The northwest end of Shantang Street leads to Tiger Hill, and the southeast end is at Changmen. The street runs parallel to Shantang River. Ancient bridges span the river. On both sides of the flagstone street are old houses with white walls and black tiles and numerous shops. At night, the lit red lanterns are reflected in the river, making it suitable for taking photos. You can also take a cruise or find a teahouse to drink tea and listen to Pingtan.
Shantang Street runs from southeast to northwest with a total length of about seven li, so it is called ‘Seven-li Shantang’. Shantang Street has a history of thousands of years. It was built under the supervision of Bai Juyi, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, when he was an official in Suzhou. Now at the southern end of the street, you can see the Bai Gong Ancestral Hall built by the people to commemorate Bai Juyi. Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty had a special preference for Seven-li Shantang. The imperial stele pavilion with the inscription ‘Seeking Beauty in Shantang’ written by the imperial brush is still well preserved. There are also ancient sites such as memorial arches, ancestral halls, and guild halls. There are more than a dozen guild halls alone. They were once the Suzhou offices of out-of-town chambers of commerce and were mostly built in the middle of the Qing Dynasty. The southeast of Shantang Street, that is, a small section near Changmen, is called ‘Shantang Old Street’, which is about 360 meters long. This section has relatively dense shops, gathering various handicraft stores and snack bars. There are also major scenic spots such as Yuhan Hall, Antai Fire Brigade, Tonggui Bridge, Suzhou Chamber of Commerce Museum, and ancient stage. It is the place with the most commercial atmosphere and the largest number of tourists on the entire street. Yuhan Hall is the former residence of Wu Yipeng, the minister of personnel in the Ming Dynasty. It is an ancient architectural complex outside Suzhou. This building gathers various room forms in China such as halls, chambers, buildings, pavilions, and studios. Through the carved beams and painted pillars here, you can feel the strong cultural and artistic characteristics of the Ming Dynasty. Tonggui Bridge is an arched stone bridge spanning Shantang River. It is a good place to appreciate the water town scenery of Suzhou. It is also a classic location for oil paintings and watercolor paintings. People who are carefully painting can often be seen on the bridge. Moreover, award-winning movies such as ‘Plum Blossom Scarf’ and ‘Blush’ were also filmed here in the early years. There are many traditional old food stores on Shantang Street, including large restaurants like Songhelou, as well as inexpensive and good snack bars like Rongyanglou and New Year Snack Bar. There are also dim sum stores like Huangtianyuan Cake Store and Caizhizhai Candy Store. You can taste traditional snacks such as plum blossom cake, begonia cake, and red bean paste sweet porridge. And folk craft stores selling antiques, calligraphy and painting, carvings, paper-cuts, etc. are everywhere. Open all year round, open all day. Service facilities Parking lot: [Xinmin Bridge Parking Lot] Reference price: ¥6/hour; Address: Xinmin Bridge; Number of parking spaces: 60.Shantang Street
The northwest end of Shantang Street leads to Tiger Hill, and the southeast end is at Changmen. The [...]
