Where is Zhouzhuang located?

Zhouzhuang is a famous scenic spot among the ancient towns and villages in Suzhou.

Zhouzhuang’s long history has created many scenic spots in the ancient town. The famous architect Luo Zhewen praised Zhouzhuang as "not only a treasure of Jiangsu Province, but also a treasure of the country." Zhouzhuang has a quiet environment and simple architecture. Although it has gone through more than 900 years of vicissitudes, it still completely preserves the architectural style of the original water town. Among the nearly 1,000 residential houses in the town, more than 60% of the buildings from the Ming and Qing dynasties and the early Republic of China are still preserved, including nearly 100 ancient courtyards and more than 60 brick-carved gatehouses. The ancient style of Zhouzhuang folk houses still exists, and the most representative ones are Shen Hall and Zhang Hall. More than 60% of the town's residential buildings are still Ming and Qing Dynasty buildings. The ancient town of only 0.4 square kilometers has nearly a hundred classical houses and more than 60 brick-carved gate towers.

At the same time, Zhouzhuang also preserves 14 unique ancient bridges. Zhouzhuang is a world of water. The ancient town is surrounded by water, like a water lily floating on the water. The river forms a "well" shape. If there is a river or a street, there must be a bridge. Bridges form streets and bridges form cities. The bridges face each other and the bridges are connected, adding to the charm of Zhouzhuang, a water town. Zhouzhuang still has 14 stone bridges built in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, among which Shuangqiao, Fu'an Bridge, Zhenfeng Bridge and Fuhong Bridge are the most representative ones.

It is quite interesting to sit on the boat and travel through bridges and holes. Every time you pass through a bridge hole, a kind of scenery appears; every time you turn around a bridge, there is another artistic conception, forming a wonderful waterside style painting of "small bridges, flowing water, and people" from different angles. Zhouzhuang has a quiet and elegant environment. It is a good place for studying. It also has a good tradition of studying. In history, it has produced more than 20 Jinshi and Jinshi. In addition to Zhang Han, Zhou Digonglang and Jiangnan tycoon Shen Wansan, Liu Yuxi, Lu Guimeng, etc. lived or fished here successively, as well as Ye Chuqian and others who left a profound influence on modern China. Another famous place of interest is Quanfu Temple, which was built in the first year of Yuanyou of the Song Dynasty (1086). The mysterious building is located beside Zhenfeng Bridge. Chengxu Taoist Temple, commonly known as "Shengtang", was founded during the Yuanyou period of Song Dynasty (1086-1093) and has a history of more than 900 years. When visiting Zhouzhuang, you must see the Twin Bridges. The double bridge, commonly known as the Key Bridge, consists of a stone arch bridge - Shide Bridge and a stone beam bridge - Yong'an Bridge. The clear Yinzi Bang and the Nanbei River meet to form a cross in the northeast of the town. The stone bridges on the river are built side by side, making it very unique. Because the bridge deck is horizontal and vertical, and the bridge hole is square and round, it looks like a key used by people in ancient times, so the locals call it the "Key Bridge". These two stone bridges were built from 1573 to 1619 AD during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. The Shide Bridge was funded by Li people Xu Songquan and Xu Zhuxi, and the Yong'an Bridge was funded by Li people Xu Zhengwu. In the 30th year of Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty (AD 1765), both bridges were rebuilt. In the 23rd year of Daoguang's reign in the Qing Dynasty (AD 1843), they were rebuilt with donations from local people. In 1957, Yong'an Bridge was repaired again. Shide Bridge was sixteen meters long and three meters wide. meters, with a span of 5.9 meters; the Yongan Bridge is 13.3 meters long, 2.4 meters wide, and has a span of 3.5 meters. Among the twin bridges, the stone arch bridge spans the North and South City Rivers, and there is a stone approach bridge at the east end of the bridge. There are streets and alleys; the stone beam bridge is flat at the entrance of Yinzibang. The bridge opening can only accommodate small boats, and the bridge railings are made of hemp stones.

The twin bridges best reflect the charm of the ancient town, with clear water and green trees. , the sound of boats passing through the bridge. All year round, teachers and students from art schools from all over the world are concentrating on sketching, while photographers pick up their cameras and choose the best shooting angle. Looking up from the Shihe River, you can see the key-shaped double bridges and the Taiping Bridge, a stone arch bridge from the Qing Dynasty not far away. You can take a picture of the three ancient bridges on the Shihe River in Zhouzhuang. Among the nearly 1,000 residential houses, more than 60% of the buildings from the Ming and Qing Dynasties and the Ming Dynasty of the Republic of China are still preserved. Among them, there are nearly 100 ancient houses and more than 60 brick-carved gatehouses, as well as some arcades and waterways. Wall gates are typical in Jiangnan water towns. Among these buildings, the most representative one is Shen Hall. It is located on Nanshi Street on the south side of the east wall of Fu'an Bridge. It faces south and has seven entrances and five gates. There are more than 100 large and small houses, distributed on both sides of the 100-meter-long central axis, covering an area of ??more than 2,000 square meters. It is a key cultural relic protection unit in Jiangsu Province.

The original name of Shen Hall. Jingye Hall, which was renamed Songmao Hall in the late Qing Dynasty, was built by Shen Benren, a descendant of Shen Wansan, in the seventh year of Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (AD 1742). According to the "Zhouzhuang Town Chronicles": "Shen Benren was fond of wandering in his early years, and the people he interacted with were all bandits. And his father. After his death, there was a saying that "the family will be ruined within three years." When Benren heard this, he still bought wine and called all the gangsters to drink. They each gave money and told them: "I am now the supporter of the family, and there is no way to plan it." I'm traveling with you!" So he started farming behind closed doors and built a house on the side of Daye Hall, with more than a hundred rafters and a thousand acres of fertile land, thus becoming a wealthy town." It seems that Shen Benren belongs to that family. He was a prodigal who never squandered the wealth inherited from his predecessors. After his father's death, he worked hard to expand the family business and built a large-scale Shen Hall.

Shen Hall***. It consists of three parts. The front part is the water wall gate and the river port, which is specially used for families to dock boats and wash clothes. It is a unique building in Jiangnan water towns; the middle part is the wall gate tower, tea room and main hall, which is used to pick up guests and handle weddings and funerals. and a place for discussion; the rear part is the lobby building, the small hall building and the back hall room, which are the living areas. The whole hall has a typical "front hall and back hall" architectural pattern, with a street building and an aisle pavilion between the front and back halls. They are connected to form a circular Zouma Tower, which is rare for similar buildings.

In the seventh hall, Songmao Hall, which covers an area of ??170 square meters, is in the middle. The main hall is eleven meters wide, with a gallery in front, seven purlins and eleven meters deep, and a gallery behind the hall. The front of the main hall is square, with secondary rooms on both sides of the hall, and a building connecting the front and rear wing rooms. The roof is a two-sloped hard top. Except for the sixth to seventh purlins, which are single-roofed canopies, the rest are double-roofed canopies. The beams and pillars in the hall are thick and engraved with floral decorations such as snake dragons, unicorns, flying cranes, and dancing winds. There is a plaque hanging in the center of the hall, with three protruding gold-plated characters "Songmao Hall" written by Zhang Jian, the number one scholar in the late Qing Dynasty. The brick-carved gatehouse facing the main hall is the most magnificent of the five gatehouses. It is six meters high, with three rooms and five floors. It is covered with brick cornices, with high angles, and brick brackets below. There are hanging lotus flowers on both sides. There are five floors below. Brick carving, compact layout. There is a plaque in the middle, engraved with the four characters "accumulation and flowing light", and the surrounding forehead frame is engraved with fine reliefs of red plums to welcome the spring. The brick-carved door tower is also engraved with patterns of characters, animals, pavilions and pavilions, including classical dramas such as "The Romance of the West Chamber" and "The Number One Scholar Riding a White Horse". The lines are fine and smooth, and the characters have different expressions and are lifelike. The front, middle and far scenes are engraved on a brick board that is not over a foot long. The exquisiteness of the carving and the ingenuity of the conception are comparable to the brick-carved gate tower in Suzhou Master of Nets Garden. The wooden beams of the lobby floor are thick in shape and all have Ming-style circular patterns. Most of the floors are single-width pine boards about 60 centimeters wide, which are strong and solid. You can imagine the difficult construction work during the construction. The railings and lattice windows of the lobby building are more exquisitely made, which is different from the architectural style of the front hall and belongs to the Hui style. Shen Hall suffered serious damage during the ten years of catastrophe. Since 1983, the restoration project of Shen Hall has been started, and the Songmao Hall, Tea Hall and Lobby Building have been restored successively, and the Zouma Building has been opened. The back hall has also been connected to the sparkling Yinzi Beach. The restored Shen Hall has restored the architectural style of the Qing Dynasty and has become a popular tourist attraction.