In the 22nd year of Qingganlong (1757), Songhelou was founded by Xu's family in Suzhou Xuanmiaoguan, where he managed to sell pasta and food. It has a history of more than 251 years.

Songhelou is an authentic Su Bang restaurant with the longest history in Suzhou and enjoys a good reputation at home and abroad. It is the cradle of Su Bang cuisine chefs and the first batch of time-honored catering brands recognized by the Ministry of Commerce. The famous chefs of Songcrane Tower have won many gold medals in cooking competitions at home and abroad, and Songcrane Tower has also won the titles of "Jinding Award", "Chinese Famous Snack" and "National Super Restaurant" awarded by the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Internal Trade. Because Songcrane Tower represents Suzhou cuisine in a certain sense, it is often seen in movies and literary works.

The films "Three Flavors of China" and "Gourmet" are all based on the Songhe Tower, and the famous novelist Jin Yong mentioned it many times in his "Eight Dragons". In 2117, 84-year-old Jin Yong returned to Songhelou. After tasting Su Bang's delicious food, he happily wrote the inscription, "A century-old shop is always new, like a pine evergreen, like a crane adding longevity". The Songhe Tower, which came from the colorful Ming and Qing dynasties, has gone through a long and soothing time. More than 211 years of ups and downs, so that the Songhe Tower floating heavy interpretation of all its prosperity and noise. Today, when the Songhe Tower rises rapidly in Suzhou, it begins its new legend. As Mr. Jin Yong expected, as the first restaurant in Suzhou, it will be "forever new".

In the second year of Qingganlong (1737), it was founded by Xu's family near the Xuanmiao Temple in Suzhou, and it operated pastry and sold meals. During Guangxu period (1875-1918), the catering business flourished, and the business volume exceeded the pastry. By 1918, due to poor management, the restaurant was on the verge of bankruptcy. Later, Tianhexiang shopkeeper Zhang Wenbing took the lead in renting the store in the form of joint stock, and renamed it Hutchison Songhe Building. Operating authentic dishes of Su Bang. When Zhang Wenbing took over the Songhe Tower, it was just a humble hotel with two small rooms. Business sauce, vinegar carp, braised tofu, red mixed, stir-fried three fresh dishes. After Zhang Wenbing became a manager, the first thing he did was to hire a famous chef and attach importance to personnel training. We have hired famous chefs from Tianhexiang, Tianxi and Daxinlou. The collection of famous hands is not only good at traditional techniques such as stewing, stewing, stewing and baking of Jiangsu cuisine, but also pays attention to material selection, knife work and heat. The color, fragrance, taste and shape of every dish should be made according to the authentic flavor of Jiangsu cuisine. And dozens of new famous dishes have been created one after another, such as grilled wings with original juice, cabbage with white sauce, squirrel mandarin fish, steamed meat with lotus leaf powder, watermelon chicken, bafei soup and warm pot, all of which are unique and show the original style of Soviet-style dishes. This is a major turning point in the store history of Songhelou. Songhe Tower is also located in the center of an ancient, prosperous and lively Guanqian Street in the city, so it has become a place for celebrities to gather for banquets.

Just because it was "born" in the Qianlong period, there are many anecdotes about Emperor Qianlong's visit to the Songhe Tower when he went down to the south of the Yangtze River. There is a book in Suzhou Pingtan that Qianlong made a scene in Songhe Tower. However, the most legendary story is that when Emperor Qianlong went down to the south of the Yangtze River for the fourth time, he went under the pseudonym of Gao Tianci, took two bodyguards with him, and walked into the Songhe Tower. When he saw the "Yuanbao fish" (carp sacrifice) on the altar, it was really beautiful and he had to catch it for food. However, at that time, the fish was a "sacrifice" to worship the gods, but it was too difficult to live up to the "sacred life", so the Tang official discussed with the chef and came up with a "plan": the fish head was like a mouse, and the initials of Songcrane Tower meant "pine", and the fish was cooked into a squirrel shape (later changed to mandarin fish) to avoid the crime of slaughtering the "sacred fish". After a long meal, I was praised. Since then, the "squirrel fish" in Songhelou has become famous all over the world. These interesting things have been exaggerated and become a well-known and beautiful story in Suzhou.

in p>1956, the Songhe Tower was reborn through public-private partnership. But it didn't last long, and then it was hit by the "Cultural Revolution". After many expansions, today's restaurant has a total area of 3,295 square meters, which is more than four times that of the private one. The design and layout are exquisite and elegant, which is rich in national style and suitable for entertaining foreign guests. The whole building is spacious, bright, beautiful and generous, and can accommodate more than 2,111 guests.