Extension Project of Classical Gardens of Suzhou: Classical Gardens of Suzhou and Historical Street Blocks

The Pingjiang historical and cultural street block N 31 18, E 120 38

The historical and cultural street block of the Humble Administrator's Garden N 31 19, E 120 37

The Shantang historical and cultural street block N 31 19, E 120 35

The ancient city of Suzhou occupies an area of 14.2 square kilometers, and the city is situated on the ancient site of the capital city of the Wu Kingdom. The two moats inside and outside the city wall and the city gates of Chang, Qi, Lou, Xiang, Pan and Xu remain basically unchanged. According to the inscribed stone "Pingjiang Map" in the second year of the Shaoding reign of the Southern Song Dynasty (1229), there were seven north-south rivers and 14 east-west rivers inside the city of Suzhou, totaling 82 kilometers, and 314 bridges. In Suzhou today, there are still 35 kilometers of rivers and more than 160 bridges.

The layout of the ancient city of Suzhou was in the form of double chessboards, that is, rivers and streets run parallel to each other. The river and streets were intermingled, and the waterfront houses varied in height, together representing a rich flavor of water town. There are numerous cultural heritages such as ancient pagodas and temples, government offices, former residences of celebrities, gardens and mansions, ancestral temples, halls and public places, archways and ancient wells in the city.

The ancient city of Suzhou has rich cultural heritages. There are now 47 historical and cultural areas and 126 historic sites under protection, including 11 under national protection, 30 at provincial level and 85 at municipal level. In addition, there are also 200 buildings under controlled protection, 22 sections of ancient revetments, 22 ancient archways, 70 ancient bridges, 37 gate towers with brick carvings, and 639 ancient wells. Of these cultural heritages, eight classical gardens have already been inscribed in the World Heritage List. The historical and cultural street blocks of Pingjiang, the Humble Administrator's Garden and Shantang, as typical areas of the ancient city of Suzhou, will apply for being inscribed in the World Heritage List.

1.  The Pingjiang historical and cultural street block

The Pingjiang historical and cultural street block, located on both sides of the Pingjiang River in the eastern part of the ancient city and with an area of 30.66 hectares, is the most typical and the best preserved historical and cultural street block in Suzhou. The Garden of Couple's Retreat, the World Cultural Heritage, is located in the east of this street block. The street pattern has come into being since 13th century. The rivers, bridges, lanes, civilian residences, archways, temples, ancestral temples and halls exist all in harmony with the Garden of Couple's Retreat, forming an inseparable whole.

This street block is a typical section of the double chessboard pattern of the layout of the ancient city of Suzhou - with streets and waterways running parallel. The civilian residences along the streets, with black tiles and whitewashed walls, vary in height. The length the two north-south rivers and four east-west rivers is up to 3.5 kilometers, and there are 13 bridges in the block. It is the street block in the city with the highest density of rivers and bridges. The locations and names of lanes and bridges are basically identical to that contained in the monument inscribed with the Pingjiang Map drawn in the 13th century. Civilian residences along the rivers in the street block connect to one another, forming deep and tranquil lanes.

Within this street block, there are one World Cultural Heritage (and also a historic unit under national protection), one historic unit under protection at provincial level, seven historic units under protection at municipal level, 34 buildings under municipal controlled protection, ten ancient bridges and three archways.

Main sites and cultural heritages: the Garden of Couple's Retreat (inscribed in the World Heritage List in 2000), Shanxi Guild Hall, the Ligeng (farming ritual) Hall also known as the Mansion of the Pans, the former residence and the ancestral hall of Hong Jun

2. The historical and cultural street block of the Humble Administrator's Garden

The historical and cultural street block of the Humble Administrator's Garden occupies an area of 12.16 hectares, and the World Cultural Heritage - the Humble Administrator's Garden and the Lion Grove Garden - are located in this block. The street block is adjacent to the Pingjiang historical and cultural street block. Within this street block, there are plenty of landscapes consisting of ancient residences, river piers and stone bridges. This street block is known for its gardens, and the former residences of officials and nobles.

In addition to the Humble Administrator's Garden and the Lion Grove Garden, there are also the Prince Zhong's Mansion of the Taiping Peasants Uprising of the 19th century, the former residence of Jiangsu pacification commissioner-in-chief Zhang Zhiwan and the Dunyu benevolent house of the Wangs of the Qing Dynasty.

Inside this street block, there are two World Cultural Heritage sites (one historic unit under national protection and the other under protection at provincial level), anthoer one historic unit under national protection and one under protection at Suzhou provincial level.

Main sites and cultural heritages: the Humble Administrator's Garden (inscribed in the World Heritage List in 1997), the Lion Grove Garden (inscribed in the World Heritage List in 2000), the Prince Zhong's Mansion of the Taiping Peasants Uprising, and the Dunyu benevolent house of the Wangs.

3. The Shantang historical and cultural street block

The Shantang historical and cultural street block occupies an area of 25.60 hectares. Beginning from the Changmen Gate in the east and ending at Huqiu in the west, the street is 3,829.6 meters long. It was built and opened in the first year of the Baoli reign of the Tang Dynasty (825) by Bai Juyi, a regional inspector to Suzhou. The street zigzagged along the river.

Shantang is a thousand-year-old street with rich flavor of the Wu Kingdom culture, integrating functions as residence, tourism, folk customs, trade and arts and crafts. The folk song of Suzhou "Dajiu Lianhuan" goes like this: ""Just as there is paradise in heaven, there are Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth. Just as there is West Lake in Hangzhou, Suzhou has Shantang. Both of them are good places with beautiful scenic landscapes." In the 17th and 18th century, each time Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong visited to south, they would must come to Huqiu and Shantang. Besides, Shantang is the prototype of the Suzhou Street in the Summer Palace in Beijing.

Within this street block, there is one historic unit under national protection, two units under protection at provincial level, eight units under protection at municipal level and 15 buildings under municipal controlled protection. In addition, there are more than 20 ancient bridges and archways as well as many traditional buildings.

Main sites and cultural heritages: Yunyan temple and pagoda, the Yuhan hall, the five-man grave and the Puji bridge.

Justification of Outstanding Universal Value

The inscription of Classical Gardens of Suzhou in the World Heritage List is not enough to reflect the long history and ancient civilization of the old waterfront city of Suzhou. By including the historical and cultural street blocks surrounding the gardens, the Classical Gardens of Suzhou is not only expanded and extended, but also advanced in their connotation. The historical and cultural street blocks of Pingjiang, the Humble Administrator's Garden and Shantang are representative of ancient waterfront cities in China. According to their state of preservation and outstanding cultural values contained, it is hereby applied to inscribe them as supplementary parts to the Classical Gardens of Suzhou, the World Heritage, and to change the name of the heritage to the Ancient Waterfront City and Classical Gardens of Suzhou. The justifications are as follows:

As for the criterion (ii):

The ancient city of Suzhou has a history of more than 2,500 years. The Pingjiang Map inscribed on a monument in the Southern Song Dynasty in the 13th century paints a double chessboard pattern of Suzhou - "rivers and streets running parallel." After about 800 years, the pattern of Suzhou today is still basically identical to that drawn in the Pingjiang Map at that time. This is unprecedented even in China.

As for the criterion (iii):

The ancient waterfront city of Suzhou is abundant in natural resources, so people there live an affluent and easy life and has the tradition of cherishing culture and education. In the Ming and Qing dynasties after the 14th century, in particular, the city became the national cultural center, giving rise to the Wu school of paintings, the Wu school of medicine, silk and embroidery, arts and crafts of sculpture, popular literature, the Kunqu opera, the Suzhou-style storytelling and ballad singing, and the Wu singing, contributing greatly to Chinese culture. The developed economy and culture in the ancient waterfront city of Suzhou led to the unprecedented development of the art of gardening, and many classical gardens were constructed.

As for the criterion (iv):

The layout of buildings in the ancient waterfront city reflects the harmony between mankind and rivers. Many buildings, varying in height, were constructed along the rivers, waterfront pavilions and canopy corridors were built on both banks of the rivers, the revetments and stone railings zigzag along the rivers, and some water routes run through residential courtyards. Stone arc bridges of different styles and flat bridges suspend over the rivers and connect the land, producing a living environment of harmony between mankind and nature.

In the ancient waterfront city, many ancient buildings and architectures are well preserved, including ancient pagodas, ancient bridges, temples, ancestral temples, guild halls, government office buildings, former residences of celebrities, archways and ancient wells. These ancient buildings, varying in height and in appropriate size, constitute a rich space pattern. In this city, traditional civilian houses of the Ming and Qing dynasties from the 15th to the 19th century are well preserved. Such civilian houses are grand in scale, reasonable in layout, mild in colors and delicate in their decorations. The houses of common people were built according to the terrain, and were nice and pithy in model, and the civilian houses along the streets form an architectural style of "lower houses for shops and upper houses for residence, front house for shops and rear houses for residence, and front houses for shops and rear houses for workshops." The traditional buildings of Suzhou, more or less, blend the artistic conception of gardens, and produce a poetic residential environment.

Satements of authenticity and/or integrity

The Archaeological findings, historical records and the historical sites in the ancient city show the authenticity of this property. The layout of the ancient city of Suzhou was in the form of double chessboards, that is, rivers and streets run parallel to each other. The river and streets were intermingled, and the waterfront houses varied in height, together developing a rich flavor of water town. There are numerous cultural heritages such as ancient pagodas and temples, government offices, former residences of celebrities, gardens and mansions, ancestral temples, halls and public places, archways and ancient wells in the city.

The ancient city of Suzhou has rich cultural heritages. There are now 47 historical and cultural areas and 126 historic sites under protection, including 11 under national protection, 30 at provincial level and 85 at municipal level. In addition, there are also 200 buildings under controlled protection, 22 sections of ancient revetments, 22 ancient archways, 70 ancient bridges, 37 gate towers with brick carvings, and 639 ancient wells. Of these cultural heritages, eight classical gardens have already been inscribed in the World Heritage List. The historical and cultural street blocks of Pingjiang, the Humble Administrator's Garden and Shantang, as typical areas of the ancient city of Suzhou, will apply for being inscribed in the World Heritage List.

Comparison with other similar properties

The ancient city of Suzhou was built along rivers, and was therefore nicknamed an "Oriental Venice." Compared with Venice in Italy, Suzhou is different. Venice is a city on water, composed of small islands in the Adriatic Sea, and Suzhou is city located in the water system of the Taihu Lake basin, and there are many ancient waterfront towns in the surrounding areas. Venice is a city of European style, and Suzhou is city of classical gardens and ancient civilian residences with Chinese characteristics well preserved. Each of the two cities on water has its unique character. By inscribing Suzhou, known as an oriental city on water, in the World Heritage List, it would make the two cities on water, one in the East and one in the West with sharply different features, shine like pearls and would make a good story in the history of the world culture.

2.  Comparison with ancient cities as Pingyao and Lijiang, and ancient villages in southern Anhui Province in China

The ancient waterfront city of Suzhou is different from the ancient cities of Pingyao and Lijiang and the ancient villages in southern Anhui, already inscribed in the World Heritage List. Those properties are small in size and located in the remote and underdeveloped regions, and are therefore easier to preserve. The ancient waterfront city of Suzhou is one of the big cities in the Yangtze Delta area where the economy is fairly developed. In this area, there is the Taihu Lake in the west, the ocean in the east, the Yangtze River in the north, and the Grand Canal running through the region from the north to the south. In the area surrounded by lake, river and ocean, transport has been convenient since ancient times, material and cultural exchanges with other parts of the country or the world are also convenient, therefore, the region is at an open and leading position in terms of economy and culture development. It is worth mentioning that the region, at the time of attracting and blending exotic cultures, is also able to well preserve and conserve its inherent traditions and culture. Nowadays, China is in the process of fast urbanization, and it is, therefore, becoming increasingly difficult for the ancient waterfront city of Suzhou to maintain and preserve its traditional pattern and historical sites. For the ancient cities of Pingyao and Lijiang and the ancient villages in southern Anhui Province, they are effectively protecting and preserving their historical and cultural traditions just because they have been inscribed in the World Heritage List, and Suzhou also needs to apply for being inscribed in the World Heritage List so as to better protect and preserve its ancient waterfront city and classical gardens.