One of the origins of modern Chinese national industry and commerce| Wuxi County Chamber of Commerce (1436)

| Wuxi County Chamber of Commerce (1436). Wuxi County Chamber of Commerce. Wuxi merchants, once dominated the modern Chinese national industry and commerce, also played an important role after the opening of Shanghai in 1843. The first stop of my visit to the highlight moments of Wuxi merchants is the old site of Wuxi County Chamber of Commerce, which has recently been listed as a national key cultural relic protection unit. The old site of Wuxi County Chamber of Commerce, built in 1905, is located in the triangle area of Jiefang Road, Taiping Lane and Hanchang Road. It is surrounded by high-rise buildings and is not currently open to the public. The main building consists of two Western-style buildings with clear water brick exterior walls and green and red colors. The front has brick carved Roman columns, covering an area of 1600 square meters, and the exterior style is typical of the early Republic of China. Xijin Chamber of Commerce, was originally established by famous industrialist Zhou Shunqing and others. Because at that time Wuxi urban and rural areas were divided into Wuxi and Jinxiu counties, the chamber of commerce of the two counties was named 'Xijin'. Zhou Shunqing (1852-1923), a native of Wuxi, named Tingbi and Shunqing, went to Shanghai as an apprentice at the age of sixteen, learned to do coal and iron business, and later became self-employed. He was known as the 'Coal and Iron King'. From 1895, he also invested in the establishment of silk cocoon and cotton yarn industries, and jointly opened modern enterprises such as Shanghai Yongtai Silk Factory, Suzhou Sulu Yarn Factory, and Wuxi Yuchang Silk Factory. In 1904, he went to Japan for inspection with the Minister of Commerce of the Qing Dynasty, and after returning to China, he organized the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce, the predecessor of the National General Chamber of Commerce, in 1905. He also initiated the establishment of Xijin Chamber of Commerce and Xijin Farmers Association in his hometown of Wuxi, and served as the first president. In 1906, he raised 500,000 taels of silver and founded the first private bank in Shanghai - Xincheng Bank, which was approved by the Qing government and granted the privilege of issuing banknotes. He was one of the richest people in modern Chinese industry. In addition to Zhou Shunqing, the presidents of Wuxi, including the Xijin Chamber of Commerce, were also giants in the Wuxi industrial and commercial circles such as Zhu Dachun, Sun Heqing, Xue Nanming, Yang Hanxi, and Qian Sunqing. From its completion to 1949, the old site of Wuxi County Chamber of Commerce has always served as the intellectual liaison center of Wuxi industry and commerce, forming a silhouette of modern streets and markets with nearby streets and lanes, and is an important heritage of modern Wuxi national industry and commerce. In May 2013, the old site of Wuxi County Chamber of Commerce was announced by the State Council of the People's Republic of China as the seventh batch of national key cultural relics protection units.