Soochow University Suzhou

Before the communists took over, this college was China's oldest private university, founded by missionaries of the Methodist church in 1900. The university is still in operation and its beautiful old campus is accessible from the west gate (西门; xīmén), where you’ll see St Joseph Church, built in 1881, standing right outside. Inside the leafy campus are ivy-clad colonial buildings, the most notable being the imposing Clock Tower and the Laura Haygood Memorial Hall. The Xiangmen metro stop (exit 1) is next to the north gate of the campus, or bus 8 from the train station will drop you off at the west gate.