Pingjiang Road
Pingjiang Road, historically known as Shiquan Li, is a street and historic district in Gusu District, northeastern Suzhou, Jiangsu, China. It is a well-preserved area and is part of the so-called Old Town of Suzhou.
In 2015, the Pingjiang Road Historical Block was added to the list of China's "National Historic and Cultural Streets".
Overview
The main street is located along Pingjiang He and is in length. It stretches from Ganjiang Donglu in the south to Baita Road East in the northwest, near the Humble Administrator's Garden and Suzhou Museum. The entire historic district covers an area of. The city of Suzhou was known as Pingjiang during Southern Song Dynasty. As a major thoroughfare of eastern Suzhou back then, the street carries on the former name of the city. It was featured in the map Pingjiang Tu, produced in the year 1229. There are 51 smaller alleys intersecting the street. There are also about of canals within the historic district.In 2009, Pingjiang Road was listed as a Zhongguo Lishi Wenhua Mingjie, one of the first nine streets with such title across China. Along with Shantang Street, the area was also declared a Zhongguo Lishi Wenhua Jiequ in 2015.
A BBC Travel article describes Pingjiang Road as less touristy than Shantang Street and states that it is "lined with houses that embody Suzhou’s style – graceful, simple and timeless. Pingjiang Road gives an insight into the leisurely existence of the city’s residents. centre of Suzhou's artistic life, lined with bookshops and local opera theatres. There are also several teahouses, where people gather for performances of traditional storytelling and ballad singing".
Couple's Retreat Garden, a noted Classical Garden located within the historic district, is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Classical Gardens of Suzhou. Guanqian Street is also in walking distance. There are two national-class and 12 provincial-class protection units within the historic district. Pingjiang Road undergone a major renovation prior to the 28th Session of the World Heritage Committee which took place in Suzhou in 2004.
Bridges within the district
There are 18 stone bridges in the Pingjiang Road historic district. Among them, 12 bridges are shown on the Song Dynasty Pingjiang Tu. They are namely Sipo, Shou'an, Xuegao, Jiqing, Sujun, Zhong'an, Tongli, Huxingsi, Beikaiming, Tangjia, Zhumajiao and Xiaoxin. 10 of the bridges are lying in the north–south direction, the other eight in the east–west direction. The historic district thus has the highest density of bridges across Suzhou.| English name | Chinese name | Built/Renovated | Notes and references |
| Zhumajiao Bridge | 朱马交桥 | Unknown. Renovated 1250, 1684, 1982, 2003 | Also known as Zhumagao Bridge. Sometimes written as 朱马茭桥 |
| Tangjia Bridge | 唐家桥 | Renovated 1744, 1984, 2003 | |
| Huxiangsi Bridge | 胡相思桥 | Renovated 1744, 1983 | The only archbridge in Pingjiang Road Historic District, formerly known as Huxingshi Bridge |
| Tongli Bridge | 通利桥 | Renovated 1814, 1984 | |
| Xiaoxin Bridge and Zhong'an Bridge | 小新桥与众安桥 | Xiaoxin Bridge was renovated in 1918 and 1984 | Xiaoxin Bridge was known as Beizhangjie Bridge on Pingjiang Tu and Xin Bridge on the Qing Dynasty Suzhou Fuzhi, while Zhong'an Bridge is also known as Daxin Bridge. The two bridges lie close together. |
| Sujun Bridge | 苏军桥 | Renovated 1814, 1960, 1980 | Also known as Sujin Bridge and colloquially as Qingshi Bridge |
| Jiqing Bridge | 积庆桥 | also known as Shengli Bridge, and colloquially as Jiqing Bridge | |
| Sipo Bridge | 思婆桥 | Renovated 1805, 1985 | Formerly known as Shipo Bridge |
| Shou'an Bridge | 寿安桥 | Renovated 1960, 1985 | Known as Zifu Bridge in the early Qing Dynasty |
| Xuegao Bridge | 雪糕桥 | Renovated 1753, 1905, 1985 |