Pingjiang Road

Pingjiang Road runs about a kilometre and a half along a canal in Suzhou's old town, and its layout can be checked against the Pingjiang Map, a city plan carved in stone in 1229 that shows the same street and waterway pattern still in place today, one of the oldest surviving urban maps in the world. Whitewashed houses with black tiled roofs line the water, crossed by small stone bridges, with teahouses, craft shops, silk sellers and small museums along the lane and residents still living in the side alleys. Pingtan, the Suzhou storytelling and ballad form sung to a three-stringed lute, is performed in teahouses along the street.

What you actually see

• The 1229 street plan - a layout matching a stone map drawn eight centuries ago.
• The canal and bridges - water, whitewashed houses and small stone crossings.
• The pingtan teahouses - Suzhou ballad singing performed to a small audience.
• The side alleys - residential lanes still lived in behind the main street.

When to go

March to May and September to November; the street is busiest at weekends and in holidays. Early morning and evening are quieter and better lit for photographs. Summer humidity in Suzhou is heavy.

Honest expectations

The main lane is commercialised with chain tea and snack shops. Crowds at weekends are heavy in a narrow street. Pingtan performances are short and in Suzhou dialect, with no translation.

Nearby

The Humble Administrator's Garden lies north; Suzhou Museum is beside it.