Qingguo Lane, known as the "Number One Lane of Distinguished Scholars in the South of the Yangtze River"

Qingguo Lane, formerly known as "Thousand Fruit Lane", is one of the ancient streets of Changzhou, established before the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty (1581), and is reputed as the "Number One Lane of Distinguished Scholars in the South of the Yangtze River". Qingguo Lane is located in the southern part of the central area of the old town of Changzhou, bordered by the ancient canal to the south, starting from Zhengsu Lane in the east, extending to Jinling Middle Road in the west, leading directly to the Nan Street commercial center in the south, and reaching the ancient village in the north. The entire district is approximately 400 meters long from east to west and about 200 meters long from north to south, covering an area of about 8.7 hectares. In 2014, the People's Government of Jiangsu Province announced it as a historical and cultural district. Qingguo Lane is one of the ancient streets of Changzhou. It was established before the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty (1581), when the canal entered from Wenheng Bridge to the West Water Gate, passed through the east and west Xiaotang, and meandered eastward after crossing the city from the East Water Gate. Qingguo Lane faced the canal section of the city, and at that time, ships gathered there, making it a distribution center for fruits from the north and south. Fruit shops of various kinds were opened along the coast, and it was formerly known as "Thousand Fruit Lane". The "Changzhou Fu" states: "Enter the lane of a thousand fruits, where peaches, plums, apricots, and cherries are all displayed in various colors." Later, the canal was rerouted, but the name of the lane was retained. In the Changzhou dialect, "thousand" and "green" are hard to distinguish, hence the name "Qingguo Lane".