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Cangqiao Straight Street [Photo/sx.gov.cn]

Cangqiao Straight Street in Yuecheng district in Shaoxing, East China's Zhejiang province, is a historic and cultural street featuring unique ancient houses.

The old street is composed of three main parts–the river, residential buildings and the slabstone road. The street has won a UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation, for being a "living showcase of Chinese heritage".

It runs 2.2 kilometers from Shengli West Road in the north and reaches Luxun West Road in the south. There are dozens of traditional ancient stone bridges along the street, including the Cangqiao, Longmen and Baozhu bridges.

On both sides of the river sit residential houses, most of which were built during the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and the early Republic of China period (1912-1949), reflecting the traditional architectural features and customs of Shaoxing.

There are also many traditional shops and restaurants on both sides of the street. To enable visitors to learn as much as possible about Shaoxing customs, local authorities have set up an art hall, a yellow rice wine hall, a drama hall and a painting and calligraphy hall.

Address: Yuecheng district, Shaoxing, Zhejiang province