First of all, the geographical location of Suzhou and Yangzhou does belong to the Jiangnan area. And there are many literary descriptions of Suzhou and Yangzhou in history. For example, there is a well-known saying: There is heaven above, and there are Suzhou and Hangzhou below. Suzhou and Hangzhou are talking about Suzhou and Hangzhou. There is also a poem in it: Fireworks descend on Yangzhou in March. Especially when Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty went to Jiangnan, he specially came to Suzhou and Yangzhou. Therefore, from literary works, our impression of Suzhou and Yangzhou will be deeper.

Second, Suzhou and Yangzhou have indeed done a better job in publicity. Although Hangzhou also belongs to the Jiangnan area, more people seem to think that Hangzhou is a modern metropolis. Suzhou and Yangzhou are more like a girl in a cheongsam holding a pipa and half covering her face. They are so antique and have their own unique charm. Especially Suzhou and Yangzhou have many representative things. When talking about embroidery, people will think of Suzhou embroidery. When talking about Jiangnan women who play pipa and sing ditties, people will think of Suzhou singers. Maybe it’s because these two cities have more representative things of their own that better reflect the unique charm of Jiangnan.

Thirdly, there are many relatively well-preserved ancient towns and villages in Suzhou and Yangzhou, all of which have a special Jiangnan charm. Walking into these small towns is like walking into Jiangnan. Because tourism is well promoted, many people think of their ancient towns and villages when they think of Jiangnan.

In fact, Jiangnan generally refers to a very wide area, including not only Suzhou and Yangzhou, but also other places. However, they may not have been developed or promoted and are not known to others. As long as you If you dig carefully, you can always discover the Jiangnan charm of their cities.