Three villages and six rural building complexes in Zhangjiagang, a county-level city in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province, recently received recognition from the Suzhou government.

Among them was Jincun village in the Zhangjiagang High-tech Industrial Development Zone. Due to its more than 1,500 years of history, the village has many ancient buildings that date back to the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911). The Jincun Temple Fair, also known as the Yongchang Temple Fair after Yongchang Temple, a landmark of the village, is a national-level intangible cultural heritage item.

A vast area of flowers in Xiaojiaxiang. [Photo/zjgonline.com.cn]

Another village, Xiaojiaxiang, is located in the Fenghuang Mountain scenic area. It is home to the Heyang culture and more than 10 national and municipal-level intangible cultural heritage items, such as the Heyang folk song, Heyang temple fair, and Gaozhuang tofu making techniques. The village has been beautifying the environment of its crop fields, fishing ponds, forests, rivers and lakes.

Zhujiadai is a village formed in 1830 by inhabitants from places such as Rugao, Jingjiang, and Jiangyin. It is a national three-star rural tourist destination and a provincial four-star rural scenic spot.

Ancient buildings on Tianzhuang Ancient Street. [Photo/zjgonline.com.cn]

The traditional building complexes winning municipal recognition are all located on Tianzhuang Ancient Street. The street was a thriving business hub in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and has been renovated since 2006.