Qiandeng town is a picturesque water town in Kunshan

Kunshan

Kunshan is a satellite city in the greater Suzhou region. Administratively, it is a county-level city within the prefecture-level city of Suzhou. It is located in southeastearn part of Jiangsu Province, China, adjacent to Jiangsu's border with the Shanghai Municipality.The total area of ​​Kunshan...

, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. It is located 15 kilometers south of Kunshan city, bordering the East side with Shanghai Qingpu District. Qiandeng town has an area of 84 square kilometers, a population of about 13 million people.

Qiandeng town was formerly Qiandun, (千墩 one thousand pier) since Ming Dynasty, it was renamed Qiandun village in 1910, established as a township in 1950, and changed to its present name in 2003.

Qiandeng has a rich cultural heritage, it was the native place of Gu Jian, founder of Kunqu

Kunqu

Kunqu , also known as Kunju , Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. It evolved from the Kunshan melody, and dominated Chinese theatre from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The style originated in the Wu cultural area...

 in Yuan Dynasty

Yuan Dynasty

The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...

,it was also the birthplace f famous Ming dynasty thinker Gu Yanwu

Gu Yanwu

Gu Yanwu , also known as Gu Tinglin , was a Chinese philologist and geographer. He spent his youth in anti-Manchu activities at a time when the Ming Dynasty had been overthrown. He never served the Qing Dynasty...

Qiandeng town is now a national historical and cultural town in China, also national 4A grade scenic destination.

Gu Jian Museum

Gu Jian museum to ommemorate the founder of Kunqu

Kunqu

Kunqu , also known as Kunju , Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. It evolved from the Kunshan melody, and dominated Chinese theatre from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The style originated in the Wu cultural area...

, is located at the west bank of Qiandeng river.

Former residence of Gu Yanwu

The former residence of Gu Yanwu was built by Gu Yanwu's grand father, it was destroyed by Japanese pirates, later rebuilt. It is a Ming Dynasty style building complex with formal sitting room, dining room, study and a garden. Gu Yanwu's grave is located at a quiet corner of the Gu Garden

Thousand Lamp Museum

A unique exhibition with the town's namesake is Qiandeng Guan(Thousand Lamp Museum), it feathers more than one thousand lamps, dated as early as Neolithic Age to modern times, with a time span of more than five thousand years.