Can a high-speed rail terminal double as a public park?

Our wining design for Suzhou North Station in China’s Jiangsu Province envisions a walkable, three-dimensional garden — a layered urban precinct where high-speed rail, urban life and rich cultural heritage come together.

Suzhou is one of China’s most celebrated historic cities, renowned for its UNESCO World Heritage classical gardens, canal landscapes, refined craftsmanship spanning calligraphy, painting and jade carving, and poetic literary traditions. Long admired as a place where urban life and nature exist in delicate balance, the city combines a rich cultural legacy with the energy of a fast-growing contemporary centre.

FROM TRANSIT STOP TO NATIONAL HUB

Suzhou North Station is ideally located to connect the city with the wider region and drive new development around the terminal. Building on its role within the Beijing – Shanghai High-Speed Railway network, the station’s expansion and connection to new rail lines will elevate it from an intermediate stop into a national-level integrated transport hub. 

Inspired by the city’s celebrated culture, gardens and seasonal beauty, our design for the station positions it as a green retreat within the urban landscape. 

It’s a place where commuters, residents and visitors can move seamlessly through the transit spaces while experiencing the atmosphere, intimacy and poetic qualities of Suzhou life.

The challenge for Suzhou North Station lies in balancing the scale and complexity of a major transport hub with the need for a welcoming, human-centred public space. As a significant city gateway, the precinct must support efficient passenger movement, seamless transport connections, urban density and future growth. At the same time, it must remain comfortable and connected to the surrounding neighbourhoods, ensuring the station’s scale does not overwhelm daily life but instead becomes part of the city’s social and cultural fabric.

A LAYERED SANCTUARY FOR PUBLIC LIFE

Hassell’s design is based on the idea of creating a multi-level garden-infused journey — a layered precinct that integrates station functions with leafy landscapes, public spaces, cultural amenities and community programmes. Drawing on the theme Suzhou Life: Scenes of a fleeting life, halls of dreamlike splendour, our design creates a sequence of interconnected spaces that offer moments of tranquility, discovery and lively interaction. These spaces celebrate the romantic beauty of Suzhou, reflect local rituals and everyday life, and provide flexible settings for exhibitions, gathering, movement and rest.

The scheme also responds to the city’s future ambitions by combining diverse cultural expressions with forward-thinking urban design. Rather than a sterile transport hub, the precinct unfolds on a human scale providing accessibility, inclusivity and comfort. It reinterprets the hidden bamboo forests within Suzhou’s famous classical gardens into spectacular light-filled sanctuaries. Beneath the soaring transit canopies, pocket parks feature towering stands of bamboo alongside vibrant, open public squares. 

Our design moves the station beyond a place of rushed transitions, slowing the pace of travel to create a rich, welcoming urban destination where daily life and local art cross paths. In doing so, Suzhou North Station becomes both efficient and memorable — a contemporary gateway that honours the city’s heritage while supporting its growth as a dynamic, connected and culturally rich city.