Tiger Hill (hǔ qiū shān 虎丘山), located 7 kilometers away from the west Suzhou City (sū zhōu shì 苏州市), is 34.3 meters above sea level, covering an area of 282.3 mu. It is said that there was a white tiger coming to the hill to guard it following the burial of King Helü (hé lǚ 阖闾), hence the name of Tiger Hill. One thousand years ago, Su Dongpo (sū dōng pō 苏东坡), the famous litterateur in the Song Dynasty (sòng cháo 宋朝), said that it is a great pity for one if he comes to Suzhou without visiting Tiger Hill. The hill was crowned as the No. 1 Scenic Spot in Suzhou (wú zhōng dì yī míng shèng 吴中第一名胜) for its beautiful scenery and long history.

There are many cultural relic in Tiger Hill, such as the Huqiu Pagoda (hǔ qiū tǎ 虎丘塔), Sword Pool (jiàn chí 剑池), and Thousand Workmen Stone (qiān rén shí 千人石).

Huqiu Pagoda was constructed during the late Zhou Dynasty (zhōu cháo 周朝), and completed in Northern Song Dynasty (běi sòng 北宋). it is the first leaning tower in China, just second to the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. It is with seven stories, in the shape of octahedron. The main body of the pagoda is piled up by bricks, with wooden eaves on each storey. Huqiu Pagoda is the master piece of the brick pagoda of the 10th century in the south region of the Yangtze River. the pagoda was destroyed by fire from Song Dynasty to Qing Dynasty (qīng cháo 清朝), therefore, the pagoda at present is 47.5 meters high. In 1956, many cultural relics were discovered in the pagoda, such as the porcelain of Yue Kiln (yuè yáo 越窑).

Thousand Workmen Stone is the key landscape of Tiger Hill. It is said that Fu Chai (fū chāi 夫差), the son of the King Helü killed all the workmen who had took part in the construction of the tomb of Helü. The blood flew over everywhere even made this huge stone into red. Afterward, when it is rainy or cloudy, the stone becomes redder and seemed to bleed when it was flushed by rainwater. It is amazing that there are two rocks bulged with smooth walls which seem to be cut by knife, which actually is naturally shaped.

To the north of the Thousand Workmen Stone, there are four Chinese characters on the rock, reading “虎丘剑池" (hǔ qiū jiàn chí), which were written by Yan Zhenqing (yán zhēn qīng 颜真卿), a famous calligrapher in Tang Dynasty (táng cháo 唐朝). The Sword Pool is so called because it looks like a t sword while overlooking, and it is said that here buried three thousand of swords. The pool is the most mysterious places in Tiger Hill because the entrance of Helü’s Tomb is here.

Besides, there are Pillow Stone (zhěn shí 枕石), Lengxiang Attic (lěng xiāng gé 冷香阁), Zhishuang Attic (zhì shuǎng gé 致爽阁) and other interesting sites which will bring you great
joy.