Changshu

Changshu is a historic county-level city administered by Suzhou, its name meaning 'always ripe' in tribute to its fertile, flood-safe farmland in the Yangtze Delta. A nationally designated famous historical and cultural city, it is set against Yu Mountain and the scenic Shang Lake on the town's western edge. Changshu is traditionally regarded as the origin of beggar's chicken, the clay-baked whole chicken now found across China. The Fangta, a Song-dynasty square pagoda, anchors a preserved quarter of the old town. Nearby Shajiabang, a reed-filled wetland made famous by a revolutionary opera, is a popular eco and red-tourism destination.