During the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, the traffic in Suzhou was mainly sedan chairs and donkeys and horses. There are donkeys and horses for rent in front of Guandi Temple. Guandi Temple is at the entrance of Xishou Tea Garden, at the east foot of Xuanmiao Temple, opposite to Qingfeng Mingyuelou Tea House in Orchid Street. When someone calls for a job, the donkey driver will run after the donkey with a whip and shout to clear the way. Coupled with the jingle of bells hanging under the donkey's neck, the cries of bearers "leaning against each other" when the two shouldered sedan chairs meet, formed a unique symphony in Guanqian Street. After the "Oriental rickshaw" shaped like a reclining chair was introduced from Shanghai to Suzhou, sedan chairs and donkeys and horses were gradually eliminated. However, there were restrictions before rickshaws entered Kansai. First, because the crowded streets are very narrow, and then there is a "samurai hall" on the Kanto Vinegar Square Bridge, pedestrians can't pass under it, so rickshaws are prohibited from going from Kanto Vinegar Square Bridge to Kansai Cang Qiao.
One touching thing before viewing is that many famous shops along the street have adapted to people's shopping needs earlier. Many of these stores have a history of 100 years, and the only name in the world that can smell them is enough to link their specialties with their characteristics.
Starting from the Kanto Vinegar Square Bridge, the first thing you see is the butcher shop recommended by Lu Manuscript, which was built in the second year of Qing Emperor Kangxi (1663). Its most famous "Lu Manuscript Toe Recommendation" is selected from the "Hu Pig" in Taihu Lake Basin, which is thin and tender, perishable when cooking and delicious. In addition, it also uses the big and tender Suzhou Loumen duck to cook the honey duck, which is also famous in Suzhou.
A few houses away from it, there is a square brick wall more than 6 meters high, with a row of five bays, which looks quaint and spectacular in front of the building. On the lintel of Shimen, there is the word "Hengfu" carved with bricks and gilded. This is the famous Hengfu Silver House in Jinpu. The Silver House was built in the eighth year of Daoguang (1828). It deals in all kinds of gold and silver jewelry and decorations, including the statues of the birthday girl and the Eight Immortals, which are brightly colored and eye-catching. Because its gold resources come from banks in Shanghai and Hong Kong, it is famous for its good color and exquisite craftsmanship.
There is a raw chunyang ham shop in Zhusi Lane, formerly known as Ju Cheng Xiang Leg Stack, which was founded in Tongzhi period of Qing Dynasty. It bought ham from Jinhua, Dongyang, Yiwu, Rugao and other places, with strict purchase, small profits but quick turnover, and gradually became a giant in Suzhou preserved meat industry.
Living near Chunyang's home is Caizhizhai candy store. In the ninth year of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty (1870), Mr. Jin, a native of Henan Province, set up a stove at the entrance of Zhusi Lane to boil sugar and operated a penny of zongzi sugar. In the tenth year of Guangxu (1884), Jin Yinzhi rented the facade of the opposite Caizhizhai antique shop, and with the help of his son, he opened a candy shop, dealing in homemade Soviet-style candy, roasted seeds and nuts and candied fruit, and his business was booming. Because there is no store name, customers still call it Caizhizhai, and the Kim family pushed the boat with the tide, and this gold-lettered signboard was officially hung up.
Located at the entrance of the eastern foot of Xuanmiao Temple, Huang Tianyuan Pastry Group Store is famous for its exquisite, waxy, soft, sweet and fat products. A Dream of Red Mansions 1 1 is one of its famous points. Our shop was founded in the first year of Qing Daoguang (182 1). Because of its unique formula, materials and technology, all kinds of cakes are famous at home and abroad.
Songhelou is the oldest and most prestigious restaurant in Suzhou Subang Restaurant, which was founded in the second year of Qianlong (1737). At first, it was a noodle restaurant, famous for braised duck noodles and Jindao chicken noodles. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Su Bang dishes were cooked by famous chefs, paying attention to the selection of ingredients and the cooking method, and giving full play to the characteristics of stewing, stewing, stewing and stewing, so that each dish was full of color, flavor and beauty. Its dishes such as Sweet and Sour Mandarin Fish, Jade (Shrimp), Raw Shark's Fin, Steamed Meat with Lotus Leaf Powder, Snow Crab Fight, and herring splashing water are well known.
By 1930s, the business of Guanqian Street was more prosperous, and it spread to eunuch lane and North Bureau. At that time, the new edition of Suzhou Travel Guide published by Suzhou Wen Yi Bookstore described it like this: "Guanqian Street is the most prosperous place in this city. Cars and horses hit the hub and people meet each other. Business is parallel and competition is different. The city beckons in the breeze. The breeze at night can caress people's foreheads. The torch shines like the day, but it looks like a star in the distance, flickering. Compared with Joffre Street, the people here are quite exotic. Because the market distribution was not enough before, it was expanded to the North Bureau of South Street by eunuchs. The Northern Bureau used to be a wasteland, but now there are small parks in it. Surrounded by a huge circle, if there are domestic shopping malls, tea shops, restaurants, theaters, theaters, hotels, etc., it will become an entertainment area for Sioux people.
The attraction before the view is really related to its surrounding environment, especially the mediation between eunuchs and Beifangju, which complements the prosperity before the view. Eunuch Lane is an alley parallel to Guanqian Street in the south, and it is called "Eating Evil Eunuch Lane" because of the concentration of food stores. In 1930s, there were restaurants such as Zhengxingge, Gong Xuan, Sanwu, Daxinyang and Lin Jue Vegetable and Food Forest. After liberation, especially after the reform and opening up, eunuchs became more and more prosperous and were called "food street". Deyuelou, Wang Si Restaurant, Shanghai Laozhengxing, Yuan Dachang, Jiujiu Mijian and other restaurants stand shoulder to shoulder here. At night, all kinds of neon lights reflect all kinds of colors, and the vehicles in the driveway are very busy. After the banquet, the guests walked through the palace alley in front of the view, and some people brought back various items by the way.