Suzhou Long Distance Bus Station

Waiting for Our Bus at Suzhou Bus Station

One of the reasons why we visited Suzhou was that my friend had an ex-collegue here in Suzhou. This would a perfect time to meet up, however, before all that, we needed to go sight seeing first. We called up the friend and ask how to get to the bus station. It turns out there was a bus station off to the side of the Suzhou Railway Station, something which the tout has been trying to point out all this time. The bus station isn’t exactly the normal bus stations which I was used to in China, but it was more like a drop off point for buses. Anyway, we got on the bus which will bring us to the real bus station.

Boarding Gates at the Suzhou Bus Station

It wasn’t very far either, the bus dropped us right across the bus station. This was the first time my friends experienced a bus station in China and were right impressed with the size, efficiency and the cleanliness. We purchased ticket to Zhouzhuang from the counter. There was a dedicated counter for tourist destinations and they also offer discounts for the entrance fee. It was somehow cheaper to get to Zhouzhuang from Suzhou rather than Shanghai.

Outside the Suzhou Bus Station

Inside we waited for our bus in nicely designed bus station. I thought it was a bit small for a Chinese bus station but it wasn’t peak season so it would suffice. There were destinations to numerous places, a lot of them I haven’t even heard of. There were hourly trips to Zhouzhuang from this station so it was really quite convenient. We took note of the last bus to get back to Suzhou from Zhouzhuang, lest we spend the night over at Zhouzhuang which I don’t think is actually a bad idea.

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