Wuxi Changjing Old Street

Changjing Town is located in the southeast of Jiangyin City. It is adjacent to Taihu Lake in the south and Changjing River in the north. It is adjacent to Wuxi, Changshu and Zhangjiagang. Surrounded by green mountains, the middle is flat. It is rich in natural resources and outstanding people. The land and water transportation is convenient. It is currently the only famous historical and cultural town in China in Jiangyin City.
The ancient name of Changjing Town is ‘Dongshun City’. It has a 5,000-year history of civilization. Now the site of ‘Shun cultivated here’ is preserved. There are key units in Jiangsu Province: Dafu Silkworm Seed Farm. There are six cultural relic protection units at the city level: Liangwu Weir, Wangjia Stone Archway, Former Residence of Zhang Dalie, Dongzhuang Bridge, Former Residence of Shangguan Yunzhu, and Lianminxuan Library. There are 17 town-level cultural relic protection control units. Ancient houses, ancient streets, ancient bridges and ancient temples can be seen everywhere in the town. It can be said that every step is a history, every step is a culture, every step is a landscape, and every step is a story.

Changjing Old Street began in the Song Dynasty and was built in the Ming Dynasty. It is more than 1,000 meters long. Strolling on the old street of Changjing in Jiangyin, the white walls and black tiles of the buildings in the Ming and Qing Dynasties are simple yet dazzling. They are particularly eye-catching in the autumn drizzle.

The ancient name of Changjing is Dongshun City. According to ‘Records of Local Customs’ compiled by Zhou Chu of the Western Jin Dynasty, Shun once lived here, cultivating with primitive farming methods and civilizing the ancestors. Since then, the ancient civilization of Changjing has been opened up. Up to now, the site of Dongshun City has become a scenic spot.

In the era of Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, due to the high terrain of Changjing and nine droughts in ten years, Crown Prince Zhaoming went to Changjing in person. According to the different terrain heights, he built weirs in sections and stored water in layers. The 18 dams known as Liangwu Weir made Changjing fully benefit from irrigation and made this land finally become a fertile place. Thus, Changjing gradually developed into a land of fish and rice.

By the Song Dynasty, because Changjing was located at the central node of the connection line between the Yangtze River and Taihu Lake, with developed water systems and convenient transportation, two major markets in the north and south were gradually formed and renamed Dongchengli.

In the first year of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty (1465), Xia Ximing, a famous person in Xili Village, built water conservancy projects and made the water system of the ancient town interconnected. Later, Xia Huiliang, the son of Xia Ximing, built houses and settled down on both sides of Changjing River. The clan lived together for dozens of miles, known as ‘Xia Bantian’ and continues to this day. The Xingshun Bridge and Xingfu Bridge built in those days still have remains.

In the Qing Dynasty, relying on its important geographical location, convenient transportation and prosperous culture, merchants from all over the south of the Yangtze River gathered, and residents around Taihu Lake migrated and gathered. In the Kangxi period, it was finally named Changjing Town and finally became a town with a long history by the river and near the lake.

Boating through the Jingshui River passing through the town, you can enjoy the scenery of people living by the water on both sides. Strolling on the thousand-meter slate old street and the Ming and Qing Street, you can appreciate the rich cultural landscapes of the millennium-old town. Wandering in the 650-mu Dongshun Lake Park, when sipping tea and fishing, you can be intoxicated by the charm of the water town where the setting sun and the lone wild duck fly together and the autumn waters merge with the sky…;

Changjing is a tourist attraction in the eastern suburbs of Jiangyin. It has formed various tourism characteristics such as the journey of seeking dreams in Dongshun, the journey of enjoying art, the journey of regional culture, and the journey of rural leisure.
Guests and tourists from home and abroad come to the ancient town. They can enjoy various flowers in spring, escape the heat in summer, taste fresh fruits in autumn, and relax in winter. The ancient town of Changjing has written a vivid chapter of Taihu Lake water town culture and performed a magnificent poem of the Yangtze River. It will also expel the stale and take in the fresh, showing its unique historical and cultural connotations between the Yangtze River and Taihu Lake and continuing to write its magnificent chapter that combines firmness and softness.

Main tourist attractions: Jingshui River, old street, Ming and Qing Street, Dafu Silkworm Egg Farm, Memorial Hall of Shangguan Yunzhu, Former Residence of Zhang Dalie, Lianminxuan Library, Dongshun Lake Park, Baichuan Park, etc.

Opening hours: Open all year round and all day.

Preferential policies:

Children: Free for those under 1.4 meters (inclusive).

The elderly: Free for those aged 70 and above; for those aged 60 (inclusive) to 69 with a senior citizen card, it’s 15 yuan.

Military personnel: Free with military officer’s certificate.

Disabled people: Free with disability certificate.

Students: 10 yuan with student ID.

Supplementary note: The above are the preferential policies for some paid attractions in the scenic area for reference only.