Pan Gate (Panmen Three Scenic Spots)

The only surviving water-and-land city gate among the eight gates of the Spring and Autumn Wu state's 'Helü Great City' (rebuilt in the Yuan Zhizheng era); paired water and land gates side by side (unique in China) + Ruiguang Pagoda (seven-story Northern Song pagoda; the Pearl Sarira Shrine unearthed here in 1978) + Wumen Bridge (the tallest Song-era stone arch bridge in Suzhou). King Helü of Wu ordered Wu Zixu to build a great city with eight gates in the Spring and Autumn period; 2,500 years later, Panmen is the only gate of the eight that preserves both a water gate and a land gate on their original site, with the surviving walls rebuilt in the Zhizheng era of the Yuan dynasty: the double-barbican structure with water and land gates in parallel is the only example in China. From the top of the wall you can watch boats pass through the water gate into the city—a living textbook on ancient urban defense and water transport. Inside the gate stands Ruiguang Pagoda, a seven-story brick pagoda of the Northern Song, where rare relics including the Pearl Sarira Shrine were discovered in 1978; outside the gate, Wumen Bridge is the tallest surviving single-arch Song-era stone bridge in Suzhou. The three sights line up as the 'Panmen Three Scenic Spots,' in tranquil garden-like surroundings with far fewer visitors than the Humble Administrator's Garden circuit.

Getting there: Metro Line 4, Nanmen Station, then transfer to a bus