There is a legend about the name of the water town. According to this legend, the immortal single-angle beast named Luduan once passed by. He found the place a precious land and therefore, he took up residence. From then on, the land exists without war, drought or flooding, and people have ample food and clothing.
Luzhi is characterized by numerous of bridges and through the ages Luzhi enjoyed the reputation of “Capital of Bridges.” Originally there were 72 1/2 bridges of the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties within the 1 sq km-wide ancient town area. Currently 41 bridges still exist. Some are big stone bridges with many holes and some are small ones with but a single hole. Some are vaulted while some are even. Luzhi has so many bridges that it is considered a museum of ancient bridges.
The ancient maidenhair tree is another symbol of the town. There are 7 maidenhair trees in the town, 4 of which stand at Baosheng Temple. The largest one was planted 1,300 years ago. Now it is 50m high and takes three adults to surround it by their arms.
There are 9 main streets in the town, all of which are paved with cobbles and granites. Most of the houses were built in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Veins were carved on the walls. Women wear traditional dress, their hair coiled and the head wrapped with a head cloth. The shoes are embroidered by themselves. In the western Luzhi, women under 40 especially love wearing such traditional clothes to go to the market, another highlight of the ancient water town.
Name:Suzhou Luzhi (Luzhi Shuixiang,SZ)
City:Suzhou
Address:Luzhi Town, Jiangsu Province
Admission:Free