Suzhou Shantang Street is the place that best embodies Wu culture and Su-style life. Shantang Street is located in the northwest of the ancient city of Suzhou. From Hemen to Huqiu, just seven miles contains the full connotation of Suzhou. In 2010, Shantang Street was appraised as a “Model Unit for the Protection of Chinese Cultural Heritage” and was named “China’s Famous Historical and Cultural Street”.
Among the many streets and alleys in Suzhou, Shantang is known as “the first street of Gusu”, it is the epitome and classic of Suzhou ancient city. If you walk slowly along Shantang Street, you can enjoy the special charm of Jiangnan Water Village and Suzhou Streets, and have a unique flavor!
There are a multitude of merchants’ halls concentrated on the Suzhou Chamber of Commerce Museum on Shantang Street. After the entry of the Chamber of Commerce exhibition, it will be seen the development history of Suzhou Chamber of Commerce, including major events in various periods, the purpose of the Chamber of Commerce as well as its hot-blooded history. All of these show the patriotism of Suzhou people, and protecting the country is the greatest significance for the existence of Chamber of Commerce.
Suzhou Shantang Kunqu Museum, currently the only place where Kunqu opera performances are performed every day, has become one of the representatives of Shantang Street.
Nowadays, although Shantang Street has passed the past busy traffic of merchant ships, it still maintains the traditional pattern of “Old Streets in Waters” and “One River, One Street”, as well as the historical features of small bridges with flowing water and pink walls with tiles, which preserves the integrity of cultural heritage. As “the epitome of old Suzhou, the window of Wu culture,” Shantang Street has become a must-visit place for tourists to visit Suzhou.
