Exhibition examines 30 years since China and Singapore established the Suzhou Industrial Park in Jiangsu province, a thriving commercial hub, Lin Qi reports.

Suzhou, in East China's Jiangsu province, is well-known for its picturesque scenery and serenity. Its rich cultural and artistic accumulations since ancient times are vividly presented in these well-built, classic private garden residences.

Suzhou also boasts modern charm, with the Suzhou Museum, which blends tradition and modernism in its architectural features. It is a building of brilliance designed by I.M. Pei, the late architect whose family hailed from Suzhou.

In the city where the past meets the present and the East meets the West, residents witnessed a transformation of Suzhou in 1994 when Suzhou Industrial Park, a government-to-government project between China and Singapore, was established to enable the city, a commercial hub since ancient times, become a more prosperous center of trade.

An exhibition of paintings from Singapore was opened in Suzhou that same year to boost cultural exchanges between the two countries.