Shenjia Lane Shen Residence

Shenjia Lane Shen Residence

Shenjia Lane Shen Residence is a Suzhou Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Shenjia Lane Shen Residence is located at No. 3, Shenjia Lane, Xiashang Street, East Market, Luzhi Town, Wuzhong District, Suzhou. It is a relatively rare garden villa in this water town ancient settlement.

The current site of Shenjia Lane Shen Residence covers an area of 249 square meters, comprising one main hall, one garden villa, and one incense stand. Originally built in the early years of the Republic of China, it had two sections with four courtyards, oriented north-south and featuring a relatively large scale. In 1954, it served as the office of the Luzhi Town People’s Government. Over time, the residence underwent multiple renovations and reconstructions, and today only the eastern and western sections remain — the eastern section includes the main hall, while the western section houses the garden villa. The main hall is nine point seven five meters wide with three bays and eight point seven meters deep, featuring an inner-four-frame structure, a single step in the front and double steps in the rear, with flat-style bracket sets. The two side rooms each have an attic above, with corridors in the front and wing rooms in the back; the western wing room also has an attic. The garden villa is ten point seven meters wide with three bays and nine point two meters deep, constructed with plain brick, featuring clear lines and elegant patterns on the door and window frames, all finely crafted.

Behind the villa is a through-hall with a corridor in the front. A particularly distinctive feature of this water town architecture is the small stone arch bridge built under the corridor. By stepping up from either end of the corridor, you effectively stand on the bridge deck when you reach the main entrance of the through-hall — a truly ingenious design that is truly remarkable. There is also an incense stand located within the courtyard. According to research, there used to be a rockery in the courtyard of the garden villa, which was later moved to Baosheng Temple.

In July 2009, Shenjia Lane Shen Residence was designated by the municipal government as part of the sixth batch of Suzhou Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Units.