★ Tourist location: Guanqian Street, Suzhou

In the past, every time I came to Suzhou, I would go to Guanqian Street. It was not that I had a deep affection for Xuanmiao Temple, but that Guanqian Street was home to many time-honored brands in Suzhou. I could have a meal and buy some local specialties. Going to Suzhou at that time was not so easy, so it was inevitable to bring some affordable snacks back. After all, there were plenty of foodies at home. Nowadays, there is no need to come to Guanqian Street anymore. Century-old stores have also opened branches in various places.

Guanqian Street starts from the Cufang Bridge on Lindun Road in the east and ends at Chayuanchang on Renmin Road in the west. The main street is only 780 meters long. To the east is the Pingjiang Road Historical and Cultural District, to the south is Suzhou Park, to the west is Suzhou City God Temple, and to the north is Beisi Pagoda Baoen Temple. It can be said that the geographical location is very superior. In addition to self-driving parking, which is difficult, public transportation is still very convenient. Maybe the weather is relatively hot today, so there are not many tourists on the streets. Anyway, it's shopping, so you can come over at night to see the night view and go shopping without delay.

The so-called "view before" refers to Xuanmiao Temple. The name Guanqian Street has evolved all the way along with the name of Xuanmiao Temple. In the Song Dynasty, Xuanmiao Temple was named Tianqing Temple, so this street was called Tianqing Temple Front, also known as Suijin Street. In the Yuan Dynasty, Tianqing Temple was renamed Xuanmiao Temple, and the name of the street was immediately changed to Xuanmiao Temple Qianqian, which later evolved into Guanqian Street, which is still in use today. When I first came to Guanqian Street, the street was actually very narrow. Later, it is estimated that after many renovations, the street is now very wide, nine to thirteen meters wide.

Shopping malls and time-honored shops are distributed on the main street. Entertainment and leisure venues are mainly concentrated in the area of Qiaosikong Lane. We used to go to the area of Eungong Lane because the catering industry is mainly concentrated on the inner street of Guanqian Street. As for the origin of the name Eunuch Lane, it was because emperors of the Ming Dynasty would send eunuchs to Suzhou to supervise the weaving bureau, and the chief eunuch also had various small eunuchs as assistants. Most of the eunuchs lived here, hence the name. Since the 1930s, there have been various restaurants here, such as Zhengxing Hall, Xuangong, Sanwu, Daxinyang, Juelin Vegetable Food Forest, etc. In the early 1980s, the Catering Lane was built, so it gained the reputation of "Evil Eunuch Lane". Songhe Tower, Deyue Tower, Shanghai Laozhengxing, Wangsi Restaurant, Gongdelin and other time-honored restaurants are all gathered here, so if you want to eat, it is absolutely right to come here, but I am afraid that you will miss the attention. Songhelou was established in the second year of Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. At the beginning, it was just a noodle shop, mainly serving stewed duck noodles and zhuang chicken noodles. In the late Qing Dynasty, it operated Su Bang cuisine. Squirrel mandarin fish, clear and smooth jade, original fish shark's fin, steamed pork with lotus leaf powder, snowflake crab bucket, and herring splash water are all the signature dishes of Songhelou. Gongdelin is one of my favorite restaurants. It serves vegetarian dishes, but the taste is definitely not worse than meat dishes. Each dish is made to have the same color, aroma and shape. If I didn't know it well, I wouldn't believe that they were all vegetarian dishes.

Because we came after dinner, we didn't stay at the eunuch's house this time. When the two ladies accompanying us saw the silk shop, they were always unable to move forward. We just took the opportunity to go in and blow on the air conditioner. Silk products on Guanqian Street are not cheap, but they are really good.

There is a group of sculptures on Guanqian Street, which depict the story between an old man and a child. The work is called "Screaming Stall", which is based on sugar porridge stalls in the 1950s and reflects the characteristics of Suzhou snacks. The characters 'costumes are traditional Suzhou style and are also designed to recreate the dietary characteristics and living scenes of the time.

Guanqian Street is named after Xuanmiaoguan. The most important building on this street is of course Xuanmiaoguan. This temple is located in the center of Guanqian Street. It was founded in the second year of Xianning in the Western Jin Dynasty and was originally named Zhenqing Temple. It turned out that I thought this was the oldest Taoist temple in Suzhou City, but later I saw Puji Taoist College in Hejiuling and learned that it was earlier. But when it comes to popularity, Xuanmiao Temple is definitely much more famous. In the first year of Yuanzhen, Emperor Chengzong of the Yuan Dynasty, it was called Xuanmiao Temple. During the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang granted it the title of Zhengyi Jungle. In the Qing Dynasty, in order to avoid the name of Emperor Kangxi Xuanye, it was renamed Yuanmiao Temple, also known as Yuanmiao Temple. It was not until after the Republic of China that the old name of Xuanmiao Temple was restored.

The main building of Xuanmiao Temple is north of Guanqian Street, but the wide archway is erected on the south of the street. None of my friends had any intention of visiting the store. I just took advantage of the fact that there were still women staying in the store to quickly turn around. It has been expanded now than when I came here before. Unfortunately, the Laocheng District is so big, and it is not possible to expand the scale any further.

The main mountain gate is the Lingxing Gate. Four marshals are enshrined in the hall. Marshal Wen Qiong was originally a general of the Great Emperor Dongyue, but was later borrowed as one of the marshals of Nantianmen. In the coastal area of Zhejiang in our country, Marshal Wen is one of the famous gods. Marshal Wang Lingguan is a Taoist Dharma Protector and Mountain God General. His status is quite similar to that of Wei Tuo Bodhisattva. The spiritual official guarding the gate of Taoist temples generally refers to this spiritual official. Marshal Ma, also known as Ma Tianjun, was the Great Emperor Huaguang. He once caused trouble in the Three Realms and was subdued by Emperor Zhenwu and became one of the 36 Heavenly Generals. Marshal Zhao Gongming is quite famous and is generally worshipped in the Temple of Finance.

The main hall, Sanqing Hall, is dedicated to the Sanqing Dynasty. On the west side is the God of Wealth Hall, and on the east side are the Shouxing Hall, Guanyin Hall and Wenchang Hall. Shouxing Hall is quite unique. It enshrines the three stars of blessing, wealth and longevity. It is also called the Three Stars Hall.

When I came out from Guanqian Street, I originally wanted to go in and see the lotus flowers in the Humble Administrator Garden because I had two friends who had never been to the Humble Administrator Garden. Unexpectedly, after asking an insider, the lotus flowers in the Humble Administrator Garden had long withered, so I lost interest. A friend saw the Suzhou Garden Museum and suggested with a smile: "Why don't we go to the museum?" I looked sad: "This is a garden museum, not a Suzhou museum. And today is Monday, and the museums are closed. Otherwise, I wouldn't go anywhere and would go straight to Subo."

Although it is already past three o'clock in the afternoon, although the number of visitors entering Humble Administrator's Garden is not as good as the peak period, there are still many tourists entering the garden now. I am embarrassed to say that I have been to Suzhou Gardens before I reach Humble Administrator's Garden. No matter how tight the time is, foreign tourists have to come and check in.

Warm reminder: Guanqian Street is located in the center of Suzhou city, and public transportation is very convenient. After getting off at Lindun Road Station of Suzhou Rail Transit Line 1, you can walk 400 meters to the east end of Guanqian Street; after getting off at Chayuan Station of Line 4, you will reach the west end of Guanqian Street after exiting the subway entrance. As for buses, there are more. There are dozens of buses passing through Guanqian Street. There is Xuanmiaoguan Station on Bus Tour No. 1, which can also reach Guanqian Street.