Personal Tailor, a film directed by Feng Xiaogang, premiered on the Chinese mainland on December 19. Since most scenes were shot in Suzhou of Jiangsu province, the film has lifted the profile of Suzhou, Jinji Lake and Yangcheng Lake. An event themed around custom tours to Suzhou kicked off on December 22. Suzhou will promote tourism routes specifically designed for winter.

The Suzhou municipal tourism bureau invited the five biggest travel agencies from South China to carefully design routes for tourists to experience the city.

Two routes have already been released. Both routes take four days and three nights and visit attractions such as Hanshan Temple, Lingering Garden, Shajiabang town and Jinji Lake.

Zhang Xueqiang, vice-manager of the Suzhou Cultural International Travel Service, said that in the past Suzhou was simply a stop on travel routes for tourists from southern provinces and cities such as Guangdong. Most tourists only visited Hanshan Temple and gardens in the old area of Suzhou and would not spend the night.

“The two customized routes focus on Suzhou. All the attractions are in Suzhou. Except for well-known places such as Hanshan Temple and the garden, the routes include some scenic spots that many people may have heard of but have never been to, including Yangcheng Lake (a good place to taste crabs), the Shajiabang scenic area that may be familiar to middle-aged and old people, and places that Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty visited,” Zhang said.

Tourism routes designed for tourists from North China will be released in January 2014.

Tourists who are interested in self-service tours can find information, designs and products on 17u.cn.