Taohuawu (Peach Blossom)

Taohuawu was the home of one of the four major Chinese New Year woodblock-print traditions, alongside Yangliuqing in Tianjin, Wuqiang in Hebei, and Mianzhu in Sichuan. The Taohuawu New Year print tradition emerged in the late Ming and reached its peak in the late Qing and early Republican periods, with prints distributed across the lower Yangtze region for the lunar New Year — protective gate gods, auspicious folk-tale scenes, household-protection deities, and seasonal good-luck images.

The 20th century was difficult for traditional Chinese folk-art workshops. The Cultural Revolution and the spread of inexpensive printed posters undermined the print market. By the 1990s only a handful of master print-makers remained; the tradition was added to the national intangible cultural heritage list in 2006, providing renewed institutional support and apprenticeship funding.

The current Taohuawu Woodblock Print Museum, on Taohuawu Avenue, exhibits historical print examples and houses several active workshops where visitors can watch the print-making process — colour separation across multiple woodblocks, hand registration, and traditional pigment preparation. The museum shop sells contemporary prints and reproductions.

The Pan Family Garden, in the same district, is a smaller classical Suzhou garden — under the radar of the major UNESCO-listed gardens but worth the visit for those who have already seen the canonical sites and want a quieter experience.