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Shantang Street, an ancient riverside pedestrian road in northwest Suzhou, Jiangsu, is very popular with tourists. From Changmen Gate (the west gate of the ancient city) in the downtown, it winds northwest on the northern bank of the Shantang River, and ends at scenic Tiger Hill. It extends about 2.2 miles (seven li), hence the name ‘Seven-Li Shantang’.

Shantang Street can be sectioned into two by Bantang Bridge. The east part, from Duseng Bridge in Changmen, is built up with houses and shops; while the west part, from the Tiger Hill, is natural landscape. The entire block features typical characteristics of south China in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The clear river meanders along under small arched bridges interspersed with wooden boats adrift, passing numerous old residences and shops on the bustling street. All the above is a picturesque rendering of a beautiful ancient water town in south China. It is ideally a place to stroll, try all kinds of local snacks and pick up souvenirs. You should go boating to take in the street scene from a different angle. When night falls and the red lanterns glimmer below the eaves, it becomes hard to resist.

The old street sector is about 360 meters long. Although it fills only one tenth of the length, it has the essence of the Shantang block and is called the ‘miniature of the old Suzhou’ and the ‘window of Jiangsu culture’. It was a commodities hub, where merchants conducted business and community staged folk activities. It was one of the most eventful streets in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Qing Emperor Qianlong liked the Shantang Street very much. When he toured Suzhou in 1762, he left words to praise the wonderful scene.

Nowadays the street reflects prosperity of both the present and the bygone era, with numerous shops and commercial guild halls. Tourists can try various snack shops with time-honored brands, including Caizhizhai, Wufangzhai and Qianshengyuan. There are also many specialty shops selling featured souvenirs like wood engravings, stones carvings and embroideries. There are eight side bridges on the riverbanks and seven bridges spanning across the river, and the most famous one is Tonggui Bridge, a single arch stone bridge. It is 21 yards long and 2.5 yards wide. Looking like a half moon, the arch of bridge and its shadow in the water form a perfect circle. The bridge is not unique, but it is the most photographed. It is worth a boating trip to experience the life of ancient residents there.

This exquisite Master of Nets Garden was first designed during the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) as a residence for a government official. At that time, the garden was named “the Hall of Ten Thousand Books” because the owner housed numerous books in three studies within the garden. Later on, it went through vicissitudes in different dynasties until an official named Song Zongyuan bought and restored the garden around 1765 in the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911). It is said that in a moment of frustration with bureaucracy he declared that he would rather be a fisherman than a bureaucrat. Therefore, he changed the name of this garden to “Wangshi Yuan”, meaning a fisher’s garden in English, to express his will.

The Master of Nets Garden is divided into three sections: a residential section, the central main garden and an inner garden. The main garden has a large pond that is surrounded by pathways and a variety of buildings such as the Ribbon Washing Pavillion (Zhuoying Shuige) and the Pavillion for the Advent of the Moon and Wind (Yuedao Fenglai Ting). There are many more buildings that are situated so that there is never a sense of crowding, but always of spaciousness. As is common in Suzhou gardens, the pond has a small pavilion in it. Here the pavilion is accessible by a bridge that is less than one foot wide.

As you walk about the gardens and along the walkways, you can often see beautiful flowers or plants through delicate windows which frames the scenery from a distance and draw you to a single sight, a moment of peaceful natural beauty. As you walk through the buildings, it is easy to imagine the life that the original residents lived in a feudal society where these gardens were solely for their pleasure and the pleasure of their guests.  The various buildings are constructed so that you can always access the main garden from any room.

The inner garden Dian Chun Yi which is only about 660 square feet, has the distinction of being used as the model for the Ming Hall Garden at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and also completely miniaturized for an exhibit in the Pompidou Center in Paris in 1982. This garden is reputed to be the most well-preserved one in Suzhou and should not be missed. It is small in size, but is like a beautifully cut diamond whose beauty is of everlasting fascination and pleasure.

Zhonghua Gate is the South Gate of Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. As a precious cultural relic, it has the double characteristics of the largest castle gate in China and the most complex castle in the world. It is the magnificent scale, exquisite structure and superb construction technology of this castle that have left an important position in China’s military and architectural traditions.

Construction of the castle took twenty-one years, from 1366 to 1387. The Zhonghua Gate, originally called the ‘Gate of Gathering Treasure’ carries a legend from the time of its creation in the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). According to the legend, when Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, had the gate built, the ground kept sinking. The gate collapsed again and again. It was not until a treasure bowl was buried underground that it stood firm. In 1931, to commemorate the revolution of 1911 and the Republic of China (1919-1949) that emerged as a result, the Gate of Gathering Treasure was renamed Zhonghua Gate. In Chinese Pinyin, Republic of China is written as Zhonghua Minguo.

Nanjing was the capital of China during the Ming Dynasty under the reign of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Di, the son of Zhu Yuanzhang, moved the capital to Beijing in 1420. In 1366, Zhu Yuanzhang began to build a wall around the city of Nanjing to defend it from attack. The Gate of Gathering Treasure was built on the site of a previous gate, the south gate of the city built during the Later Tang Dynasty (923 – 936). The new one, the grandest among the thirteen gates of the new castle, was an architecturally complex structure composed of three closed courtyards and four arched doors serving as the entrance. There were double paneled wooden doors and with additional stone door set behind. If the enemy broke through the wooden doors, they could be separated and trapped in the three closed courtyards upon dropping the stone doors.

Twenty-seven tunnels were built in the castle to store large quantities of food and weapons and to hold approximately 3,000 soldiers. Wide and steep ramps were built on the east and west side to allow people to carry materials upward. The entire structure was built with massive bricks mortared together with special cement made from lime, sticky rice juice and tung oil. In order to guarantee the quality of the construction, every brick underwent a strict quality control process. The brick makers and builders were ordered to mark their names on each brick. Even today, it is possible to find Chinese characters and numbers on the bricks. No doubt, this detailed attention to quality of construction is one of the reasons why the condition of the castle remains so remarkably good today.

At No. 292, Changjiang Road, Xuanwu District, the Nanjing Presidential Palace, originated in the Ming Dynasty as a royal residence, is now the biggest China Modern History Museum. More than 90,000 square meters, the Nanjing Presidential Palace covers three exhibiting sections: the middle section, the western section, and the eastern section respectively, comprising altogether eleven halls.

Through the western style gatehouse rebuilt in 1929, there are audience waiting rooms on both sides. Going forward, this road leads to the great hall, an ancient Chinese building with double eaves. The great hall has undergone many dramatic changes, but it is always ready for various occasions, such as the completion of Sun Yat-sen’s West Wing at the back of the Great Hall in 1912.

A North corridor connects the great hall and the auditorium as well as the retro second level hall in the late Qing Dynasty. The second level hall serves as a ceremonial place for the reception of envoys. Go north, pass a reception room and Kirin gate, and you will arrive at the government administration. There are many interesting materials in the exhibition. Go on, and you will arrive at the main building of Nanjing presidential palace, that is, Zichao building. There are five floors in the tower, one for civil servants, two for president and vice president, and three for meetings.

Xuyuan is located in the west side of Nanjing presidential palace, so it is also called “Xiyuan”. As a typical garden in the south of the Yangtze River, Xuyuan has stone boat,Lianyi Pavilion, Yinxin stele house, etc. The most notable building is the office of the interim president, where the first cabinet meeting of the interim republican government took place on 21 January 1912. Later occupied by military organizations of the National Government.

It had once been the site of an administration building and is now used to display some important historical documents and records. Exhibitions on different themes are often held here.