Zhoucun Ancient Commercial Town Historical and Cultural Block – located in the Zhoucun district of Zibo city, in East China's Shandong province – was recently included in the first batch of 55 national tourism leisure blocks, according to a report released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The ancient town is one of the few traditional historical and cultural blocks in Shandong province in the architectural styles of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties and the Republic of China (1912-49). The area that is covered by the existing ancient buildings from those periods is over 50,000 square meters.

It has architectural styles combining Eastern and Western cultures and still functions as a business precinct today. Moreover, it has won fulsome praise for being "China's living ancient commercial street museum complex".

The impressive gate of Zhoucun Ancient Commercial Town Historical and Cultural Block. [Photo/WeChat account: zibowenhualvyou]

The former office of British American Tobacco – one of the world's foremost international businesses – is located in the middle part of Zhoucun Ancient Commercial Town Historical and Cultural Block. [Photo/WeChat account: zibowenhualvyou]