ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the development history of Suzhou in general and that of the neighbourhoods of Pingjiang Street in particular. It focuses on houses and streets as the basic elements constituting the urban fabric in the traditional Chinese city. The chapter attempts to identify a culturally-rooted response for urban conservation and revitalization projects in China. The natural topography of the region with its numerous meandering natural waterways (streams) were carefully integrated into the original city planning and well preserved in the succeeding dynasties. During the Song dynasty, due to the gradual disappearance of walled marketplaces and residential wards, the gentry and scholar-officials' households thereafter became the pivotal points orienting social activities within a city. After the Song dynasty was conquered by the Mongols in 1279, the city walls of Suzhou were demolished as the Yuan government was suspicious of rebellious local citizens.
