At first glance, Suzhou feels like a city made of water. 

Walking beside the canals that ribbon through the city, you feel time thinning. Boats slice slowly under the arcs of stone bridges, their wooden hulls mirrored in water so clear you can count the riverbed stones. White homes lean gently toward the banks – eager listeners to stories the river carries. The air hangs fresh and damp, while from the banks rise chatter and bursts of laughter.

The city traces its roots back over 2,500 years to 514 BC, when it was founded as Helü City by the king of the Wu state during the Spring and Autumn Period. Its famed network of canals began as practical infrastructure – constructed to move goods, grain and troops – but over centuries became something more poetic: an entire way of life shaped by water. 

However, long before Suzhou became known as the "Venice of the East," its relationship with water was defined by one man: the semi-mythic figure of Yu the Great. Around 2200 BC, Yu famously tamed China's catastrophic floods by diverting them into a vast network of canals and drainage systems. 

Though his most documented work focused on the Yellow River basin, the principles he laid down influenced hydraulic engineering for millennia – reaching into the lower Yangtze region and shaping cities like Suzhou. 

The city's intricate canal system is a living echo of Yu's belief that you cannot conquer water, you can only guide it. 

But beneath these practical systems runs a different kind of current.

Locals whisper of water spirits watching over the tides of Suzhou's fortune. According to oral traditions, they first appeared in times of imbalance – drought, flood, political chaos – emerging veiled in mist to calm the city's pulse. 

Lantern ceremonies were once held in their honor, floating light across the canal like a silent prayer.

Today, the rituals are gone, but traces linger. Some boatmen still whisper thanks before launching, a quiet nod to the unseen guardians believed to watch over the waters. 

And some whisper that in the soft haze after rain, they have seen a quiet shadow gliding over the bridges – watching as the canals flow on, eternal and untamed.

*This article is part of China, Soft Focus – a slow journalism series that offers textured, human-centered glimpses into culture, history, and everyday life across China through measured pace and intimate storytelling.

Catch up on the articles in the series to follow the full journey:

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1933 Old Millfun, Shanghai: Art Deco maze meets urban hauntings

From Ming quiet to market clamor: Beneath curved roofs of Yuyuan