The Wu’an Guild Hall, located at No 10 Tiankuqian, inside the Chang Gate, was added to the Suzhou cultural relics list in 1982.

The guild hall was built in the 12th year of the Guangxu emperor of the Qing Dynasty (1886), with funds from businessmen from Wu’an, Henan province (today’s Hebei province) who traded in silk in Suzhou.

The hall occupies a 106-square-meter piece of ground, facing south. Along the main axis there is a spirit screen, the first gate, a stage for performing traditional Chinese opera, and the main hall.

There is also a hall to the east of the first gate, and a building to the west of the main hall. Between the first gate and the screen there are high walls on the east and west sides, forming an independent courtyard. To the south of the first gate stand a pair of stone lions. There is a 5-sq-m upright stone tablet standing between the walls, with inscriptions and a list of donors.

The traditional opera stage is 4.8 m high, 2.7 m wide, and 4.9 m long, and faces the main hall to the north. The main hall is 8.85m wide and 8.6m long, with a Yingshan-style roof made of bamboo tube-like tiles, flat beams, and carvings covered with gold foil. There are corridors with windows connecting the hall with the stage and the first gate. Its columns are supported by carved, drum-like stones.

The entire guild hall is still complete, with a somewhat unusual layout and structure, even for the city of Suzhou.