Historical Culture Street in China：Seven-mile-long Shantang
Located northwest of the ancient city of Suzhou, the Shantang Street, connecting with Changmen Gate the “top-grade rich, powerful, distinguished and admirable place in the world of mortals” in the east and linking up with Tiger Hill the “first tourist attraction in the region of Wu(an alternative name of Suzhou)”in the west, is 3600m long, and was built in 825AD by Bai Juyi the great poet of China’s Tang Dynasty when he worked as Regional Inspector of Suzhou thought recruiting workers to dig the river and piling up the embankment. With its unique geographical location and superb land and water communication conditions, Shantang Street was one of the most developed commercial, trade and culture street blocks of China once in the period of Ming and Qing, being reputed as the “No.1 Ancient Street in the Divine Land(a poetic name for China)”.The renovated Shantang Street is a place where is good enough the natural and humanistic landscapes of the ancient city of Suzhou are gathered, which is good enough to be called the “epitome of the old Suzhou, and the window on the Culture of Wu Region”. The street with presents a pattern of waterway and land-way being parallel to and neighbouring on each other with fine and graceful buildings arranged in tasteful density; along the street are shops standing in great numbers with guilds joining together among them to present the bustling sight of the Shantang Street in its heyday. A folk song goes that “There is paradise above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below. Hangzhou has the West Lake, while Suzhou has the Shantang Street. The two good places are of immeasurable good sight.”This is a vivid portrayal of Shantang.
Duration: 12 minutes
中國歷史文化名街——七里山塘
山塘街位於古城蘇州的西北部,東連“紅塵中一、二等富貴風流之地”閶門,西接“吳中第一名勝”虎丘,全長約3600米,為西元825年中國唐代大詩人白居易任蘇州刺史時募工鑿河堆堤而成。由於其獨特的地理位置和優越的水陸交通條件，山塘街曾是明清時期中國商貿、文化最為發達的街區之一,被譽為“神州第一古街”。修復的山塘街市蘇州古城自然與人文景觀精粹之所在,堪稱“老蘇州的縮影,吳文化的視窗”。街道呈水陸並行、河街相鄰的格局,建築精緻典雅、疏朗有致,街面店肆林立,會館聚集,再現了山塘街的盛世繁華。有民歌唱到：“上有天堂,下有蘇杭。杭州有西湖,蘇州有山塘。兩處好地方,無限好風光。”這便是對山塘街的生動寫照。
時長:12 分鐘