The original site of Suzhou Weaving Department is located at Xiatang, Daicheng Bridge in the urban area of Suzhou (now at the southwest of Suzhou Tenth Middle School). It was listed as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level by the State Council of China in 2013.
The silk industry in Suzhou has been well developed ever since the ancient time, therefore Suzhou is one of China's silk centers. To meet the needs of the Court, weaving bureaus were established in Suzhou since Yuan Dynasty which was directly managed by the central government. In Ming Dynasty the eunuch took charge of weaving, and the weaving and dyeing bureaus were set at the present Guanqian Northern Bureau. In the third year of the Reign of Emperor Shunzhi (1646)in the Qing Dynasty, the weaving bureau was constructed at the east of Daicheng Bridge in which sat the old site of Zhou Kui’s(Father of Queen Zhou of Emperor Chongzhen) house at the end of Ming Dynasty, also known as “Head Weaving Bureau”. In the thirteenth year of the Reign of Emperor Kangxi (1674) it was renamed Weaving Yamen (government office). In the twenty-third year of the Reign of Emperor Kangxi, some imperial palaces were established to the west of Suzhou Weaving Department.
According to records, the original Weaving Department was of a macro scale, and its halls, grand houses, gardens and pools, machinery rooms, offices were all available which covered a wide area. In the tenth year of the Reign of Emperor Xianfeng (1860), it was destroyed by a fighting fire. In the tenth year of the Reign of Emperor Tongzhi (1871) the Weaving Department was reconstructed, but didn’t get restored to its original design. The existing architectures of Qing Dynasty are only the front gate and door of etiquette. The front gate is made of stones, and stretches as long as three rooms with 13.4 meters long and 6.4 meters deep. Between the ridge columns there are three General’s Doors (door formed by use of un-continuous construction method). The six door leaves, door hairpins (round, rectangular or hexagon ornament parts installed on the door lintels), jambs, Lianying(carved ornamental wooden components installed on top of the door) , banisters and stone pieces placed at both sides of the door for ornament and protection are original. Including the imperial palace ruins centered around Ruiyun peak, Suzhou Weaving Department site is the largest one for existing remains among "Jiangnan Three Weaving Departments", which was refurbished in 1996.