In the modern architectural field, I. M. Pei earns a high reputation and is a well-known architect. He is the only world-class Chinese architect as well as one of the most important architectural artists in the 20th century.

I.M.Pei was born in Guangzhou on April 26, 1917. His ancestry was a prominent family in Suzhou. For a period of time, I. M. Pei spent his childhood on his family's private garden, the Lion Forest Garden, in Suzhou. I. M. Pei said, "It did have an influence on my work." Since 1930s, he has designed many museums, colleges, commercial centers and skyscrapers. Over 70 years' career in architecture, his inspiration has created many public buildings in Canada, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, Singapore, Iran and Taiwan. In 1983, I. M. Pei was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize. I. M. Pei pursues the dream and surpasses himself continuously in making his buildings immortal. He is a true outstanding architect in the world.

New museum designed by I.M.Pei is completed in October 2006, covering over 10,700 square meters and located at the cross of Dongbei Street and Qimen Road. It is divided into three sections. The center includes the entrance, the hall and the main garden, the West Wing is exhibition area and the East Wing belongs to administration offices and education area. The layout of three axes is matching the style of Prince Zhong's Mansion. The whitewashed plaster wall with dark gray clay tile is the construction characteristic of Suzhou. The new museum adopts it as the primary colors. Instead of using traditional clay tiles, the roof is made of gray granites with uniformed colors. Modern steel structure is applied to the new museum to replace traditional roof beam structure. The interior is decorated with wooden frames and white ceiling. In addition, metal sunscreens with wooden panels instead of traditional carved windows lattice are introduced to make the new museum more sophisticated.  Under the design concept of “Chinese style with innovation, Suzhou style with creativity” and the idea of “not too high, not too large and not too abrupt”, through bold and meaningful site selection and high-quality construction, the new museum becomes a modern comprehensive museum with humanism connotation. It not only has the character of Suzhou style garden, but also contains the simple geometric form of modern art as well as the exquisite structural layout with full function. The construction of the new museum makes good use of space resource to advocate the culture, and to disclose the elegance of architecture and technical development. The new museum is adjacent to classical gardens such as the Humble Administrator's Garden, Zhong Wang Fu and the Lion Forest Garden. By enriching each other, they all become a historical and cultural gallery.

New Suzhou Museum is the last design of Mr. I. M. Pei in his career. It is not only a public construction symbol in Suzhou, but also an innovative mark bridging Chinese architectural culture from the tradition to the future. Prompting the protection of Suzhou cultural heritage, the new museum also has turned a new page for Suzhou Museum.