Suqian 宿迁 is a third tier city located at the northwest of Jiangsu province near to the border with Shandong province. It is considered the midpoint of north and south China. Suqian city has a population of 5 million in 2024.
The city is beautiful, modern yet lush with greenery with good roads for cars / buses, and two / three wheelers safely separated. Pedestrians have their own pavement free from motor vehicles. The air is fresh as more than half of cars / buses and almost all two wheelers are electric. The streets and pavements are very clean.
Suqian has Luoma Lake in the north and Chengzi Hu Lake in the south with centuries old transportation canals running through the city. These waterways and water bodies add beauty and many leisure spots for the "right size" city. Of course, the lakes and canals provide many ingredients for Suqian's cuisine.
Suqian city has a relaxed, laid back atmosphere unlike the much more crowded first tier cities like Shanghai and second tier Nanjing (to its south).
Suqian is connected to other cities by High Speed Rail but it does not have its own metro subway.
For years, I had hoped to visit Suqian 宿迁. I have always been fascinated by the historic figure Xiang Yu 项羽, the warrior king of Chu kingdom who fought the Han kingdom but lost (in 202 BC). Xiang Yu is the legendary warrior king in the tragic love story in the renowned Peking opera Farewell My Concubine. Suqian was the birthplace and hometown of king Xiang Yu. So I was very happy that Suqian was in the itinerary of my seven day trip of Jiangsu.
I am so glad we visited Xiang Yu's old home which is now a museum dedicated to his memory.
After dinner at Suqian, we went for a walk at the popular Suqian Night Market 宿迁夜市. This is the entrance arch at the main road.
Walk under the arch, go straight and you will reach a cross junction. On your right, you see another entrance arch which says "Happiness Starts Here" 寻味宿迁 不夜天.
Go ahead, take a look.
There are about twenty colourful food trucks.
At the cross junction, looking to your left are two rows of food kiosks.
The food trucks and stationary kiosks have limited seating, so most serve convenient takeaway snacks, like this stewed beef kiosk.
A novelty creamy bun. There are both traditional and trendy cuisine at the night market.
Fried rice and noodles.
Fried marinated duck and parts. Ubiquitous in China and overseas wherever there is a Chinese community.
Chinese sandwich. Reminds me of the Vietnamese banh mi but different, of course,
This stretch has about twenty stationary kiosks.
The shops lining the food kiosks and food trucks on both sides have casual diners serving fast food like this cook-it-yourself 串串 skewer places.
Shops or stalls serving bean curd which is known as tofu brain 豆腐脑 here are popular and is a staple for breakfast, day and night across China.
At the end of the row of food kiosks, along the canal is where everybody is!
It's a hot spot where locals come to meet friends, eat, drink, sing karaoke, and have fun!
About twenty crayfish, BBQ, hotpot places to drink in, yeah the main idea is drink, whatever they sell. It's the part of Suqian that never sleeps 不夜天.
Some restaurants have these dining bubbles if you prefer a bit of privacy.
When you are in Suqian, don't forget to come to the night market, otherwise your night is wasted lo 😂
I like this beautiful view of Suqian Night Market.
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