Qiandeng Ancient Town

[40 minutes by car from hotel]

Qiandeng (literally translated as "a thousand lamps") is an ancient town with a rich cultural heritage dating back more than 2,000 years. The 3,000-metre-long slate-paved street first built during the Southern Song Dynasty comprises more than 2,000 stone slates, rendering it the longest and best-preserved of its kind in Jiangsu province. Qiandeng's ancient residences have a distinctive antique appeal characterised by the whitewashed walls and black tiles of Suzhou and Huizhou architecture. This notably cultural town is also the birthplace of Kunqu Opera, one of the oldest surviving forms of Chinese opera.