Because Suzhou is only 50 miles from Shanghai, it is relatively easy to get to. Most Shanghai
tour companies (and, thus, hotels) offer a one-day trip to see Suzhou's highlights. It is also very
feasible to take the train on your own. The train takes only an hour, though because the Shanghai
train station can be a bit chaotic and there aren't that many English speakers, it can be a little
challenging. One good option (and what I did) is to take the train to Suzhou, stay overnight, and
then continue on to Nanjing, another city worth seeing and only a little over two hours by rail
from Suzhou.