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Tiger Hill

Tiger HillTiger Hill is located in the southwest of Suzhou City, it is one of the most renowned tourist destinations in Suzhou, which is in fact a hillock about 30 meters in height. However, this tourist attraction site comprises nearly a dozen of historic and cultural relics, Yunyan Pagoda, Sword-testing Stone, the Thousand Men Rock, sword pond, etc. The millennium-old Yunyan pagoda in Tiger Hill Garden stands on the top of the hill and is considered as the symbol of Suzhou.


Tiger Hill Pagoda (Yunyan Pagoda) is another legend for the historic site, it can be traced back over 2,500 years to the time when Suzhou was initially founded. The tower is 48 meter tall brick pagoda with seven stories and eight sides. It was constructed earlier and taller than the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It leans to the north by about 3.5 degrees. The tower was partially repaired in 1981 by the local government. Concrete piles have been driven into the ground around the pagoda in order to reinforce the foundation. Like many pagodas of the Tang and early Song periods, it is a stone imitation of earlier (or contemporary) wooden pagodas. The "brackets" and "lintels" carved on the surface are not structural, but decorative.


Sword Testing Stone and Sword Pond is another landmark of the historic site. It is said that a King in old China who was a collector for the finest swords and he tested them upon this stone. The crevice thus left in the rock is an evidence for the legend. It is believed that these swords were buried beneath the Sword Pond as the King’s funerary items. A thousand slaves, it was said, who built the tomb were buried alive with the deceased King upon completion of the tomb.