Jinji Lake is located in the Suzhou Industrial Park, showcasing Suzhou’s modern side with its high-rise buildings and urbanization, contrasting with the ancient city area. Slightly larger than Hangzhou’s West Lake, it attracts numerous tourists daily for leisurely walks, shopping, and dining. Couples also prefer this location for their wedding photoshoots.
The scenic area has four entrances and is an open park, accessible from any entrance. Most visitors start from the West Entrance, near which there is a metro station. You can see the new landmark of Suzhou, the Oriental Gate skyscraper, colloquially known as ‘Big Pants.’ Right outside the metro exit, there is a bicycle rental point for those who wish to cycle around the lake.
Upon entering from the West Entrance, you will find yourself in Lakefront New World, the starting point of the Lakeside Boulevard. There are water-friendly wooden corridors and many lifelike bronze statues of artists along the avenue. On good weather days, you can see many people running or cycling here. The lake-side lawn is perfect for picnics, barbecues, and kite flying. You will also see the ‘Harmony’ sculpture standing by the lake.
If time permits, you can purchase a boat ticket from the West Lake Pavilion pier to visit Peach Blossom Island in the heart of Jinji Lake. During the season when peach blossoms are in full bloom, the entire island is filled with a rosy sky. After exploring the West Entrance, you can walk or take a water bus from the West Lake Pavilion pier to the Li Gongdi pier. Li Gongdi is the only long dam in Suzhou Jinji Lake, preserving the traditional residential architecture of Suzhou. You can stroll along Li Gongdi International Style Commercial Water Street, where international brands and domestic traditional shops coexist.
You can also take a free (may incur additional charges during holidays) miniature train on the style street to tour the area’s attractions such as the Fund Museum, extreme sports venues, Lake Pavilion, Lingyun Bridge, and Li Chaoqiong’s poetry stele. For couples or families with children, you can take a water bus directly from the West Lake Pavilion pier to the Moonlight Pier or enter from the North Entrance of the scenic area, where the modern leisure square is located. There, you will find the Suzhou Culture and Art Center, known as ‘Suzhou Bird’s Nest,’ connected to the Red Maple Forest landscape and Suzhou International Expo Center, housing a grand theater, cinema, and performance hall. You can take photos here or watch a 3D movie inside the cultural center.
After enjoying the daytime attractions, the night view of Jinji Lake is not to be missed. You can pay for a cruise that departs from the Moonlight Wharf in the east or Wanghu Pavilion Wharf in the west, taking about 40 minutes to pass by some of the daytime attractions. Additionally, the Jinji Lake Bridge at night is a must-see, featuring a colorful digital waterfall created by digital lighting and other high-tech means cascading from the bridge, displaying different patterns and text as it ‘flows’, becoming a beautiful night scene of Jinji Lake. Accommodation around Jinji Lake includes luxurious and comfortable high-end hotels such as the Suzhou Crowne Plaza Hotel, located on Jinji Lake, where you can enjoy the lake view from your hotel room. It is accessible from Exit 4 of Dongfang Zhimen Station on Metro Line 1, at the intersection with Modern Avenue. There are also cozy and affordable budget hotels like Jinjiang Inn and Orange Hotel. For dining and shopping, there are many lakeside restaurants, coffee shops, and bars built along the lake at Lakefront New World and Moonlight Wharf, including popular brands like Starbucks, Cold Stone, Da Yu Teppanyaki, and Shanghai Renjia. If you take the Metro Line 1 directly to Times Square Station, you can also visit the Times Square and adjacent Jiuguang Department Store, which not only has restaurants and shops but also the ToysRUs toy store and Cartoony Paradise that children love. Additionally, the Times Square sky screen, about 500 meters long and 32 meters wide, hangs 21 meters above the ground. The giant LED sky screen spans the entire Times Square, longer than the Las Vegas Sky screen. It is turned on at set times every night, where you can see large lotus leaves blooming overhead and colorful fish swimming above. Opening hours are all day, every day. For preferential policies on attractions within the scenic area, please call 0512-62659265 for details.
