144 Hours in China: What to See and Do in Jiangsu

Since China expanded the scope of its 144-hour visa-free transit policy last year, "China travel" has been on everyone's lips, from online influencers to attendees of the recent 14th China-U.S. Tourism Leadership Summit, drumming up enthusiasm among United States tourists to travel to China.

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Data show that more than half of U.S. tourists visiting China this year stayed for more than 15 days, with a heavy concentration of millennials.

Naturally, many first-time visitors to China are keen to see the "big-ticket" items, such as the Great Wall, pandas, and the Terracotta Warriors. However, it is in Jiangsu where they can truly broaden their China travel horizons.

Suzhou, a quintessential water town south of the Yangtze River, embodies classical Chinese aesthetic sensibility. The celebrated Chinese Garden Court at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art is based on the design of Dianchun Pavilion in the Master of the Nets Garden, one of Suzhou's most famous classical gardens. Suzhou is a garden city par excellence with 108 registered gardens, including nine classical gardens listed as UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites. Coexisting with the gardens is Kunqu Opera, the oldest form of Chinese opera still performed today. It is the progenitor of other forms of Chinese drama and is inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. With its exquisite costumes, graceful melodies, and garden setting, Kunqu Opera performances are popular with visitors to the city. Perhaps one day, such an experience will become an unforgettable memory of your time in China.