The Grand Canal, serving as the main commercial route connecting north and south China in the Ming and Qing dynasties, was a route along which travelling merchants make profits. Guild halls along the Grand Canal provided merchants with places for trade, amusement, leisure, gathering of fellow townsmen and other activities.

Guild halls along the Grand Canal emerged in the Ming dynasty and flourished in the Qing dynasty, and were a result of social, political, economic and cultural changes along the Grand Canal in the Ming and Qing dynasties. These guild halls flourished and declined, witnessing the flourishing and decline of the commercial route and cities along the Grand Canal and reflecting the changes of merchants’ social organisations.