Surrounded by several mountains, Mudu is at the junction between Suzhou and Taihu Lake and it is the portal to the lake.

Each river and each bridge there has an ancient beautiful legend attached to it.

The name "Mudu" means "timber blocking the river" and it comes from a legend during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), when King Wu was building the "Guanwa Palace" for his concubine Xishi, the huge amount of timber rafted down for the building blocked the river.

Because of its geographical position and nearby Taihu Lake and the Grand Canal, a mild climate and fertile soil, Mudu is also called "the land of fish and rice."