Bridging the gap between now and then

Pingjiang Tu was first made in 1229 when Suzhou was known as Pingjiang. CHINA DAILY Work to preserve Pingjiang ensures that it remains a vibrant testament to the city's history, not just a showpiece trapped in its past, Zhao Xu reports in Suzhou. In this installment, we walk through Suzhou's Pingjiang Historic District, where flagstone roads and flowing water tell a story of Jiangnan, punctuated by ancient, picturesque bridges. "Canals and bridges — together, they had been visually defining the city for as long as Chinese poetry could remember," says Ruan Yongsan, a lifelong Suzhou resident who has spent the past 55 years of his life trying to protect the land's — and his own — memories. In the fifth century BC, the ambitious ruler built a grand city in modern-day Suzhou, a watery land embedded in the rice-producing Yangtze River Delta region.