Modern touches help safeguard Suzhou's past

Numerous attractions

Visitors to Pingjiang Road pose for photographs while wearing traditional hanfu costumes, eat time-honored dim sum, create ancient Chinese New Year prints, and enjoy the Suzhou Pingtan art form while drinking tea. There is even a Starbucks outlet on the ancient street.

At Cat's Sky City store on Pingjiang Road, Qiao Lanrong teaches visitors to make Taohuawu Woodblock New Year Prints, and will frame the prints if they want to take them home.

Originating in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and flourishing in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), these prints were dubbed the "Flower of the Eastern Ancient Art". In 2006, the prints were included in the first batch of items on China's national intangible cultural heritage representative list.

Qiao, who has been studying such prints for more than 20 years and is a representative inheritor of the art form, said, "I'm glad to have the opportunity to introduce domestic and foreign visitors to these beautiful prints."

Suzhou has six world-class intangible cultural heritage projects and 32 such projects at national level with 50 inheritors. At provincial level, there are 124 intangible cultural heritage projects with 94 inheritors.

Data from the Suzhou Municipal Political Consultative Conference show there are 159 intangible cultural heritage projects at municipal level with 334 inheritors, and 528 representative projects at county level with 536 inheritors. Many of the inheritors have been consulted about protection of the ancient city.

As of this year, Suzhou had produced five versions of the protection plan for historical and cultural cities, completed the plan to protect historical and cultural blocks, and the control plan for ancient city neighborhoods.

The city has also introduced some 50 local rules and documents to establish a comprehensive system for legal regulations.

Zhu Yidong, director of the Ancient City Conservation Commission in Gusu, said the introduction of social capital is important to inject vitality into protecting the ancient city.

"We will conduct inspections regularly to ensure the necessary protection measures are in place, leaving no room for negligence," Zhu said.

A total of 438 buildings and 1,141 cultural relics have been preserved in Gusu. As witnesses to Suzhou's historical and cultural heritage, these ancient properties are a microcosm of the city's history.

The protection of Pingjiang Road is just one example of the efforts being made in Suzhou to restore the city's ancient treasures.

Fang, the district chief, said the authorities in Gusu will strive to achieve better results through government-led, market-based and multiparty participation, and make contributions to the world by protecting the ancient city.