Pingjiang Road is located along Pingjiang He (Chinese:平江河) and is 1,606 metres (5,269 ft) in length. It stretches from Ganjiang Donglu (Chinese:干将东路) in the south to Baita Road East (Chinese:白塔东路) in the northwest, near the Humble Administrator’s Garden and Suzhou Museum. The entire historic district covers an area of 0.4 square kilometres (0.15 sq mi). The city of Suzhou was known as Pingjiang during Southern Song Dynasty. As a major thoroughfare of eastern Suzhou back then, the street carries on the former name of the city. It was featured in the map Pingjiang Tu (Chinese:平江图), produced in the year 1229.There are 51 smaller alleys intersecting the street. There are also about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) of canals within the historic district.
In 2009, Pingjiang Road is listed as a Zhongguo Lishi Wenhua Mingjie (Chinese:中国历史文化名街, literally: Famous historical and cultural street of China), one of the first nine streets with such title across China. Along with Shantang Street, the area was also declared a Zhongguo Lishi Wenhua Jiequ (Chinese:中国历史文化街区, literally: Historical and cultural block of China) in 2015.
Couple’s Retreat Garden (Ou Yuan), a noted Classical Garden located within the historic district, is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Classical Gardens of Suzhou. Guanqian Street is also in walking distance. There are 2 national-class and 12 provincial-class protection units within the historic district. Pingjiang Road undergone a major renovation prior to the 28th Session of the World Heritage Committee which took place in Suzhou in 2004.