Luzhi


Luzhi Town is a famous historic old town located in the Wuzhong District, 18 km east of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China.

Etymology

It was also known as Puli, an ancient name for this town. This river town was named after a Tang dynasty recluse poet Lu Guimeng who retired in this town. Lu Guimong had a pseudonym: Mr. Pu-li.
At that time, Puli consisted of two districts: Puli and Liuzhi. Liuzhi meant that there were six straight rivers in the town. In the Suzhou dialect, "liu" was pronounced as "lu", and pronounced as Luzhi. At the end of the Qing dynasty, Puli was changed to Luzhi township of Yuanhe County.
Luzhi is famous for its beautiful waterways and ancient bridges, some of the bridges dated back to the Song dynasty. A walk in the ancient town Luzhi is said to be a walk into history frozen in time, tranquil and serene.
The Ming dynasty poet Gao Qi poem : "Scene of Puli" is still an accurate description of the scenery in the ancient town Luzhi today:
Luzhi is one of the best preserved old towns in China, along with its old canals and streets. In 2003, the Chinese government published a list of "Ten Famous Chinese Historical Townships", with Luzhi featured on this list. In 2004, Luzhi was awarded a Township Preservation Award by UNESCO.

Sights