How to Visit Guanqian Street in Suzhou (Tips, Photos & Map)

Plan your Suzhou tour? Suzhou has a century old street known as "Guanqian Street"（观前街). After having visited some big tourist draws in Suzhou, you may stroll along Guanqian Street to have a real feel of the local life.

ABC of Guanqian Street in Suzhou

Guanqian Street literally means "a street before a Taoist temple". Guanqian Street is named after a Taoist temple called "Xuanmiao Temple"(玄妙观). This Taoist temple has a long history dating back to 276AD and it was originally built in the Western Jin Dynasty. 

Guanqian Street was renovated and widened in 1930 during the republic era. On June 1982, it was designated as "Pedestrian Street", a night market as well by the local Suzhou Government.

There are a bunch of time-honored shops like Songhelou, Caizhizhai, Sanwanchang, Deyuelou and Huangtianyuan. A slew of fashionable stores, chic shops and quality restaurants line the street. The street has become a pastime, a must see attraction in Suzhou. Your Suzhou trip is incomplete if you miss the street.

How to Get to Guanqian Street

Guanqian Street is located in the city center of the old area within the city moat of Suzhou with a length of 760 meters from east to west. The street can be divided into three sections: west section ( teeming with old buildings), middle section ( the temple itself) and the east section (trendy shops and restaurants).

You can bus to the street since there are numerous bus lines running past Guanqian Street: Tourist Bus line Bus 1、2、4; Public Bus 1、101、102、103、33、38、313、146 and the list could be much longer. You may walk to Guanqian Street which is walking distance within the city proper of the old Suzhou city.

Best visit time: from 10:00am to 9:00pm

Virtual Tour of Guanqian Street

Xuanmiao Taoist Temple is located on the mid section of the Guanqian Pedestrian Street.

Tip:  Hassle-free Jiangsu Guided Tours

If you don’t want to do a self-guided tour and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours,  here are some options for organized tours to Jiangsu Province:

Further Readings