Get to know Kunshan
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- Administrative area
- County-level city · 县级市
- Part of
- Suzhou
- Chinese name
- 昆山市
- Local areas
- County-level city guide
Area & population
- Area in the source
- 927.68 km²
- Population · 2020
- 2,092,496
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
Setting and landscape
The city borders Changshu (常熟) and Taicang (太仓) to the north, Shanghai's Jiading (嘉定) and Qingpu (青浦) districts to the south and southeast, and Wujiang (吴江) and Suzhou to the west. It measures 931 square kilometres, more than 17.51 per cent of it water. The land is low and flat on the Lake Tai plain, crossed from west to east by the Wusong River (吴淞江) and the Lou River (娄江). Yangcheng Lake (阳澄湖) lies in the northwest and Dianshan Lake (淀山湖), Cheng Lake (澄湖) and Kuilei Lake (傀儡湖) in the south.
History
A county has existed here since the Qin. In 1724 Xinyang County (新阳县) was split off, and the two counties were run from the same walled town until they merged again as Kunshan County in 1912. Taiping forces took both in 1860 and changed the second character of the name (to 昆珊) until they withdrew in 1863. The county became a city in 1989.
What to see
The city government groups Kunshan's tourism into water towns, ecological resorts, rural stays and city leisure. Zhouzhuang (周庄), beside Dianshan Lake in the south, is the only 5A scenic area; it is a water town of small bridges over running water and large old courtyard houses that became famous through the paintings of Chen Yifei (陈逸飞). Jinxi (锦溪) and Qiandeng (千灯) are both 4A water towns, and both are on the national list of historic and cultural towns.
Tinglin Park (亭林园), the other 4A site, lies in the northwest corner of the city and wraps around Yufeng Hill (玉峰山), a single saddle-shaped hill rising from the plain. It opened as a park in 1906 and was named in 1936 after the scholar Gu Yanwu (顾炎武), whose literary name (hao) was Tinglin. Three museums stand inside: the Gu Yanwu Memorial Hall, a Kunqu Opera Museum with stream water led into the building, and a museum of Kunshan stone (昆石), an ornamental rock whose processing craft the city lists as intangible heritage.
Food and local products
Yangcheng Lake is known across China for its freshwater crabs. Other local specialities are Aozao noodles (奥灶面), Zhouzhuang Wansan pork knuckle (万三蹄), Zhoushi braised duck (周市爊鸭) and Zhengyi green rice dumplings (正仪青团子).
Highlights
- Zhouzhuang 周庄古镇: Kunshan's only 5A scenic area, a water town beside Dianshan Lake.
- Jinxi 锦溪古镇: 4A water town, named a national historic and cultural town in the fourth batch.
- Qiandeng 千灯古镇: 4A water town, named a national historic and cultural town in the third batch.
- Tinglin Park 亭林园: 4A park around Yufeng Hill with museums of Gu Yanwu, Kunqu opera and Kunshan stone.
- Aozao noodles 奥灶面: Listed among Kunshan's local specialities.
Sources for this guide
旅游文化 · Kunshan Municipal People's Government
位置 · Kunshan Municipal People's Government
历史文化 · Kunshan Municipal People's Government
亭林园 · Kunshan Municipal People's Government
昆山市 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 · Chinese Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-25.
Explore Kunshan
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Places to explore around Kunshan
Canal, boats and waterside houses in Zhouzhuang Ancient Town · 周庄古镇河道与民居. Source-recorded photograph date: 2006-12-26.Zhouzhuang Ancient Town周庄古镇
Zhouzhuang's canal-side streets in Kunshan are marked by the Double Bridges and merchant residences that show different layers of water-town history.
Read the place guide →
A canal in Qiandeng ancient town lined with traditional houses, with a stone arch bridge in the distance, Kunshan · 昆山千灯古镇沿河老街，远处为石拱桥 Source-recorded photograph date: 2011-10-28.Qiandeng Ancient Town千灯古镇
Water town south of Kunshan with the Qinfeng Pagoda, Gu Yanwu's family home and tomb, a stone-slab street and a hall to Kunqu founder Gu Jian.
Read the place guide →
Jinxi Ancient Town · 锦溪古镇Jinxi Ancient Town锦溪古镇
Jinxi, in southwest Kunshan, links canal-side streets and stone bridges with the open water of its surrounding lakes.
Read the place guide →Plan your visit
Getting there
Kunshan is about 35 km in a straight line from central Suzhou. Search for 昆山市 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →Build your route
Zhouzhuang Ancient Town and Qiandeng Ancient Town are both listed here. The linked place guides have entrance and visit details.
Continue with Suzhou →More in Suzhou
Sources & geographic information
Administrative names and parent areas: Official geographic directory · Reference date 2026-09-06.
Some facts checked against 昆山市 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: Zhouzhuang Ancient Town · ngader · CC BY 2.0. Full source framing retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or subject alteration. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Qiandeng Ancient Town · Gisling · CC BY-SA 3.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Jinxi Ancient Town · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Pins mark approximate centres, not entrances or boundaries.