Eating noodles, petting cats, and sightseeing at Xiyuan Temple in Suzhou—all in one guide

Suzhou Xiyuan Temple, hidden in the bustling city, offers not only delicious vegetarian noodles and buns but also beautiful garden scenery and lots of adorable cats! Here’s a detailed guide, so start bookmarking it now. 🎈Location: No. 18 Xiyuan Lane, Liuyuan Road, Gusu District, Suzhou Transportation: 🚇 Take Metro Line 2 to "Shilu Station," exit from Exit 1 and walk 15 minutes 🚌 Bus routes 406/9002 to "Xiyuan Station," get off right at the South Gate By car, park at "Jinyuhui Parking Lot," then a 3-minute walk to the temple 🎫 Ticket Information 5 RMB per person; free for children and students with valid ID FREE: At the entrance, you can get 3 incense sticks ⏰ Opening Hours: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM 🚶Tour Route: Fude Bridge → Shanmen Hall → Bell and Drum Tower → Incense Burning Area → Heavenly King Hall → Vegetarian Noodle Restaurant → Arhat Hall → Mahavira Hall → Ksitigarbha Hall Four-Sided Hall → Lakeside Pavilion → Guangren Life-Release Pond → Wisdom Bridge 📷 Must-Visit Spots Fude Bridge / Wisdom Bridge: Enter through Fude Bridge, symbolizing complete blessings; exit via Wisdom Bridge, symbolizing increased wisdom 🎈Incense Burning and Blessing 1️⃣ Get incense: Receive three sticks at the entrance 2️⃣ Light incense: Light incense on the left side of the incense burning area! Don’t blow out the flame with your mouth; use your hand to fan it out (✋¯ㅂ¯) 3️⃣ Worship incense: At the Heavenly King Hall, bow clockwise to the four directions, wishing for smoothness and no worries. Hold the incense between your index and middle fingers, thumb supporting the bottom, and wrap your left hand around your right hand, raising it above your head [facepalm] 4️⃣ Insert incense: After worship, place the incense sticks in the nearby incense burner! Insert the first stick in the center, the second on the right, and the third on the left 5️⃣ Kneel and bow 🍜 Vegetarian Noodle Restaurant: Open 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM, fresh and generous portions, while supplies last—come early! Don’t leave noodles uneaten [OK] ✅ Guanyin Noodles 15 RMB (mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and fried gluten) ✅ Lucky Noodles 15 RMB (pickled vegetables, edamame, and vegetarian chicken) ✅ At the entrance, there are also buns, mung bean soup, etc. The vegetarian buns are huge! Arhat Hall: 500 golden Arhat statues, truly impressive! 🌟 Hidden Tip: Choose an Arhat statue based on your gender (men left, women right) that you feel connected to, count to your nominal age, remember the number, then go to the next room to get an Arhat card. It’s said to be very effective! You can also check your fortune on the "Xiyuan Jieduang Lusi Temple" WeChat official account. At the entrance, you can buy an eighteen-seed prayer bead bracelet, which has been blessed~ 🎈 Mahavira Hall 🌟 Hidden Tip: In front of the hall is a three-tiered pagoda. Toss coins in a parabolic arc to dispel disasters and extend life—don’t just throw them straight. Four-Sided Hall: Free tea and scripture copying 🎈 Lakeside Pavilion: By the lake in the West Garden, there are many pigeons and lots of koi fish. Bring food to feed them. 🎈 Hidden Tip: Touch the bronze statue by the life-release pond to pray for blessings 🎈 Hidden Tip: Along the way, there are many adorable cats—enjoy the fun of petting cats If interested, you can book in advance to join the early morning class on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month. It’s an 8-minute walk to Liuyuan Garden to enjoy the garden scenery [rose] 🍃 Warm Tips [heart] 🌸 Free admission before 8:00 AM 🌸 Follow temple rules; do not take photos of Buddha statues with your phone 🌸 Don’t step on the threshold 🏨 Hotel Recommendation: Houju Courtyard Design Hotel, convenient for travel, excellent location, great front desk service, rooms equipped with Xiaodu smart home control—very convenient [smart]