Luzhi Ancient Town is located 25 kilometers southeast of Suzhou city center, less crowded with tourists compared to other popular water towns, making it an ideal weekend destination for leisurely strolls. Cross the several double bridges, known as ‘two steps and one bridge’, and admire the riverside buildings with white walls and black tiles. Explore the setting of the story ‘Extra Harvest of Thirty to Fifty Pecks’ from middle school language textbooks.
Originally named ‘Fuli’ due to the ‘Fuli Pond’ to the west of the town, it was later renamed ‘Luzhi’ because of the direct port to the east, leading to six places, with a water flow shape resembling the character ‘甪’. The ancient town shares the same age with the ancient city of Suzhou, with a history of over 2500 years, much older than the other ancient towns in Suzhou like Zhouzhuang and Tongli.For purchasing tickets for small scenic spots, enter through the main gate of Luzhi Ancient Town on Xiaoshi Road, where the ticket office is located. If you do not buy a ticket, you can enter the ancient town from any road. The town is not large, with only one main street – Nanshi Shangtang Street to Nanshi Xiatang Street. No matter where you enter, you will end up on the north-south oriented main street, with the main attractions on both sides.
On the west side of the northern section of the main street is the Xiao Residence, built during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty; on the east side is a memorial hall with Qing Dynasty architectural style. On the west side of the middle section of the main street is the Bao Sheng Temple, south of which is the partially open but already quite large Qing Dynasty mansion, the Shen Residence. On the east side of the middle section of the main street is the newly built Jiangnan Cultural Garden, which houses the Luzhi Historical and Cultural Museum, displaying artifacts from the Chenghu site, testifying to the long history of Luzhi. The Luzhi Water Town Women’s Costume Museum displays unique Luzhi women’s attire, such as headscarves and blue printed cloth patchwork clothing.
Near the northwest corner of the Jiangnan Cultural Garden, in the center of the town, are the representative double bridges of the ancient town, Sanyuan Bridge and Wan’an Bridge. At the southern end of the main street, based on the article, is the transformed Wansheng Rice Mill (Luzhi Water Town Agricultural Implements Museum), which restores the layout of the rice mill and displays various agricultural implements.
For traditional performances, there are shows at the ancient stage in Jiangnan Cultural Garden at 10:00, 13:30, and 15:00 every day. To take a boat tour of the ancient town, go 100 meters east of the ancient town ticket office to the boat dock, where each boat costs 150 yuan for 4 people, and a tour takes about 30 minutes. Note that the boat fee is paid per boat, 150 yuan per payment, without individual tickets.
There are many tourists taking photos in ancient costumes in the ancient town. You can also pay to join the ranks of ancient costume photography. If you want to taste the delicious food of the ancient town, you can go to the fork in the south section of the main street – Xihui Shangtang Street and Xihui Xiatang Street along the river, where there are many shops. You can eat special delicacies such as Fuli Trotter, Fuli Duck, and Aozao Noodles. After September, fresh red water chestnuts with eight corners are on the market in Luzhi Ancient Town. For purchasing special products, you can choose Luzhi dried radish. The small round ones are especially good. There are accommodations in Luzhi Ancient Town. However, since you can return to the urban areas of Suzhou and Shanghai on the same day after visiting the ancient town, accommodation is not very necessary. If you want to stay overnight, then the Composition Museum is recommended. The museum displays desks and chairs for reading, as well as previous composition books and newspapers. Compositions are pasted everywhere on the walls because of its strong scholarly atmosphere. Opening hours: Open all year round from 08:30 to 17:00. The ancient town streets are open for free. The business hours of each scenic area in the ancient town refer to the disclosed business hours. Boat tour time: 8:30 – 16:30. Preferential policies: Children: Children under 1.4 meters (inclusive) in height are free; children over 1.4 meters (exclusive) in height and under 18 years old (inclusive) (need to show relevant documents such as ID card or household registration booklet) are free. Students: Students can enjoy student discounts by showing their student ID cards and are free. Elderly: Elderly people aged 70 years old (inclusive) and above (with valid documents such as ID card and senior citizen card) are free; elderly people aged 60 years old (inclusive) to 69 years old (inclusive) (with valid identity documents) are eligible for discounted tickets for the elderly. Military personnel: Retired military cadres and retired sergeants (sergeants), and preferential care recipients enjoying national pension and subsidy are exempt from admission tickets with valid identity documents and are free. Medical personnel in Suzhou: Within 7 days starting from International Nurses Day on May 12 and Chinese Physician’s Day on August 19 every year (from May 12 to 18, from August 19 to 25), medical personnel in Suzhou can enter the park for free (the first entrance ticket during the day) by presenting the ‘Suzhou Medical Personnel Park Card’ and using it with their own ID cards. Free within 7 days starting from International Nurses Day and Chinese Physician’s Day. Disabled people: People with disability certificates and one accompanying person of severely disabled people can enter the park for free. People with ‘three-free’ treatment: People with certificates of National Voluntary Blood Donation Contribution Award, Voluntary Donation of Hematopoietic Stem Cells Award and Lifetime Honorary Award for Voluntary Blood Donation Service are free. Fire rescue personnel: In-service, retired, disabled fire rescue personnel, fire rescue academy students and full-time government firefighters are free. People with honors for courageous acts: People holding the ‘Jiangsu Province Honorary Certificate for Courageous Acts’ are free. Model workers: Model workers in Wuzhong District and people holding the honorary certificate of Suzhou environmental sanitation are free of charge. Tourism Bureau preferential certificate: People holding the preferential certificate of Wuzhong District Tourism Bureau are free of charge. Service facilities: Parking lot: [Parking lot of Luzhi Ancient Town] Reference price: ¥10/time; Address: Next to the tourist center; Number of parking spaces: 150. WIFI: Account: Taihu_Travel; Password: No password; Coverage: Tourist service center in the scenic area. Mobile phone charging: The scenic area provides fast charging service in the lobby of the tourist service center. Scenic area interpretation: The scenic area provides manual interpretation.
Entrance Fee: 80 yuan per visit. Operating Hours: 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM.
Garden Transportation: Reference price: 150 yuan per boat; Address: Luzhi Ancient Town Visitor Center Dock or Wan Sheng Rice Mill Dock; Route: Luzhi Ancient Town Visitor Center to Wan Sheng Rice Mill Dock or Wan Sheng Rice Mill Dock to Luzhi Ancient Town Visitor Center Dock. Restrooms: Multiple restrooms are located within the Luzhi Ancient Town scenic area, near the Visitor Center Hall, Lu Duan Square, next to the Cultural Park’s Water Town Clothing Museum, beside the Ancient Stage, opposite the Zhengyuan Road Cultural Station, next to the Sanyuan Bridge, and by the Celebrity Hall Bird Boat Bang, all marked with conspicuous signs.
