The Suzhou municipal tourism bureau is promoting customizable winter tours of the city themed around the New Year, delicious cuisine and warm getaways.

Welcome the New Year in a traditional way.

Tourists can not only enjoy the beautiful scenery of Suzhou, but can also take part in traditional celebrations. Listening to the bell ringing in Hanshan Temple is a major event and an important part of the winter tours.

On the evening of December 31, 2013, the 35th bell-ringing ceremony will be held at Hanshan Temple. Nearly 10 bands will perform, and a series of other events will be held, such as a Buddhism concert and bell donation ceremony.

Tourists will be able to ring the bell themselves to make wishes.

The lantern show at Jinji Lake is also a good choice.

Welcoming the New Year in a water town is interesting. In Zhouzhuang water town, visitors will see or join in a variety of celebrations.

Suzhou’s unique cuisine

Life in Suzhou is always exquisite, especially the food. One of the characteristics of the Suzhou diet is that most dishes are made from seasonal materials. Some of the materials only grow during a certain period of the year.

In winter, the most popular dishes are made from mutton. Furthermore, chafing dishes in Xiehe restaurant, braised pork from Songhe restaurant and duck from Deyue restaurant are also popular among local residents.

Suzhou snacks will also make tourists happy. The plum pudding at Shantang Street, flat-pan fried buns at Guanqian Street and red bean sweet gruel at Pishi Street are all cheap and tasty.

Finding warmth in a hot spring

The most popular place to warm up in winter in Suzhou is at the hot springs.

The Yishe hot spring at Linhu town, the home of hot springs in Suzhou; Tianyi, the first outdoor hot spring; Sijiyue, located at Shushan ecological village; and Haiquanwan, honored as the top hot spring in the Yangtze River Delta, are all good choices to spend a cold winter day.