有没有人知道关于苏州历史及地理介绍的英文文章啊

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有没有人知道关于苏州历史及地理介绍的英文文章啊

Answer 1

History
Suzhou, the cradle of Wu culture, is one of the oldest towns in the Yangtze Basin. 2500 years ago, local tribes who named themselves "Gou Wu" in the late Shang Dynasty lived in the area which would become Suzhou.
In 514 BC, during the Spring and Autumn Period, King Helu (阖闾) of Wu established "Great City of Helu", the ancient name for Suzhou, as his capital. In 496 BC, Helu was buried in Huqiu (Tiger Hill 虎丘).
In 473 BC, Wu was defeated by Yue, another kingdom to the east that was soon annexed by Chu in 306 BC. The golden era of Suzhou was over.
By the time of Qin Dynasty, the city was known as Wu County. Xiang Yu (项羽) staged his historical uprising here in 209 BC, which contributed to the overthrow of Qin.
During Sui Dynasty, the city was renamed Suzhou in 589 AD.
When the Grand Canal was completed, Suzhou found itself strategically located on a major trade route. In the course of the history of China, it has been a metropolis of industry and commerce in the south-eastern coast of China.
During Tang Dynasty (825 AD), the great poet Bai Juyi (白居易) constructed the Shantang Canal (called "Shantang Jie" or 山塘街) to connect the city with Huqiu for the tourists. In 1035 AD, the temple of Confucius was founded by the great poet and writer Fan Zhongyan (范仲淹). It became the venue for imperial civil examinations.
In February 1130, the advancing Jin army from the north sacked and massacred the city. This was followed by the Mongol invasion (1275) and destruction of the royal city (in the centre of the walled city) in the beginning of the Ming Dynasty (1367).
Afterwards, the city had a more prosperous time. Many of the famous private gardens were constructed by the gentry of the Ming and Qing dynasties. However, the city was to see another disaster in 1860 when Taiping soldiers advanced on and captured the city. In November 1863 the Ever Victorious Army of Charles Gordon recaptured the city from the Taiping forces.
After this, the next crisis was the Japanese invasion (1937). Many gardens were devastated by the end of the war. In the early 1950s, restoration was done on Zhuo-Zheng Yuan (Humble Administrator's Garden), Dong Yuan (East Garden), and others, to bring them back to life. Consequently, most of the existing gardens reflect the architectural style of the Qing Dynasty (1616-1911 AD), despite the fact that many of them date back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD).
In 1981, this ancient city was listed by the State Council as one of the four cities (the other three being Beijing, Hangzhou and Guilin) where the protection of historical and cultural heritage as well as natural scenery should be treated as a priority project.
Classical gardens in Suzhou were added to the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1997 and 2000.
Districts and satellite cities
Area: 8,488 km² (city proper: 1,650 km²)
Population: about 5.91 million (city proper: 2.17 million)
Suzhou has jurisdiction over (at county level):
districts: Canglang (沧浪), Jinchang (金阊), Pingjiang (平江), Suzhou Industrial Park(工业园区), Suzhou High & New Technology Development Zone(高新区), Xiangcheng (相城), Wuzhong (吴中)
County-level cities: Changshu (常熟), Taicang (太仓), Kunshan (昆山), Wujiang (吴江), Wuxian and Zhangjiagang (张家港)
Culture
Chinese opera: Kunqu originates in the Suzhou region, as does the much later Suzhou Opera. Ballad-singing, or Suzhou pingtan is a local form of storytelling that mixes singing (accompanied on the pipa) with portions in spoken dialect.
Silk
Handicrafts: Suzhou embroidery, fans, national musical instruments, scroll mounting, lanterns, mahogany furniture, jade carving, silk tapestry, traditional painting pigments of Jiangenxutang Studio, the New Year's wood-block prints of Taohuawu Studio.
Paintings
Calligraphic art
Cuisine: Yangcheng Lake huge crab
Suzhou Silk Hand Embroidery Art