Introducing Suzhou Shantang Street, Suzhou Shantang Street Guide, Suzhou Shantang Street Travel Guide
Article from Suzhou ponds and Tourism Development
Suzhou Shantang Street is located in the northwest of Suzhou, linked with Changmen in the east where aristocracies pursued pleasures, Huqiu in the west, the No.1 place of interest in the Wuzhong District. Suzhou Shantang Street was built by digging the river and constructing dams in 825 A.D. when Bai Juyi, one of the most famous poets in Tang Dynasty, took the post of Suzhou Cishi (feudal prefectural governor). Owing to its distinguished geographic location and convenient water and land transportation, Suzhou Shantang Street was one of the streets which trade and culture were most highly developed in Ming and Qing dynasties, regarded as the No.1 Ancient Street in China.
The renovated Suzhou Shantang Street becomes the place which shows the essence of natural views and human landscapes of Suzhou, which is rated as the miniature of old Suzhou and the window of Wu culture. Suzhou Shantang Street parallels with the waterway. Along the street stand a good many stores and halls which have delicate and graceful styles and scatter properly. All of above present the street's prosperity again. There is a folk song, singing "There is a paradise in heaven, but there are Suzhou and Hangzhou on the earth. Hangzhou has the West Lake while Suzhou has Shantang. Both are good places with boundless sceneries", which is the vivid image of Shantang.
Quick Facts on Suzhou Shantang Street
• Name: Suzhou Shantang Street
• Location: Downtown Suzhou
• Phone: +86-512-67236980
• Best Time to Visit: All year
• Recommended Time for a Visit: 3 Hours
• Opening Hours: All day
• Admission Fee: Free
• Tour Boat: CNY 25 for 45 minutes
• Manual Ship: CNY 100