Qian Deng Stone Slab Street runs parallel to Qian Deng Pu, stretching from north to south and connecting side roads in a hundred-foot shape. The total length is three miles, with the main thoroughfare being 800 meters long, paved with 2,072 pieces of strip-shaped granite slabs.
The ancient street is narrow, with eaves facing each other, creating a skyline, and the small buildings on both sides are close together, forming a unique appearance of the ancient town. Residents can reach across the street to pass bowls, a characteristic of the ancient town’s landscape.
The Stone Slab Street was first constructed during the Southern Song Dynasty and further extended and renovated during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In 1914, the street was reorganized and renovated by hiring Wang Shi Chang, a famous road builder from Qing Pu County, Zhu Jia Jiao, at a high cost, thus forming today’s crisscrossing layout that traverses the ancient town from north to south. It is a well-preserved stone slab street in Jiangnan ancient towns, long, good, and complete.
The surface of the Stone Slab Street is for pedestrians, and under the slabs lies the sewer system. Along the street and near the river, it communicates with the sewers of each household and the riverbank, allowing water to drain from the riverbank into the river. This is an excellent drainage system that ensures smooth drainage even during heavy rain, with water drying up quickly after the rain stops, never accumulating.
The slabs used in the Stone Slab Street are all 50 centimeters wide and less than 2 meters long, making them stable, durable, and easy to repair and replace. They serve as a model of the harmonious combination of scientific, practical, and aesthetic values. The slabs used in the Stone Slab Street have a beautiful name, ‘Yan Zhi Hong,’ but the origin of the ‘Yan Zhi Hong’ stone is now untraceable. However, the beauty of the slabs is forever presented to the public.
The Stone Slab Street is open all year round, 24 hours a day. The specific business status is subject to the daily opening conditions.
