2,500 years ago, HE Lv (阖闾), Emperor of the State of Wu, ordered WU Zixu (伍子胥) to establish Suzhou City based on ancient Chinese geomancy.

In Ming and Qing Dynasty, Suzhou has already been a famous industrial and commercial city because of its developed industry and commerce. Marco Polo, Italian traveler, praised it as “Oriental Venice”…

Since the adoption of the policy of reform and opening-up, Suzhou has experienced such three phases as the industrialized promotion phase, which brings the construction of small town through the development of township enterprises, one more industrialized promotion phase, which expands the urban area through the development and construction, and phase of interaction between the urbanization and industrialization, which focuses on implementing the urbanization strategy fully.

The urban management of Suzhou was taken into serious consideration at the beginning of 1980s, when Suzhou Urban Management Committee was established with special offices under Suzhou Municipal Construction Committee, with the mayor as the Director. In 1990, the Urban Management Committee Office became independent from the Construction Committee and came under the direct leadership of Suzhou Municipal Government. Then in 1995, Suzhou Public Environment Committee was established and the Urban Management Office was cancelled. With a view of accommodating to the development objective of realizing the modernization and the urban development strategy of “making Suzhou larger, stronger and more beautiful” so as to reinforce the comprehensive function of a central city, Suzhou Urban Management Bureau was set up, which was also called “Urban Administrative Enforcement Bureau”. In the process of reforming all municipal government departments in 2001, it performed the relatively concentrative administrative function of punishment as an experiment unit, therefore, Suzhou Public Environment Committee was cancelled and its function has been merged into Suzhou Urban Management Bureau.

苏州的城市化和城管发展历程

2500年前，吴王阖闾命伍子胥“相土尝水、相天法地”而建姑苏城 ……

明清时，苏州工商业发达，成为著名的工商业大都会。意大利旅行家马可 .波罗赞誉苏州为“东方威尼斯”……

改革开放后，苏州经历了以乡镇企业发展带动小城镇建设为标志的工业化推动时期、以开发建设带动城市扩容增量为标志的工业化推动时期和以全面实施城市化战略为标志的城市化与工业化互动时期等三个阶段 ……

苏州的城市管理工作在 80年代开始得到重视。80年代初，苏州成立了以市长为主任的城市管理委员会，下设办公室，隶属于市建设委员会。1990年城市管理委员会办公室从建设管理委员会中分离出来，为市政府直属部门。1995年 建立苏州市公共环境委员会，同时撤消市城管办。 1996年苏州市公共环境委员会改名为苏州市环境管理委员会。为适应率先基本实现现代化的发展目标，"做大、做强、做优、做美"苏州，增强中心城市综合功能的城市发展战略，2001年在全市政府机构改革中， 2001年机构改革时，结合开展城市管理相对集中行政处罚权试点工作，组建“苏州市城市管理局”，增挂”城市管理行政执法局”牌子，一套班子，两块牌子。 不再保留市环境管理委员会，其职能并入市城市管理局。