Luzhi Town is located in southeast part of Suzhou City and is within the administrative area of Kunshan City. Luzhi, a AAAA scenic area by the China National Tourism Administration and one of the first batch of China's Historical and Cultural Towns, has 1 key Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level and 12 Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the Municipal Level.
The town is surrounded by lakes and ponds from outside and inside is distributed with crisscrossing rivers and ports. The core area of the town was passed by five rivers, namely, Dongshi River, Xishi River, Zhongshi River, Nanshi River and Xihui River, taking the shape of a Chinese Character “上” . The road pattern of the town is “one river, two streets, bridges cross and connect”. The Town has two types of streets: those that are built along the river, 1.5-3 meters wide, are commercial streets; those that are vertical to the river, usually 1-3 meters wide, are called lanes instead. There are also lanes for only one person to pass, which is the separation between two neighboring houses. Compared with the busy streets, these lanes are quite tranquil, forming a quiet living environment. The streets and lanes, paved with stone tablets or pebbles, are lined either with shops and stores or houses with white walls and black tiles bearing profound water town sense.
Luzhi builds the town beside the water where murmuring water and quaint stone bridges are enhancing each other’s beauty. Luzhi has been reputed as “Hometown of Bridges” since the ancient time. Over the 5.6 kilometer long river, there were 72 bridges which were built in the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, 41 still exist and are well preserved. The quaint stone bridges in different design and style integrate the rivers, streets and bridges. Houses in the town are built by riverside, and traditional architectures gathered on both sides of the water lanes, creating a unique space characteristic of the ancient water town. Among them are famous antique architectures like Baosheng Temple, Ye Shengtao Memorial Hall, Wangtao Memorial Hall, Wansheng Rice Shop and Lu Guimong Tomb.
