Place · city

Suzhou

Also known as Pingjiang, Gusu

Suzhou is a city in southern Jiangsu, China, on the Grand Canal near Lake Tai, famous for its canals, classical gardens and silk. Called Pingjiang under the Song and Yuan, it was the capital of the rebel Zhang Shicheng from 1356 until Zhu Yuanzhang, the future Hongwu Emperor of the Ming, took it after a long siege in 1367. It remained one of China's richest commercial and cultural centres.

Suzhou
Image: 铁头娃蛤蛤 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 2 state histories

State of WuDazhou (Zhang Shicheng)

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Suzhou. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/suzhou
MLA
“Suzhou.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/suzhou. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Suzhou.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/suzhou.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Suzhou’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/suzhou (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻