Located 18 km. to the east of the city of Suzhou, Luzhi is a well preserved ancient Venetian township in the Lake Tai basin.

Archaeological finds show that man lived here as early as Neolithic times. To the south of the township is a Neolithic cultural site called the Mounds of Zhanglin. 11 Neolithic tombs were discovered along with such funerary objects as stoneware, jade, and pottery in the Western Mounds of Zhanglin in 1977.

By the end of the 6th century B.C. the Wu Kings Helu and Fuchai successively built here the Wu King Palace, the Firmiana Simplex Garden and other imperial palaces for short stays away from the capital. The ancient township, called then Fuli, began to take shape. In the 4th century A.D. it became a trading post thanks to convenient water borne transport. Ever since the 14th century, it has become a Venetian township with a sizable population, booming business and prosperous economy lying to the east of the city of Suzhou. Theres a port, called Zhi, leading to 6 different places. For this reason, it was renamed Luzhi (Lu sounds similar to* 6 in Chinese), a name which is still used today. With a network of waterways from Lake Tai and numerous lake lets such as Lake Jincheng and Lake Wanqian, the township of Luzhi was laid out by the water in the shape of "L", covering 47 ha. and crisscrossed by the Dongshi and Nanshi Canals with a number of branches like fishbone pattern. Spanned by many bridges, the canals are characteristically flanked by alleyways, houses and market places. Businessmen travel about by boat even within short distance to do trade with one another. Also known as a Venetian Township of Bridges, Luzhi used to .have 72 bridges, 42 of which have survived to the present day. The peaceful Venetian life, simple and rustic folk customs, bridges, market places, houses and alleyways with a strong traditional flavor constitute the unique township of great antiquity, which is a brilliant example of harmonious relationship between human residences and activities and natural Water environment.

Luzhi boasts an abundance of cultural relics, of which one is under the protection of the State and 5 under the protection of the city. Since 1981 Luzhi has been listed as one of the major sights of China and one of the sights in the Lake Tai scenic region. Since 1995 it has been listed as the historic and cultural township of Jiangsu Province.

Today, a new district is being developed, changing ancient Mudu into a modern town opening to the outside world. In this district, there are function zones for industry, villa residences and holiday resorts. In the villa zone, four villa areas and four apartment areas have been completed with a total floor space of 400,000 square meters. The quality, environment, infrastructure and service in the zone are all highly appreciated by domestic and foreign friends. In the holiday resort zone, two vocational centers, the Yangcheng Garden and Hongyun Garden, have been constructed; recreational facilities provided include a park for water sports, swimming pool, golf court, etc. The town has one secondary vocational school, two middle schools, two primary schools, one hospital and one cultural center.