Once upon a time, Suzhou typified the water towns of Jiangnan, the area south of the Yangtze River home to villages interlaced by canals, rivers and lakes. Today, at the far end of the spectrum, what was 30 years ago a large but sleepy town is now a juggernaut, generating a GDP of ¥2.4 trillion in 2022, far dwarfing any other city in Jiangsu.
从前，苏州是江南水乡的代表，江南以南地区是运河、河流和湖泊交织的村庄的所在地。 今天，在光谱的远端，30年前是一个大而沉睡的小镇现在是一个巨无霸，2022年国内生产总值为2.4万亿日元，远远超过了江苏的任何其他城市。
There’s a saying, “In Heaven there is Paradise; on Earth there is Suzhou”. It wasn’t a reference to Suzhou as a magnet for brand names with shoppers in tow; they were talking about the city’s Old Town, where, along the alleyways, high walls on both sides protect the privacy of secluded residences beyond.
有句话说：“天堂有天堂；人间有苏州”。 这并不是指苏州是吸引购物者的品牌磁铁；他们谈论的是城市的老城，沿著小巷，两侧的高墙保护了外面僻靜住宅的隐私。
And that of the many classical gardens for which Suzhou is so famed. Among them, the Humble Administrator’s Garden, Suzhou’s largest classical Chinese garden considered by some to be the finest example anywhere in southern China. Therein, the arrangement of rocks and water among the many pavilions and bridges is the very foundation of Feng Shui.
以及苏州著名的众多古典园林。 其中，Humble Administrator’s Garden是苏州最大的古典中国花园，被一些人认为是中国南方任何地方最好的例子。 在那里，在众多亭子和桥梁之间布置岩石和水是风水的基础。
Not far away, few words capture the spirit of Suzhou’s Pingjiang Lu better than “enchanting”. As a true step back in time, this is the place to relive the old, to find some authenticity that dates back to the Song Dynasty. For it is amid such alleys and lanes that can be found the typical houses of ancient Suzhou, standing simple and unsophisticated by the street. Their traditional white stucco walls, adorned by sloping black roofs stained by the rain’s ink brushwork, are the very soul of Suzhou.
不远处，很少有词比“迷人”更能捕捉到苏州平江路的精神。 作为真正的时光倒退，这是一个重温旧时光的地方，寻找一些可以追溯到宋朝的真实性。 因为正是在这样的小巷和小巷中，可以找到古代苏州的典型房屋，街道上矗立着简单而朴素。 他们传统的白色灰泥墙，装饰着被雨水的水墨笔迹弄脏的倾斜的黑色屋顶，是苏州的灵魂。
They were also the inspiration for that nearby, where the old collides with the new in spectacular style at the Suzhou Museum. Today a global icon, with its architecture by Pritzker Prize-winning architect I.M. Pei, the Suzhou Museum is one of the most visited museums in the world.
他们也是附近的灵感来源，在苏州博物馆，旧与新以壮观的风格碰撞。 如今，苏州博物馆是全球标志，由普利兹克奖获奖建筑师I.M. Pei设计的建筑，是世界上参观人数最多的博物馆之一。
It’s also something of a metaphor for Suzhou as today one of the most highly developed and prosperous cities in China.
这也是苏州作为当今中国最发达、最繁荣的城市之一的隐喻。
Tourism drives much of that local wealth, together with a large manufacturing sector, churning out iron and steel, textiles and electronics. And with Shanghai as a direct neighbour, minus some of the associated operating costs, Suzhou is a much-favoured destination for foreign investment.
旅游业推动了当地的大部分财富，以及大型制造业，生产钢铁、纺织品和电子产品。 上海是直接的鄰居，減去一些相關的運營成本，蘇州是外國投資的首選目的地。
Helping to drive that reputation is Suzhou New District (SND) in the west of the City, approved by the State Council in 1992 as one among the first batch of national high-tech industrial development zones. As a counter balance to the east, Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) includes the famed China-Singapore Cooperative Zone, the first governmental cooperation project between China and Singapore.
帮助推动这一声誉的是位于该市西部的苏州新区（SND），1992年被国务院批准为第一批国家高新技术产业开发区之一。 作为对东方的平衡，苏州工业园（SIP）包括著名的中新合作区，这是中国和新加坡之间的第一个政府合作项目。
Much of SIP is located on the banks of Jinji Lake. There, the skyline is dominated by the “Gate to the East”, the 74-floor skyscraper which took ¥5 billion and 11 years to build, only to have locals turn around and simply call it, “The Pants”. It sits beside the Suzhou Centre Mall that won the MAPIC Award for “Best New Shopping Centre” in 2018, being recognised for its innovation and quality in the global retail real estate industry.
SIP的大部分位于金鸡湖畔。 在那里，天际线以“东门”为主，这座74层的摩天大楼花了50亿日元和11年的时间建成，只是当地人转过身来，简单地称它为“裤子”。 它位于苏州中心购物中心旁边，该购物中心于2018年获得MAPIC奖“最佳新购物中心”，因其在全球零售房地产行业的创新和质量而受到认可。
Suzhou has, at time of writing, five metro lines in operation, with as many as eight more under construction. Further public transportation is provided by the Suzhou SND Tram, opened in 2014 and operated using an overhead catenary system. Two such tram lines are in operation across SND.
在撰写本文时，苏州有五条地铁线正在运行，还有多达八条正在建设中。 进一步的公共交通由苏州SND电车提供，该电车于2014年开业，使用架空悬索系统运营。 两条这样的有轨电车线路正在SND运营。
Suzhou is 1 hour by high-speed train from Nanjing and 20 minutes from Shanghai. The city is also served by Sunan Shuofang International Airport, which it shares with Wuxi City.
从南京乘坐高铁到苏州需要1小时，到上海需要20分钟。 该市还由与无锡市共享的苏南硕芳国际机场提供服务。
