The Suzhou dialect (; Suzhounese: , ), formerly romanized as the Soochow dialect and now also known as Suzhounese, is a branch of Wu Chinese, one of group of Chinese linguistic varieties. Suzhounese is spoken in the city of Suzhou in China's Jiangsu Province and is the traditional prestige dialect of Wu. Considered one of the most flowing and elegant languages of China, even effeminate, it is rich in vowels and conservative in having many initials.