The Old Town Stone Slab Street

The Old Town Stone Slab Street

The Old Town Stone Slab Street

The Old Town Stone Slab Street, stretching one kilometer from the western bank of the Old Suixi River in the east to the southern end of Guan Di Temple Lane in the west, is five meters wide. The street surface is paved with smooth bluestone slabs that gleam like mirrors. Its architecture is simple and elegant, featuring Ming and Qing styles, and it is now a key cultural relic protection site. Suixi Town, commonly known as “Kouzi,” served as the “confluence of the Bian River into the Suixi River” during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods...

Suixi Town, commonly called “Kouzi,” was historically known as the “entry point of the Bian River into the Suixi River” during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. During the Jin and Yuan dynasties, Kouzi became the entry point of the stream into the Suixi River, hence the name “Suixi Kou.” In the Ming Dynasty, wealthy merchants gathered here. To guard against banditry, the locals dug moats and built fences around the residential area, giving shape to the early Suixi Town. The Stone Slab Street was initiated by the local gentry Zhou Junzhe during the late Qing and early Republican period, using bluish flagstone for paving. During the Anti-Japanese War, the street suffered severe damage from arson by Japanese invaders, and was further bombed by aircraft during the Huaihai Campaign. Although the government allocated funds multiple times for restoration after liberation, reviving its former appearance, various ancient relics such as temples, archways, and memorial gates were tragically destroyed. The street gradually lost its former vibrancy and fell into decline. By the mid-1990s, the government began efforts to develop and protect the Old Town Stone Slab Street.

The Stone Slab Street is home to many historic sites, legends, and anecdotes related to notable figures, such as the Seventy-Two Steps to Heaven, Three Mountains Embracing One Well, Crescent Moon Bridge, Nine Turns, the City God Temple, the Guan Di Temple, the Catholic Church, and the Christian Church.