Suzhou Local Talk: Pingjiang Lu


Pingjiang Lu is a quaint street in Suzhou Old Town. The road runs adjacent to a small waterway complete with gondolas. With a wealth of charming shops, cafes and restaurants, take your time buying trinkets and grazing on Suzhou delicacies as you lazily walk over to the Humble Administrator's Garden and Suzhou Garden Museum.

Momi Café

With two locations on Pingjiang Lu and stores in tourist areas across China, this zakka-style café chain, full of cute graffiti, has established itself as a fun place to stop and grab a drink. Featuring books and a wide selection of coffees and milk teas, the shop is also known for its large collection of postcards, which you can arrange to have postmarked and sent to you at any time in the future.
25 Pingjiang Lu & 184 Pingjiang Lu

Classic Pingtan Songs Of Suzhou

This restaurant is attached to Higher Hotel and puts on classical Pingtan Songs, a local storytelling art form, while you eat your lunch or dinner. You can watch the show from 5:30pm to 7:30pm every weekday, and there is an extra lunchtime showing at 11:30am to 1:30pm at the weekends.
62-67 Pingjiang Lu

Street Food

Pick up local delicacies and camera-ready snacks at the many street food stalls along the road. We loved our animal shaped, sweet, steamed buns, and our friends enjoyed the pictures even more on WeChat!
Available at food stalls along the street

Cat Café

This one doesn't need too much explaining. It is a café full of cute cats, which paying visitors can pet. Just buy your overpriced drink at the door, apply some hand sanitising lotion and you’re all set to enter the playpen-cum-teahouse.
Just off Pingjian Lu (follow the cat signposts)

Hairy Crab

A delicacy all over China, Suzhou is the place to go and eat the best, authentic hairy crab. Lots of restaurants along the street sell the critters, but go during peak season, before Chinese New Year, to get the biggest and juiciest beasts.
Available in restaurants along the street

Suzhou Impressions

Checkout this quirky store for home decoration ideas, and to pick up a wooden trinket to take home with you. Larger pieces of furniture are also available, although would be hard to take around with you on a day-trip!
178 Pingjiang Lu

Teahouse

This is a modern twist on a classic Chinese Teahouse and you would be forgiven for thinking that you had just stepped into a Whittard of Chelsea store on an English high-street. This is an excellent place to try new varieties of tea, as all of the packs have English translations. A perfect place to buy a thoughtful present for loved ones.
187 Pingjiang Lu