Luyuan Ancient Town

Luyuan Ancient Town

Luyuan Town is now located in Tangqiao Town in the central part of Zhangjiagang City, 11 kilometers from Yangshe Town, where the municipal government is situated. According to the Chronicles of Changshu and Zhaowu, during the Spring and Autumn Period, this town was originally a deer-raising ground for King Fuchai of Wu, hence the name. By the Song and Yuan dynasties, Luyuan had developed into a market town, and from the Ming and Qing dynasties onward, the town flourished as a bustling commercial hub with merchants gathering from all around, becoming a significant riverside settlement.

Luyuan Ancient Town boasts a long history, a developed culture, and numerous historical sites. Stone tools, jade artifacts, and pottery unearthed at the Xuwang Neolithic site within the town indicate that over 6,000 years ago, ancient inhabitants were already living and thriving on this historic land.

In the eastern part of the town, there is the Hongji Bridge built in the first year of the Tianqi era of the Ming Dynasty (1621). Not far to the west of the town lies Dongduyuan (the ancient site of Huangpiupu).

To the north of the town lies the Yantie Pond, which legend says was excavated during the Western Han Dynasty for Wu King Liu Pi to transport salt and iron. By the mid-Song Dynasty, to prevent seawater backflow, a seawall (also known as the Sea Dam), stretching hundreds of miles, was constructed parallel to the Yantie Pond. The smoke beacon towers built during the Ming Jiajing era for resisting Japanese pirates and issuing alerts still have clearly visible ruins.

In the eastern part of the town, there is also a ginkgo tree planted during the Dade era (1297–1307) of Emperor Chengzong of the Yuan Dynasty, which is now listed as a provincial-level cultural relic.

Transportation

It can be reached by taking bus lines 201 or 211.

Tangqiao Town: Tangqiao Town, Zhangjiagang City, Jiangsu Province, is located at the intersection of China’s coastal and Yangtze River economic development zones. Situated in the southeastern part of Zhangjiagang, an emerging port city in the Yangtze River Delta, it is surrounded by major cities such as Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, and Nantong. To the east is the under-construction Sutong Yangtze River Bridge, to the south lies the Riverside Expressway, to the west runs the Su-Yu-Zhang First-Class Highway and the Jiangyin Yangtze River Bridge, and to the north borders the golden waterway of the Yangtze River. National Highway 204 runs directly from north to south, while Provincial Highway 338 crosses from east to west. The town covers a total area of 94.4 square kilometers, with a population of nearly 200,000, including 89,000 registered residents... More details about Tangqiao Town++