Shaxi Ancient Town is within the administrative area of Taicang City, Suzhou and is located northeast of Suzhou City. Shaxi Town, one of the second batch of China's Historical and Cultural Towns and Hometown to China Folk Arts (Folk Dance), has 2 major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the national Level, and 7 Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the Municipal Level
Shaxi Town is set in the alluvial plain of the Yangtze River Delta. It has a humid southern subtropical climate, four distinct seasons and abundant rainfall. Shaxi abounds in waterways, which are densely distributed and crisscrossed. Shaxi has fertile land and abundant animal and plant species, with main production activities concentrating on rice, wheat, vegetables, lotus root, water chestnut, and fishery.
Shaxi still maintains its ancient town layout of "one river, two streets, three bridges and one island". The Qipu River, which was established in the Song Dynasty, passes through the town; the two old streets named Henan and Tangbei spread theirs ways along the Qipu River; and three stone arch bridges, i.e., Yixing Bridge, An Bridge and Xin Bridge, link up Henan and Tangbei Streets by the river; streets run in parallel with the river throughout the entire town in a shape of a Chinese Character “川”.
As a historical and cultural town, Shaxi Town has a rich legacy of architectures of the Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. Among them the most famous are the Mansion of Gong Family, Former Residence of Wu Xiaobang, and An Bridge. The local-style dwellings on both sides of the Old Qipu River in Shaxi are lined up eave against eave, 1.5 kilometers long. Facing the street are two-story wooden buildings, complete with bracket sets, eaves, and cantilever beams. In the old time, in order to get on and off the boat, fetch water, wash clothes or relax in a cool place, every home along the river built the river tent. Under the tent are water bridges and docks. There are two types of tents: stilted style and solid rock style; the window of the tent come in half window or French window, with railings or heal blocks to lean on; stone steps for water bridge are in either revetment type or cantilever type. All render diversity and archaic sense to the waterside architecture.
