Hanshan Temple is located in the west outskirts of Suzhou. The temple was first built in the Tianjian period of the Liang Dynasty (502-557). A famous monk, Hanshan, was said to have been in charge of the temple during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) so it was named after him. There is a famous poem about the temple by the Tang Dynasty poet, Zhang Ji, "Away from the town of Suzhou stands Hanshan Temple, the chime of its midnight bell reaches as far as my boat."

The temple compound is a scene of luxuriant green creating a secluded atmosphere, which lies on the side of the ancient canal 3.5 kilometers west to Suzhou and covers 45 hectares. The buildings in it are in an unadorned and natural style. In the center of the compound stands Mahavira Hall. Behind the hall stretches a wooden corridor, at the end of which stands a small tower with a wall behind and a stream in front.

Listening to the bell tolls of the Hanshan Temple on the New Year's Eve has been an exceptionally grand occasion since its beginning in 1979. On every New Year's Eve, thousands of visitors at home and abroad gather inside and outside the temple to listen to the one hundred and eight bell tolls and pray for luck and happiness in the new year. The Maple Bridge and the Jiangchun Bridge stretch over the ancient canal and are simple and elegant in shape. Looking into the distance on the bridges, the sights of hills, waters and fields outside the city of Suzhou leaping up into the eyes and are unfolding in all their majesty.

The Tieling Pass that is facing water at two sides and lying side by side with the Maple Bridge is the only relic extant of the military and civilian people of Suzhou in the Ming Dynasty resisting the aggressors. The old Maple Bridge Town was a flourishing market place in the prosperous times of the Tang Dynasty. With simple and elegant buildings, streets in front and rivers behind, high and low houses, prosperous commerce, and distinctive style, the town is an old one in the land of waters south of the Yangtse River with tourism, enjoyment and shopping integrated as one. In the Alternative Hanshan Yard, the oriental cherries are in full bloom and the osmanthus is sweet-scented.

The huge 22 meters long three-dimensional model of "The Famous Historical Relics of the Maple Bridge" in the Exhibition Hall of Historical Relics and Materials of the Maple Bridge" is a comprehensive expression of traditional arts and crafts of Suzhou and artistically reproduce the prosperous sights and simple folk customs outside the Changmen Gate of Suzhou at the end of the Ming Dynasty and at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty.