Former Site of the Silk Industry Public School

Former Site of the Silk Industry Public School

The former site of the Silk Industry Public School is a cultural heritage conservation unit of Suzhou City.

The former site of the Zhenze Silk Industry Public School is located on Ouhe Street in Zhenze Town, Wujiang District, Suzhou City. Currently, only the front teaching building remains.

As a historical witness to the development of the silk industry in Zhenze at that time, the restoration of the former site of the Silk Industry Public School holds great significance. Moreover, this site was also the venue for the Third Congress of the Kuomintang in Wujiang County during the First United Front period. Beside the school gate, there is a stone boundary marker inscribed with the four characters “丝业公学” (Silk Industry Public School). Originally, there were two Western-style teaching buildings within the school; currently, only the front one remains. It is a two-story Western-style building facing south, with a width of four bays. The building covers an area of 183 square meters and is four bays wide. It features an arched corridor at the front, with side wings connected on the left and right, spanning a total width of 15 meters and a depth of 12.5 meters. The walls are constructed from blue bricks. The square pillars on the corridor have semi-circular solid sections made entirely of red bricks. At the front of the upper-floor corridor, there are columnar balustrades, and the rooftop floor is equipped with a fenced terrace. At the front center of the terrace, there is a gable-and-hip roof wall shaped like the Chinese character “人” (person), on which the year “1923” is inscribed.

In 1997, the former site of the Zhenze Silk Industry Public School was listed by the municipal government as part of the third batch of cultural heritage conservation units in Wujiang City. It is now designated as a cultural heritage conservation unit of Suzhou City due to administrative division adjustments.