Pingjiang road

Introduction 

Pingjiang Road is a historical street that is situated in the northeastern Suzhou ancient city. The road covers a length 1,606 meters and has been in existence since the Song Dynasty and is still very well preserved for 800 years. In ancient Suzhou city during the Song Dynasty, Pingjiang Road was regarded as the main route. This road presents ancient Suzhou local life where locals can be seen leisurely walking along houses with white walls and black roofs with bridges across the river. For visitors, the road is like a backdrop of a traditional Chinese painting which is a scene that attracts many tourists with its beauty. In 2005, the busy street scooped the Asia Pacific Heritage Award for Culture Heritage Conservation and also got an honorable mention from UNESCO. 

Things to see and do on a visit

Learn Kun Opera Culture

Situated on Zhangjia Lane of Pingjiang Road, Suzhou Opera Museum houses Kun Opera Museum of China and Suzhou Pingtan Opera Museum of China. It is a professional museum displaying the history, culture and art of Kun Opera. The museum is divided into equipped exhibition halls of Suzhou Opera, Kun Opera, Suzhou Pingtan and some interesting musical instruments. Inside the museum visitors can see ancient architectural designs and also learn the culture of Kun Opera and Pingtan which is storytelling and ballad singing in the local Suzhou dialect. There is an old stage in the museum with a classical stage that was articulately designed sunk panel. The patterns in the sunk panel are unique and the design accentuates voices and tunes to sound magical. Every Sunday, there is a free Kun Opera performance at the museum between 14:00  and 15:30.

Delicious Food

Pingjiang Road has the most mouth-watering dishes and snacks related to the ancient food culture of Suzhou. There are tasty snacks in small shops like different kinds of meat, Pan Fried Pork Bun and yogurt. Visitors can sample different kinds of cake such as Glutinous Rice Cake and Osmanthus Cake. There are also traditional Su dishes cooked in famous restaurants like Squirrel-like Mandarin Fish, Crab Tofu, Minced Pork Congee and Tofu Boiled in Chicken Broth etc.

Cake Bridge

Along Pingjiang road is a bridge known as the “Cake Bridge” named after a man who used to bring cake for his mother every day. However, one day he wasn’t able to raise money to buy his mother a real cake so he opted to make a cake from snow showing just how much he loved his mother. 

Former Residences

On Pingjiang Road, there are many former residences of famous people like on Xuanqiao Lane is the former residence of a bookworm named Huang Pilie where he had a little library. Hongjun who was a “Zhuangyuan” (the one who toped the imperial examination) during the Qing Dynasty also lived on the same lane. He lived with Sai Jinhua. Another residence is the home of the famous doctor Qian Boxuan. These residences were turned into modern residential with the main halls and the carve patterns on its woodwork remain in their original form but the high walls separating the life the town center has diminished. 

Exquisite Gardens

There are various classical Suzhou style gardens like the Couple Garden that was UNESCO listed as a World Cultural Heritage situated on Xiaoxinqiao Lane covering an area of 7,917 square meters. The garden displays character in its intricate buildings, flowing streams and delicate bridges. The eastern side of the garden has imposing rockeries that look like real mountains and has the best viewing point of the whole garden.