Panmen  gate:Located on the west of the city,the gate was first named to the wood-carved coiling dragon on its gateway,which implied the conquest of the neighbouring Tue State.
	Panmen  gate		City walls and canals
	In the 6th year of Emperor Jing Wang of the ZHou Dynasty(514BC)，Wu Zi xu was in structed by King  Helu of  Wu  State to build the grand capital city on the expanse of the Southem Yangtse Delta  with a circumference of  47 1i on which were opened 81 and gates and 8 water gates．In the 11th year of Kaihuang Reign of the Sui Dynasty(591AD)，Yang  Su  moved the seat of Suzhou to the Qizi Mounta In to the west of Suzhou，but it was changed back in the Wude Reign of the Tang Dynasty(624AD)．In the 2nd  year of Longde Reign of the Liang Dynasty during the Five Dynast iesperiod，Qian Miao had the city  walls e buil tinbrlcks 24feet high and 25 feet Wide，with inner and oute ditches and the walls were faced with design sof horses．In the 4th year of Jianyan Reign of the Southem Song Dynasty(1130AD)，when the troops of Jin State swept down from the no，the city  was ravaged seriously，but repaired after wards．In the 2nd year of Baoyou Reign(1275AD)，Suzhou Prefect Zhao Ruli added parapet to the walls．In the lst year of Dey0u Reign，the Yuan armies invaded Suzhou  and  virtually destroyed  the city，and the inhabitants had to 1ive in deserted hovels．During the Zhizheng Reign of the Yuan Dynasty，the local govemment rebuilt the City walls to protect the city against various peasant uprisings．When Zhang Shicheng ruled in Suzhou，walled  enclosues were added to city gates，but were soon destroyed when the cy fell under the attack by troops ledby General Xu Daand Chang Yuchun． A1arge“scalereno Vati on of the city walls was cared out in the early Ming Dynasty．In the lst year of Qing Empeor KangXi，Govemor Han Shiqi ag ain reconstmCted  the  walls，which stand 28 feet high  with 8 feet of parapet，and the  bricks  we see today  date from the early  Qing  period．     Besides the city  walls，there still exist three fonresses   located on the east of  Mudu Town，out side Fengmen Gate，and 0n Me Brldge，built by Govemo Shang WiChian do the rsin the 36 th year of Jing Reign of the Ming Dynasty in defense against Japanesepirates．     At the founding of the city，Wu Zixu ordered acanaldug by the name of Xang，by which the wate from ldke Tai was ledin to the city．In the  6th  year of  Daye  Reign of the Sui Dynasty，Empero Yangti decreed that， to facilitate transportation  of goods to the capital，canals be dug  in  the   Southem  Yangtse Valley to 1ink up what is now known as the Grand Canal，which passed by Xuguan to Maple Bridge，then forked of fin two directions  zone  now ingeast ward to Changmen Gate and further down to the Southem  Canal，and the other  going east  ward  from  Caiyun  Bridge  to Xu Jiang River，and joining the oute rmoato f Suzhou  at Talrang Brldge and further down to Panmen   Gate and  Midu  Bridge to  1ink  with  the southem section of the Grand Canal at  Wujiang  county．
			[NEXT][BACK]