The old Xietang Street, a popular tourist destination in SIP, was declared one of Suzhou’s first group of “Demonstration Streets for Preserving Place-names as Part of Cultural Heritage” by Suzhou Civil Affairs Bureau on Jan 31.
Stretching along the Xietang River, the old street is about 1,000 meters long from east to west, and 150 meters wide from south to north, with a land area of about 16 hectares. It is a restoration of an ancient street in the over-760-year-old Xietang town, featuring pseudo-classic architecture and diverse businesses for cultural experience and recreation.
The street is rich in place-names of historic significance. SIP authorities carried out a survey earlier to collect information about these names, and then installed nameplates to highlight them and built a cultural corridor with specific introductions to them.
It is worth mentioning that each nameplate bears a QR code which people can scan to enter an online system with digital presentations of related culture.
February 1, 2023
