Location. The Gloria Plaza Hotel is located amid the 1600 stone bridges and 280 gardens of Suzhou, a city nicknamed the "Capital of Silk" and the "Oriental Venice." Located in the lower region of the Yangtze River and on the shores of lake Taihu in the Chinese province of Jiangsu, Suzhou is famous for its beautiful bridges and pagodas; a nine-storied/80 meter pagoda located there is among the tallest in China. Perhaps more than anything, Suzhou's silk industry has attracted the attention of foreigners for over a thousand years. Dating from the Song dynasty (A.D. 960-1279), guests can learn about this ancient art at the nearby Silk Museum. Manufacturing fabric from silk was a practice invented and perfected by the Chinese and was responsible for establishing major trading routes to Europe along the aptly named "Silk - Jiangsu Province - 535 gan jiang east road suzhou 215006 jiangsu province people's republic of china" />