Shantang Street Historical and Cultural Block in Suzhou

Shantang Street Historical and Cultural Block in Suzhou
苏州市山塘街历史文化街区

The Shantang Street in Suzhou is as famous as the West Lake in Hangzhou. An old saying has it that "Hangzhou has West Lake while Suzhou has Shantang".

There are two shantangs in Suzhou, one in Mudu and the other on Shilu Road. The shantang discussed here is Qili Shantang Street, which was given that name because the total length of the main street is about qili, or seven li (about 3.6 kilometers).

The Shantang Street Historical and Cultural Block is located in the northwest of Suzhou ancient city in Jiangsu province. The old Shantang Street, 360 meters long, takes up a section of the 3.6-kilometer-long Qili Shantang Street and is the essence of the main street.

The buildings are architectural compounds composed of many "falls" and "advances", where the term "falls" means vertical and "advances" refers to horizontal structure.

Famous attractions:
Tonggui Bridge, Yuhan House, Ancient Drama Stage, Jiangnan Ship Culture Museum, Suzhou Museum of Chamber of Commerce

Yuhantang, or Yuhan House, is the former residence of Wu Yipeng, a teacher of an emperor in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It is the largest and the best preserved ancient building complex of that period.