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Suzhou Pan Gate

The Pan Gate locates at the southwest corner of Suzhou city. With a history of 2,500 years, this city gate is the most completely preserved part of the ruins of the ancient city of Suzhou. The Pan Gate was listed as an important national culture relic by the State Department in 2006.

The Pan Gate was first built in 514 B, C, and it was rebuilt at the end of Yuan Dynasty. Although it has been renovated and rebuilt many times through the ages, its location has never changed an inch. The Pan gate is the only remaining land and water gate in Suzhou ancient city. With water gates and land gates towering side by side, Panmen Gate looks very imposing. The Pan Gate consists of two gates, the inside gate and the outside gate. Between the two gates, there is the urn city, which equipped with all kinds of facilities needed in ancient defensive battles, such as shooting holes, sluice gateways and lookout towers. By doing so, the ancient Suzhou city can be protected well.

The Pan Gate itself is a two-storey red house-like building with a curved roof. It doesn't look like a defensive building at all. It was built in 1986. However, the house-like building sits on a large solid base that has an arched opening. The area is huge and has much more than just the gate. The entire area has been turned into a scenic spot with a lot of historical interests. It is large and very nice. The area originally had a temple, and only the pagoda is left from it now. The pagoda is well over a thousand years old and quite beautiful. The pagoda was built in the North Song Dynasty. It is 43.2 meters tall. It has 7 layers. The precious culture relics were found in the pagoda many times. In 1963, on the pagoda's cliff of the first layer, there discovered two wood Buddha statues.

In recent years, the Pan Gate spot becomes a famous tourist attraction. In order to attract more tourists, in recent years, the city of Suzhou has renovated the old wall and built many other attractions around the original gate in the Pan Gate Scenic Area. It is a very nice place to stroll and relax.