Zhejiang Wuzhen – Water Town in South China

Wuzhen is the No.1 summer resort agreed by Chinese people, there are charming scenery everywhere. Many famous people make a film or MV in Wuzhen. When you go to Wuzhen, you will find bridges, rivers, old towns… Every where is so wonderful and peace.

Wuzhen lies in the far north-east of Zhejiang province, about 90 minutes by road from Shanghai. The name "water town" is especially apt; besides lying on the Grand Canal, the settlement is completely encircled by two rivers - the Dong Shi and a smaller tributary, which meet at a T-junction. No matter where you stand, water provides the backdrop, the bridges connect the whole town.

WuZhen is one of the old town among Jiannan, there is more than 6000 years old for this old town. Wuzhen wass called as Wudun and Qingdun. Wuzhen is an special “water town”, it is appraised as the land of fish and rice, and the home of silk. Now, Wuzhen is a AAAAA scenic spots in China.

With the economic developed, Wuzhen still keeps its style of water town. Local people still live in old houses. The whole town is connected by rivers and bridges, houses were built by the rivers.

Wuzhen is still a living town, where daily life goes on life goes on as it has for the last thousand or so years. Coppersmiths, wood-carver and silk-spinners work at their age-old crafts. Bicycle rickshaw drivers exchange stories as they wait for passengers. People cart water, cook meals, and tend their gardens, each flower-plot the size of a postage stamp.

The townsfolk of Wuzhen gather in the town square around mid-day - talking, smoking or playing mah-jongg. They seem laidback and contented. Most of all, they seem to enjoy observing the passing parade, which provides a constant source of amusement. Western visitors are still a rarity here.

About 250 families used to live in the old quarter of Wuzhen. However, following the "restoration" of the town, many townsfolk have been moved out to the "new" Wuzhen, an attractively landscaped but otherwise characterless apartment block 15 km down the road towards Shanghai. Those who remain are mainly the elderly and craftspeople.

The old wooden shops of Wuzhen look ageless and immovable, as though their timbers have totally defied the ravages of time. At first, one suspects that the custodians of the town have tried to cover up the decomposing processes of nature. But look more closely and you find slow rot setting in around the bases of the doorframes, and splinters breaking away from the lintels. What little restoration has been done is so inconspicuous as to be totally indistinguishable from the original.

All the buildings in Wuzhen are in Ming or Qing Dynasty style. One palatial establishment is the "Double Happiness" Marriage Shrine. Twin hearts are joined in a nouveau-Chinese character in gilt upon a flaming crimson background, presumably depicting the inseparability of marriage - perhaps the Chinese know something that we Westerners don't.

Wuzhen also has some unique attractions, including Yu Liuliang's Coin and Paper Money Exhibition.

No fewer than eight stone bridges cross theDong Shi River, the grandest of them being the Fengyuan Double Bridge. The bridge is separated into two parts by a wooden sluice gate. Cyclists carry their bikes across the high arches of the bridges, which are designed to let boats pass underneath without difficulty.

Back in the main square, the elders are still hanging out. On the village stage, a performance of Peking Opera is underway. Across the square, a master puppeteer entertains visitors with a shadow-play of the type known in Java as wayang kulit. But while the Javanese version of shadow puppetry is subtle and refined, the Wuzhen style has the protagonists attacking each other with the ferocity of tigers.

Whether by accident or design, this town seems to have been dropped into its watery setting by a master town planner from another galaxy. A more perfect location for a settlement would be difficult to find.