In the west of Suzhou, leaning against the Tianchi mountain range in the north and adjacent to the ancient town of Mudu in the east, there is a famous cultural town named Cangs hu which has beautiful scenery and a gathering of talents. It has always had the reputation of ‘town of stone carvings, town of delicious food, and town of flowers and trees’. Inlaid in it is a rare ecological green lung in Suzhou – the White Elephant Bay Happy Ecological Park. Inside the park, mountains are piled up with emerald green and clear waters surround it. Throughout the year, the scenery is different in each season: in spring, there are fragrant flowers; in summer, there are cicadas chirping and making a racket by the brook; in autumn, there is a full moon reflecting in the center of the lake; in winter, there is white snow covering the forest quietly. According to legend, a long time ago, the eel spirit in Taihu Lake often came to the area around Cangs hu to bring disaster to the people. It would come to the village regularly to steal boys and girls, making the villagers panic-stricken and living in dire poverty. One day, when the eel spirit was waiting for an opportunity to cause chaos, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, riding on a six-tusked divine elephant, happened to patrol here. Seeing this situation, he was very angry. So he sent his mount, the six-tusked divine elephant, to descend to subdue demons. The six-tusked divine elephant transformed into a white-clothed scholar and came here. After several battles with the eel spirit, it finally subdued it. From then on, everyone lived a peaceful and happy life. To remember the merit of the six-tusked divine elephant in protecting the people in this area, the common people piled up stones to form the shape of the divine elephant and worship it forever. The story has been passed down from generation to generation by the people, and thus White Elephant Bay got its name. The White Elephant Bay Happy Ecological Park covers an area of 550 mu. Its predecessor was a nursery. Now it has been built into a comprehensive ecological park integrating ‘novel and happy experiences, display of farming civilization, and leisure and health preservation vacations’. The entire ecological park is divided into four major areas: the auspicious entrance area, the farming civilization display area, the novel and happy experience area, and the sweet love witnessing area. Inside the park, one can experience novel and interesting project activities such as ‘Passing through Every Challenge’, ‘Hall of Illusions’, and ‘Giant Country’. At the entrance of the scenic area, a relief sculpture of ‘Legend of White Elephant Bay’ depicts the legendary origin of White Elephant Bay. The content above is the story of ‘The six-tusked divine elephant bravely fighting the eel spirit in Taihu Lake’. When coming to a mountain gate that ‘looks like an elephant but not exactly an elephant’ and passing through ‘a hidden paradise’, one enters the auspicious world. Once entering this gate, one will definitely have ‘auspiciousness accompany you and wishes come true as you desire’. The White Elephant Bay Happy Ecological Park intentionally integrates the element of ‘happiness’ into the ecological environment. Sitting and looking around, in the Baihua Teahouse, while sipping tea and looking at the landscape, one can enjoy the tranquility and happiness in the deep mountains. Various elephant sculptures in the park are distributed everywhere in the scenic area. In the green forest, the mother elephant curls up with the baby elephant and plays. By the brook, two baby elephants are playing in the water with naive and lovable appearances. In the Hall of Illusions, the three-dimensional pictures with the theme of ‘The elephant and its good friends’ let people feel magical scenes in visual differences. For a moment, the baby elephant pushes open the window and extends its long trunk. For a moment, Manny the mammoth hides on the roof and shows its long tusks.
Each scene vividly captures the dynamic and three-dimensional activities of elephants and their friends. Standing on the Guan Guan You Dao path, it feels as if one has entered the world of Super Mario, navigating through levels with speed and rhythm, occasionally stepping on boards that emit strange cries or being surprised by a sudden burst of water mist from above. The Giant Land is a paradise for children, with towering ‘mushrooms,’ huge ‘carrots,’ and ‘corn’ creating a wonderland akin to Alice’s Adventures, where children bypass the chubby village chief wielding a staff to reach the elephant slide, climbing up the tail and sliding down the trunk. When tired, they can rest on the enormous ‘banana’ to bask in the sun. In front of the Giant Land, there is an enormous ‘beehive,’ where one can lie inside and experience the ‘home life’ of bees. Bai Xiangwan is a mountain village where one can breathe deeply and be happy, with a peaceful heart and a joyful expression, looking forward to everyone ‘visiting Bai Xiang often to enjoy Bai Xiang.’ Operating hours are from April 1st to October 7th, 08:30-17:00; and from October 8th to March 31st, 08:30-16:30.
Preferential policies for children: Children aged 6 years old (inclusive) or below 1.4 meters (inclusive) in height, accompanied by an adult, enter for free with valid identification; minors aged 6 years old (exclusive) to 18 years old (inclusive) with valid identification enjoy half-price tickets.
Elderly: Elders aged 70 years old (inclusive) and above enter for free with a resident ID or ‘Senior Citizen Certificate’; those aged 60 to 69 years old with a resident ID or ‘Elderly Preferential Certificate’ enjoy half-price tickets.
Students: Full-time university undergraduate students and below with valid identification enjoy half-price tickets.
Military personnel: Active military personnel and retired military officers of the People’s Republic of China enter for free with valid identification.
Disabled persons: Disabled individuals and one accompanying caregiver for severely disabled persons enter for free with valid identification.
Support team from Suzhou to Hubei and their families: The support team and their families can enter for free with a family garden card and personal ID until April 30, 2023.
Medical staff in Suzhou: All medical staff in Suzhou can enjoy free access to all scenic spots under the jurisdiction of Mudu Cultural Tourism Group for seven days starting from August 19th, Chinese Physician’s Day, and May 12th, International Nurses’ Day.
Additional information: The above information is for reference only; specific details are subject to the public notice of the scenic spot.
Service facilities: Parking lot – [Bai Xiangwan Visitor Center Parking Lot], reference price: ¥20/hour; Address: Visitor Center Parking Lot, Cangshu Bei Road, Mudu Town, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province; Capacity: 120 spaces.
White Elephant Bay
In the west of Suzhou, leaning against the Tianchi mountain range in the north and adjacent to the a[...]
