Mudu Ancient Town
Mudu Ancient Town
4
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Monday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Tuesday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Wednesday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Thursday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Friday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Saturday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Sunday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
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4.0
100 reviews
Excellent
25
Very good
46
Average
24
Poor
2
Terrible
3
Jim
822 contributions
Feb 2024 • Family
Our family paid a visit to Mudu Ancient Town during Chinese Spring Festival. The town is free to enter and explore, though the free part of the town is mainly all kinds of snacks and tourist souvenir stores. The street is very crowded during a big holiday such as Spring Festival, as Suzhou did a good job (e.g., reasonable hotel rate) to attract tourists from nearby metropolitan area (e.g., Shanghai and Nanjing). The town has a number of paid attractions, which you can visit with a combo ticket of about RMB 39 (purchased from Ctrip, as it will be about 50% discount compared with buying the ticket at the gate). People with Chinese ID 70 years old can visit the paid attraction free of charge. You will get a 2D barcode which can be scanned for paid entrance to the tourist attractions. It is a worthy attraction to visit.
Written 13 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Raymond W
Townsville, Australia4,535 contributions
Apr 2014 • Couples
Let's start with practicalities. Mudu is easier to reach these days as Line 2 of the Suzhou Metro comes out here. The sign from the Mudu Metro station says it is four kilometres more to the an cient town, but this feels wrong to us. We walked it on the way back in a leisurely thirty minutes. You can take a taxi, however, and it cost us a mere 12 yuan.
The combination ticket to the four main sights has now gone up from 60 yuan to 78 yuan. You can buy individual tickets though. We bought a ticket for the Hongyin Mountain Villa and the Ancient Pine Inn, which cost 40 yuan and 20 yuan respectively. We figured two old Chinese mansions would be enough for one day.
So is Mudu worth it? We liked the attractions you had to pay for. The bargain here was the Ancient Pine Inn which seemed better maintained and more interesting than the sprawling, run-down mountain inn. The 500 year old pine and the gingko tree are quite lovely, as are the elaborately sculptural rockeries and the fish ponds. The intricate wood carving and creakiing floorboards add to the old world charm. On its own, we'd give the inn four stars.
On the other hand, there is something a bit tatty about Mudu away from the old villas and gardens. As so often in China, most of the historic neighbourhood has been demolished and there are plenty of old houses in the vicinity being cleared still. In the end, Mudu has ended up as less of an old town and more of two or three old streets amidst the encroaching sprawl of suburban Suzhou. Many of the shops are modern concrete imitations too, which doesn't help. Overall, come for the paid sights but don't expect too much from the surroundings- just a couple of stone bridges and some flag stones.
The combination ticket to the four main sights has now gone up from 60 yuan to 78 yuan. You can buy individual tickets though. We bought a ticket for the Hongyin Mountain Villa and the Ancient Pine Inn, which cost 40 yuan and 20 yuan respectively. We figured two old Chinese mansions would be enough for one day.
So is Mudu worth it? We liked the attractions you had to pay for. The bargain here was the Ancient Pine Inn which seemed better maintained and more interesting than the sprawling, run-down mountain inn. The 500 year old pine and the gingko tree are quite lovely, as are the elaborately sculptural rockeries and the fish ponds. The intricate wood carving and creakiing floorboards add to the old world charm. On its own, we'd give the inn four stars.
On the other hand, there is something a bit tatty about Mudu away from the old villas and gardens. As so often in China, most of the historic neighbourhood has been demolished and there are plenty of old houses in the vicinity being cleared still. In the end, Mudu has ended up as less of an old town and more of two or three old streets amidst the encroaching sprawl of suburban Suzhou. Many of the shops are modern concrete imitations too, which doesn't help. Overall, come for the paid sights but don't expect too much from the surroundings- just a couple of stone bridges and some flag stones.
Written 30 April 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hsaka
187 contributions
Must visit when you go to Suzhou. There are 4 temples near this town which is in ancient style and the most attractive oh this town is the hill near the ancient scenic spot Wer u can see the whole Suzhou town from the top of the hill for an aerial view.
Written 31 December 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
carlos f
Suzhou, China109 contributions
Mar 2013 • Solo
Based on the Trip Advisor recommendations, last saturday, I made the trip to Mudu. I have been living in Suzhou for 3 years and I think the reviews on Mudu are overrated. Tongli, Jouzhang and even Pingjiang Lu are much better alternatives than Mudu. It is clean and have a lot of small food and not very attractive souvenirs. It has 3 or 4 highlights(a garden, a palace, a temple) but not spectacular. No entry fee for Mudu but you have to buy a 60 RMB ticket to enter the attractions. Besides, the way to Mudu from Suzhou is chaotic due o the actual construction work(March 2013). The best I found was photo on the review. Nice people,
Written 23 March 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cynthia W
Xi'an, China104 contributions
Aug 2014
When I arrived at this town, there is an area with washrooms and small stores. and I walked a long with a narrow street with lots of street food such as tofu and skewers, which is kind of boring. While I found out I can pay for a boat and see this town from the river, kind of cool and feel really relaxed on the boat. you can also listen local ppl singing.
Written 27 November 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wendy1764
Chessington, UK137 contributions
Nov 2018 • Couples
The best bit to this place was the cost of the bus ride from Central Suzhou to Mudu- ¥1- wow & the beautiful fish in one of the gardens- unfortunately can’t remember the name of it.
Mudu wasn’t quite how I imagine it to be, thought it would be more untouched. The area is linked with walkways to all the gardens & house, which you need a ticket for- Cost was around ¥100 for all of them.
Plenty of touristy stalls & places to eat too.
Would I go again ?? Probably not.
Mudu wasn’t quite how I imagine it to be, thought it would be more untouched. The area is linked with walkways to all the gardens & house, which you need a ticket for- Cost was around ¥100 for all of them.
Plenty of touristy stalls & places to eat too.
Would I go again ?? Probably not.
Written 21 November 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
HeyJude433
Doha, Qatar138 contributions
Jan 2013 • Friends
Mudu is a working water town. Don't expect the Disney experience and be prepared for warts and all. It's easy to walk around and a camera is essential. We got the feeling that not many Westerners visit here because we created a lot of attention, pure curiosity on the local's part. There are gardens and temples to visit. There is an entry fee for each attraction but an all inclusive ticket is available at any of the sights. This will access the four main sights. (80 RMB) The town itself is a network of narrow streets with many small arched bridges crossing the canals. From the metro station it's a 4 km walk to the ancient town. Buses, bike taxis and taxis are plentiful. We visited in January and there was no charge to enter the town. However, I have read that in the "high season" an entry fee is charged. We did notice some turnstile gates on entry, so this could be true.
Written 29 January 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wanderer783934
52 contributions
Sept 2019
We found out this water town by mistake. We were booked into a hotel way out of the city centre. Our friends told us we were near this town. They had never been there. On arrival 10.45am wandered around on our own.no one there It is a typical water town with tourist shops and local restaurants. It’s pretty and old is old away from the Main Street. The boat ride on the river didn’t look appealing so we don’t do it. There are better places to go than here. The good thing is not to many people. Got busy but nothing like the bigger towns.
Written 5 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sim N
Melbourne, Australia78 contributions
May 2019
This ancient town is quite similar to any water town in Suzhou but is newer as compare to Tongli, as you walk along the stone pathway , it will leads you to Shantang Street which is the famous tourist street for eatery and shops for tourist to get silk souvenirs.
Written 24 May 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ATA-CTX
Singapore, Singapore11 contributions
Oct 2014 • Business
An ancient water town that is linked by water ways. Qing emperor also loved this town that he has a vacation palace that he will rest when he visited Suzhou during his reign ! Many historical monuments to see on foot or by boats. If you love Silk, you should visit some genuine silk stores that you may be able to purchase some good silk garments and ornaments !
Written 4 May 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Carlos,
If coming from Shanghai, what is the best water town to visit?
Most authentic?
Or most picturesque ... with the little stone bridges, etc.
I visited a really nice one almost ten years ago ... part of a day-tour out of Shanghai but I don't remember the name of it. all I have are a few photos.
Thanks so much.
Rick Schmidt
Mexico City
Written 13 July 2015
I suggest you visit Suzhou, which has many lovely small canals lined with older restored buildings, stone bridges, etc And much else to offer. We will spend four nights in Suzhou and wish we had planned to spend more.
Written 28 April 2017
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