Suzhou is a city with not many Muslim population. The Taipingfang Mosque is the only mosque in the city proper area. Halal restaurants in Suzhou mostly serve Xinjiang Uyghur cuisine. IslamiChina has summarized the following Suzhou Muslim travel tips to our Muslim brothers and sisters to travel Suzhou during a short period of time.

Tour Itinerary Planning

For Muslim Business Travelers

If you are in Suzhou for a business trip and you have one day free to travel around Suzhou, it is recommended that you visit one of the Gardens in Suzhou. The best known garden in Suzhou is Humble Administrator’s Garden which is listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO. Then you may have a 30 minute cruise on the ancient Grand Canal. Since Suzhou is famous for the production of silk, you are suggested to visit Suzhou’s Silk Factory. Once tour is over, you may join local Muslims at Taipingfang Mosque for Salat prayers.

For Muslim leisure travelers

3 Days and 2 Nights Suzhou Muslim Tour is the best choice for Muslim leisure travelers because this tour itinerary allows you to have enough time to know both Suzhou’s culture heritages as well as Muslim heritages. You are not in a hurry to get around Suzhou from one place to another. Please check IslamiChina’s Suzhou Muslim Tour 3 Days for details.

Accommodations

There is no Muslim hotel in Suzhou, you may choose to stay at international brand name hotels such as Sheraton, Hilton, Holiday Inns and dine at local Halal restaurants in Suzhou.

Halal Restaurants

The easiest way to find a Halal restaurant in China is to look for local mosque. Mosque is always located in the center of a Muslim community, no doubt, Halal restaurants can be found around Mosque serving local Halal food. In Suzhou, Halal restaurants are also located in other part of the city serving Southeast Asian Cuisine, Turkish Cuisine, local Guangzhou Halal cuisine and Xinjiang Uyghur Cuisine.

Mosques

Suzhou Taipingfang Mosque is the only mosque in Suzhou city area. It was rebuilt in 1980’s on the original site of the old mosque. Like most newly constructed mosques in China, it is in Arabic style.

Money Exchange

You can exchange traveler's checks or cash at most banks, and most 5-star and 4-star hotels always have a money exchange counter. You can also get a cash advance on your credit card on ATM machine. The exchange rate all over China are the same fixed by Bank of China. To change money, you have to have your passport at hand. If you want to change money in a hotel, you usually have to be a guest there. Sometimes if you are not a guest in a hotel but need to change money there, you can just say a random room number, but this doesn't always work. Remember to keep the exchange slip well because you need this slip to change the Chinese Yuan back to your currency if you do have this need at the end of the tour. At present, the RMB is not exchangeable on the International market, so it is only usable within the country. So when you are changing money, don't change too much, because it is difficult to change back into other currencies. To change RMB back into your home currency, you must retain the exchange slips that are given to you at the bank or money exchange counter.