Qiandeng (Thousand Lamps) is another of Kunshan's "water towns", and its history dates back 2,500 years. It is located southeast of Kunshan, with Shanghai to its east and Suzhou to its west. It is the birthplace of Gu Yanwu (1613-1682), a famous philosopher, writer and patriotic scholar. In 2005, China named the Gu Yanwu Museum located at Gu's former residence in Qiandeng town as a "national patriotism education base". Gu's grave is located in the garden.

Slate Street, which was built in the Qing Dynasty, paved with 2072 of slate tiles and stretches 1.5 kilometers.

Qinfeng Pagoda, which dates back about 1,500 years to the Liang Dynasty, was restored and is now open to the public. It is home to on of the world's biggest – some say the biggest – reclining jade Buddhas, which measures 8.9 meters in length, 2.45 meters in height and is 1.35 meters wide, is also home to one of the world's largest jade reclining Buddhas. Newly produced and shipped from Myanmar, the statue is 8.9 meters in length and 32 tons in weight.

Valuable archaeological relics including jadeware and stoneware were unearthed at Shaoqing Hill, a Neolithic site in the east of Qiandeng. The hill was named of of China's 100 Major Archaeological Discoveries in the 20th Century.

Rating: AAAA

Add: 15 km to the south of Kunshan

Tel: 0512-57472155 0512-57469067

Website: http://www.chinaqiandeng.com/