Shengze Jidong Guild Hall

Shengze Jidong Guild Hall

The Jidong Guild Hall is a cultural relic protection unit of Suzhou City.

The Jidong Guild Hall is situated on Xieqiao Street and was listed as a cultural relic protection unit of Wujiang City in July 1986. Originally large in scale, its buildings later collapsed or were renovated over time due to age. The existing structures were rebuilt in the 12th year of the Republic of China (1923) and consist of three sections: the entrance hall, the tea hall, and the council hall. They face south and cover an area of 329.26 square meters. All three sections have three bays and feature flush gable roofs. It now houses the Shengze Library. The main gate faces the street and is adjacent to the river, making it very convenient for loading and unloading goods, as well as welcoming and seeing off guests in the past. In front of the wall gate stand four stone pillars, each topped with a vividly carved stone lion. The central stone-framed gate opens to two black-painted wooden doors, flanked by plain brick pillars. Above the door, the four large characters “Jidong Guild Hall” are engraved in brick, exuding an ancient charm against the backdrop of upturned eaves. Inside the wall gate, the floor is paved with square bricks, and on the inner side are rows of carved lattice floor-length windows. Passing through the entrance hall, there is a long, narrow courtyard with a few pots of green bamboo placed on the flagstone ground, emitting a faint fragrance.

The second section is the tea hall, used for receiving guests. Two large black-painted pillars stand at the front sides of the hall, and both the interior and exterior are lined with carved lattice floor-length windows. The beams and crossbeams are carved with various floral patterns. This hall now serves as a reading room where people sit quietly reading books and newspapers. Beyond the front hall lies a spacious courtyard, in the southern part of which once stood a stage. The stage base remains today. On the eastern and western sides of the front courtyard are doors with inscribed plaques — “Yingzhou” on the east and “Langyuan” on the west. These poetic plaque names evoke visions of a mythical realm. “Yingzhou” refers to one of the legendary three fairy mountains mentioned in Records of the Grand Historian - The Basic Annals of Qin Shi Huang: “In the sea there are three divine mountains, called Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou, where immortals dwell.” “Langyuan” is another legendary dwelling place of immortals, often referring to imperial gardens. As Su Dongpo wrote: “A thousand blooms in Langyuan mirror the jade-like radiance — only these blossoms in the human world seem freshly bloomed.” From these plaque names, one can imagine how the place once resembled a heavenly paradise. Corridors are built along both sides of the courtyard, connecting to those behind the tea hall.

In the late Ming Dynasty, Shengze’s silk industry was already quite developed. “The sounds of looms and spinning wheels lasted all night long. Along the riverbanks of the market, there were about a thousand or more silk and satin brokerages. Silks woven in nearby villages were all brought here to be sold. Merchants from all directions came to purchase them, crowding together so densely that there was no space to stand along the roads...” Entering the Qing Dynasty, “the profits from silk expanded daily, and merchants from the north and south gathered here.” By the Qianlong era, “the population had grown a hundredfold compared to the past, and the gathering of silk fabrics increased tenfold as well. Wealthy merchants from all regions came daily without pause, with markets bustling at noon, boats clogging the ports, and streets packed shoulder to shoulder...” With the growth of the silk industry, merchants from across the country who came to do business in Shengze increased steadily. Starting from the Shunzhi era of the Qing Dynasty, guild halls began to appear. By the Qianlong and Jiaqing eras, merchants from various regions raised funds to build guild halls. For a time, guild halls stood in great numbers in Shengze. At that time, a poem from Shenghu Bamboo Branch Lyrics described the scene: “Dark-roofed buildings abound with guild halls; in times of peace, countless goods fill the scene...”

According to local chronicles, from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republican era, Shengze still had eight guild halls: the Shanxi Guild Hall built in the 49th year of Kangxi (1710), the Huayang Guild Hall and Ningshao Guild Hall built during the Qianlong era (1736–1795), the Huining Guild Hall built in the 14th year of Jiaqing (1809), the Jinling Guild Hall and Shaoxing Guild Hall attached to the Guan Yu Temple and West Temple, and two others built by merchants from Shandong — the Jining Guild Hall (also known as Rencheng Guild Hall), established by people from Jining Prefecture of Yanzhou Prefecture, and the Jidong Guild Hall, built by people from Jinan Prefecture during the Jiaqing era. Later, the Shanxi Guild Hall was burned down by Japanese invaders during the war, the Jining and Jinling Guild Halls were demolished as “Four Olds” during the Cultural Revolution, the Ningshao and Shaoxing Guild Halls were repurposed, the Huining Guild Hall (only the entrance hall) was relocated to Mulan Zhou Park, the Huayang Guild Hall no longer exists, and by comparison, the Jidong Guild Hall has fared the best, remaining well-preserved to this day.

Scenic Area Address: Xieqiao Street, Shunxin South Road, Shengze Town, Wujiang District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province

Transportation: Take a bus from Jiangsu or Wujiang heading to Shengze Town or Jiaxing, then transfer to a taxi or minibus to Xieqiao Street after arriving in Shengze; or take Bus 163 and get off at the Mulan Kou intersection.

Shengze Town: Shengze Town is located at the southernmost tip of Jiangsu Province, in the Taihu Lake basin, featuring vast fertile plains, numerous lakes, a warm climate, and ample rainfall — ideal for growing rice, wheat, mulberry, and silkworms. It is known as a famous land of fish and rice, as well as the capital of silk. The town covers an area of 118 square kilometers, including a built-up urban area of 22 square kilometers. Its permanent population is 180,000, with 107,000 registered residents and approximately 70,000 migrant merchants and workers. Shengze Town is an economic hub of Wujiang City, especially significant in terms of industrial economy.

Shengze Town is an economic hub of Wujiang City, especially significant in terms of industrial economy... More details about Shengze Town++