Written historical records indicate that Suzhou has a history of over 4000 years, which entitles the city one of "24 Cultural and HistoricCities" approved as the first group of its kind by the State Council.

For thousands of years Suzhou has been a cradle of talented people. In ancient times Suzhou gave birth to many remarkable politicians, philosophers, strategists, scientists and artists, represented by Sun Wu, Fan Zhongyan, Shen Kuo, Tang Ying, Gu Yanwu, Kuai Xiang. In modern times, prominent people from Suzhouemerge in large numbers in various fields. Suzhou's painting, calligraphy, seal cutting, opera, medicine and architecture all have different schools and achievements. Its traditional handicrafts such as embroidery and Taohuawu woodcut picture enjoy a high reputation at home and abroad.

With a history of more than 2,500 years, the city still stands at its original location in the Spring and Autumn Period. The double chessboard layout of "water and land in parallel, canal and street in neighbor", its network of rivers and canals composing three vertical, three horizontal and one ring, and its unique landscape of "small bridge, flowing water, white wall, black tile, cultural relics and classic gardens" are well preserved. Currently, Suzhou has 487 cultural and historical relics under municipal-and-upper level protection, of which 15 are under state-level protection and 101 are under provincial protection. Over 60 classical gardens are well preserved and 9 of them are listed in the Catalog of World Cultural Heritage, including Humble Administrator's Garden, Lingering Garden, Master-of-nets Garden, Mountain Villa of Embracing Beauty, Surging Wave Pavilion, Lion Grove Garden, Garden of Cultivation, Garden of Couple's Retreat, Garden of Retreat and Reflection. Other famous tourist attractions include Tiger Hill, Panmen Scenic Area, Shihu Lake, Lingyan Hill, Tianping Hill and Yushan Hill. Most scenic spots around the Taihu Lake are also in the city's administrative areas. In addition, thousand-year-old towns like Zhou Zhuang, Tongli and Luzhi feature the waterside sceneries in the Yangtze River Delta. In 1998 Suzhou was awarded "Excellent Tourist City of China".