a subway. You can see the new landmark of Suzhou, the Oriental Gate skyscraper, commonly known as ‘big underpants’. As soon as you exit the subway, there is a bicycle rental point. If you want to ride around the lake, you can rent a bicycle here. Entering from the west entrance is Lakeside Xintiandi, which is the entrance to Lakeside Avenue. Here there is a wooden corridor close to the water and pleasant. There are many life-size art bronze statues erected beside the avenue. On a fine day, you can see many people running or cycling here. The grass by the lake is suitable for picnics, barbecues, and flying kites. You can also see the ‘Harmony’ sculpture standing by the lake. In addition, if you have enough time, you can also buy a boat ticket from Wanghugge Pier on the west side of the lake to Taohua Island in the center of Jinji Lake scenic area. In the season when peach blossoms are in full bloom, the entire Taohua Island is filled with bright red. After visiting the west entrance, you can walk or take a water bus from Wanghugge Pier to Ligongdi Pier. Ligongdi is the only long causeway in the lake in Jinji Lake, Suzhou. It retains the traditional architectural form of Suzhou residential houses. You can stroll along the international style commercial water street of Ligongdi and see that foreign brands and domestic traditional stores are all set up here. Or you can also take a free (may charge extra on holidays) small train on the style street to tour the landscapes in this area, such as the Fund Museum, extreme sports venues, Mid-lake Pavilion, Lingyun Bridge, and Li Chaoqiong’s poetry stele. If you are a couple or come with children for a visit, you can also directly take a water bus from Wanghugge Pier to the opposite Moonlight Pier, or directly enter from the north entrance of the scenic area. At the entrance is the modern leisure square, where there is the Suzhou Cultural and Art Center known as the ‘Suzhou Bird’s Nest’. It connects the red maple forest landscape and the Suzhou International Expo Center. Inside there are a grand theater, a movie city, a performance hall, etc. You can take pictures here or go inside the cultural center to watch a 3D movie. Those who like to play amusement projects can walk to the Ferris wheel park. The buildings in the park are all in European style. You can take the Ferris wheel and overlook the entire lake view. In addition, there are also suspended roller coasters, go-karts, etc., which are all very worth playing. Of course, try to avoid visiting on holidays. There will be many people queuing up to take the Ferris wheel.
After enjoying the daytime attractions, the night view of Jinji Lake should not be missed. You can pay for a night cruise departing from the Moonlight Pier on the east lake or the Lake View Pavilion on the west lake, which takes approximately 40 minutes and passes by some of the daytime attractions. Additionally, the Jinji Lake Bridge at night is not to be missed, featuring a colorful digital waterfall created with digital lights and other high-tech means that cascades down the bridge, displaying different patterns and text as it ‘flows’, becoming a beautiful feature of Jinji Lake at night. Accommodations around Jinji Lake include luxurious and comfortable high-end hotels such as Suzhou Zhongyin Crowne Plaza Hotel, located on Jinji Lake, where you can enjoy the beautiful views from your hotel room. It is accessible via Exit 4 of the Oriental Gate Station on Metro Line 1, at the intersection with Modern Avenue. There are also cozy and affordable budget hotels like Jin Jiang Inn or Orange Hotel. For dining and shopping, there are many lakeside restaurants, cafes, and bars built along the lake at Lakefront New World and Moonlight Pier, where you can find familiar brands like Starbucks, Cold Stone, Da Yu Teppanyaki, and Shanghai Home. If you take the Metro Line 1 directly to Times Square Station, you can also visit the Times Square and the adjacent Jiuguang Department Store, which not only houses restaurants and shops but also includes popular attractions like ToysRUs and Cartoony Land for children. Additionally, the Yuanrong Sky Screen, spanning approximately 500 meters in length and 32 meters in width, is 21 meters above the ground. The giant LED sky screen crosses the entire Yuanrong Times Square, surpassing the length of the Las Vegas Sky Screen. It is activated on schedule every night, where you can witness the blooming of large lotus leaves overhead and colorful fish swimming above. Opening hours are from January 1st to December 31st, open all day. For preferential policies on amusement projects within the scenic area, please call 0512-62659265 for details.
Related Content：
West of Tibet, Towards the Scorching Mountains and Rivers
Chongming Mingzhu Lake Park
Qingxi Country Park, A Good Place for Autumn Outings
Spring Outing and Admiring Flowers, Live up to the Spring Scenery. A Brief Note on Cherry Blossom Appreciation in Wuxi, Jiangsu in March 2023
Qixi Festival | Celebrate the Moment with Beautiful Scenery and Love at Marriott International Hotels in China
West Lake Scenic Area