City: The Integration of “Mountain–Water–City”—The Foothill Hydrological Network in the Western Suburbs of Suzhou City and the Development of the Ancient City

This chapter takes the ancient city of Suzhou and the foothill hydrological network of its western suburbs as the research object, examining the integrated “mountain–water–city” model within traditional Chinese urban development from a regional perspective. By analyzing the formation and evolution of four key elements natural substratum, river–lake hydrological networks, farmland water conservancy, and cultural landscape the chapter elucidates how Suzhou’s site selection, spatial structure, and urban form were grounded in a regional landscape system reshaped through sustained human intervention. The study demonstrates that the western suburban foothill zone functioned as a critical mediator linking Lake Tai’s water system with the ancient city, integrating flood control, irrigation, transport, and landscape formation, and thereby consolidating a distinctive and resilient shanshui urban structure.