Suzhou, like many other Chinese cities, was once surrounded by a ring of walls and gates. But since much of the city's commerce and transportation took place on its network of canals, complete walling of the city would have been impractical. As a result, Suzhou created a system of "water gates" - small forts which had openings for both land and water traffic. Just as the wooden doors could close off roads into the city, the canals could be sealed from above. One of these gates is still preserved today - the Panmen Gate – and there is only one of its kind in China today.

Panmen Gate stands at the southwestern corner of the ancient city of Suzhou. With a history of 2,500 years, this city gate is the most completely preserved part of the ruins of the ancient city of Suzhou. Stepping onto the top of the gate, you can see the Wumen Gate Bridge and the Auspicious Light Pagoda. Together, they are popularly known as the Three Scenes at Panmen Gate.

Panmen Gate
As the center of this scenic area, Panmen Gate was first built during the Wu Kingdom of the Spring and Autumn Period (770BC-476BC) and it is the only well preserved water-and-land city gate in the world now. It consists of the land city gate, the water city gate, the city gate tower, the Weng City and the city wall on both sides. It was a place with utmost importance for the army in ancient times. The double water city gate is a pioneering work in architectural history. There is a sluice on the gate which can be closed and opened by a stone gate at any time to control the water as well as resist aggression. Upon the gate, there is a city tower. It was damaged many times in wars and the present Panmen Gate Tower was built in 1986 to commemorate the 2,500th year anniversary of the establishment of Suzhou. There are many ancient weapons on display on the first floor of the tower. The city wall is 300 meters long and 5 meters high. Walking along the slope on the north of the city wall, you can see the whole arrangement of Panmen Gate.

Wumen Gate Bridge
Not far from Panmen City Gate, visitors can see Wumen Gate Bridge. It was built in 1084 and is the highest ancient bridge in Suzhou now. The bridge is 11 meters high and 66.3 meters long. It is recorded that it was made up of three bridges originally and has been repaired many times in history. In the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), it was rebuilt into a single-arched stone bridge. There are 50 steps on both sides of the bridge. Standing on the bridge, you can see not only the boats coming and going frequently on the river but also the high pagoda and fine scenery in a distance.

Auspicious Light Pagoda
Standing at the entrance of the scenic area, Auspicious Light Pagoda is the oldest pagoda in Suzhou. It is 53.57 meters high and was built in masonry-timber structure with eight sides and seven floors. It is said that the pagoda was built by Sun Quan (a famous king who established the Wu Kingdom in the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280) in 247 to show his respect to his mother. Unfortunately, in the next 1,000 years, the pagoda was badly damaged in the wars, leaving only the brick body of it. In 1978, a little pagoda with Sheli (Buddhist shrine) was found on the third floor of the Auspicious Light Pagoda and some other cultural relics were also found, such as a Miaofalianhua Scripture written on green paper and bronze Buddhist Statue.

There are many other scenic spots to see around here, such as Premier Wu Zixu's Memorial Temple, Hall of Sirui, Double-Pavilion Corridor Bridge and Century Bell of Tang. After admiring these, you will be satisfied with the traditional Chinese activities, including bell-tolling, boating and acrobatics. Moreover, the traditional wedding show is also enjoyable.