Translated by: Xu Jiayu

Edited by: Alex Hawke

The City wall has beenthe elegant and sturdy coat of ancient Suzhou, protecting the city from wind and rain, holding against enemy invasions for thousands of years, as well as contributing to the landscape of the city. Consisting of eight ancient gates, which marked the entry point by land and water,whichwere destroyed multiple times through the ages, just to be rebuilt over and over again.Nowadays, they are still standing, as landmarks, guarding this millenary city.

On the afternoon of December 8th, the Silk Road School(SRS) organized a city walkto explore the past and present life of the ancient city wall in Xiangmen, through the Double Pagoda Market（双塔市集）, the Suzhou Twin Towers（苏州双塔）, and Dinghuisi xiang（定慧寺巷）, to appreciate the secrets of the ancient and the modern,harbored in the hidden alleys of the city.

First, theyvisitedthe City Wall Museum in Xiangmen, where they learned about the historical changes that the City wall has suffered throughout the years, as well as the restoration and preservation works done in it.

Professor Jiang Xiaoli, Deputy Dean ofSRS, introducedto the studentsthat the Suzhou city wall was built in 514 B.C.E., between Spring and Autumn. Xiangmen, also known as “craftsman gate” or“general gate”, was named after a sword maker who was ordered to set up a furnace to craft swords. Xiangmen is located in the east of Suzhou, and it is an important symbol that contrasts the style of the ancient city with the modern one.

Over the next 2,500 years,the ancient city wall of Suzhou was constantly being repaired, and became a pioneering work in urban planning and construction. At present, the protection of the ancient city is regulated by law and has become a national heritage patrimony,the restoration work is continuously promoted.

Jahongir,from Tajikistan, said that by seeing the gardens, the alleys, the city walls, the historic districts,as well as other historic places, it is possible to appreciate how well the ancient city has been preserved, how well it has been protected.Thanks to these efforts, it is possible for us to appreciate this cultural heritage carried through the ages.

From Spring and Autumn so far, Suzhou has been built for more than 2500 years. Time has passed, preserving the city's historical and cultural memory. “It's a blessing to live here, an antique city, filled with monuments, full of places of interest, full of culture. The saying ‘Within a hundred steps, there will be grass' can be used here”.

After half a day of exploration in the city, the students transited the history of Suzhou on foot, and found the importance of preserving the history held in our cities,while also getting a closer look at the balance between cultural inheritance and modernization.

Teachers and students climbed up theXiangmen City Wall together, feeling the heavy burden of historyunder their feet, looking at the ancient city landscape, and enjoying the autumn scenery of the city.