Location: Donshan Town, Wuzhong District, Suzhou
History: before the Yuan Dynasty (AD1271-1368)
Population: 306
Village introduction:
Sanshan Village, namely, Sanshan Island of Taihu Lake, is a small island located in the middle of Taihu Lake. The island residents travel on boat. The village has six piers of varying sizes, which serve as the only pass to the outside for the residents on Sanshang Island. The piers at Qiaotou Creek, Dongbo Creek and Xujia Creek, known as “Lake Tai Post”, functioned as a destination for shipping and tourism, etc. Apart from its numerous historical sites, e.g., the Song Dynasty Granite Quarry relic, the Sanshan Island is also one of the producing areas of Taihu stones. It boasts a variety of grotesque stones that feature the Banbi Peak, the Chinese Zodiac Stone, the Sphinx Stone, the Censer Stone and the Oxback Stone.
The old streets in the village represented by Sanshan Ancient Street are reflection of the distinctive neighborhood in the south of the Yangtze River. With an assortment of low and tall buildings well arranged along the streets, the village appears as if a zigzag craft of nature. The alleys, streams and bridges, typical in the southern water towns, are added as the complement to the space, giving the illusion of a constantly changing space. The village contains an ancient street, six piers, two ancient bridges and eighteen ancient wells. By taking full advantage of the waterways, Sanshan Island is in harmony with the beautiful natural landscape and is an ideal destination for living.
The village still preserves 33 Ming and Qing Dynasty ancient structures featuring the Qingjian Hall, the Shijian Hall, the Nine Thought Hall, the Jinmao Hall, the Zhenyuan Hall, the Qin’s Ancestral Hall and the Xue’s Hall, as well as over 250 pieces of stone carvings and stone tablets. Among the preserved ancient buildings, the Shijian Hall, the Qingjain Hall, the Nine Thought Hall and the Jinmao Hall are exquisitely designed with a unique layout, being considered as classical models for the study of the Ming and Qing architectures in Suzhou.
