The Venice of China
Visiting the waterways of Shanghai’s neighbor Wuzhen
ences are in session due to security reasons. So if you are planning to visit Wuzhen, make sure to check the conference schedule first.
Food and boats
For those who are interested in Wuzhen cuisine, the water town has a variety of seasonal food on offer. offffer. In spring, steamed salty pork with spring bamboo shoots is popular; while in winter, mutton is a must. Since we were in a water town, I ordered fish. The local cuisine, white water boiled fish, was soft, fresh and delicious! After dinner, we wandered around the old town and started eat- ing late night snacks such as crispy sisters-in-lawsisters- in- law cake, a cake made of white sugar, sesame seeds and pork oil. When the sun went down, the lights went on. The old town looked even more charming and romantic with the orange lanterns on both water sides. We decided to grab a boat ride. A boat ride that lasts about 20 minutes costs about 120 yuan during the day and 200 yuan at night. It was very relaxing to see the boat passing through those ancient bridges and waterways, and a perfect way to end our day-trip to Wuzhen. to Wuzhen.
Iknow you all love Shanghai, the largest and most cosmopolitan city in China. But you know what? The best thing about living in Shanghai is leaving it.
If you are based in Shanghai or around Suzhou, you should definitely take time out for a day-trip to Wuzhen in East China’s Zhejiang Province, a 1,300 year-old shuizhen, or “water town,” located 140 kilometers from Shanghai.
Known as China’s answer to Venice, Wuzhen is an ideal destination that combines modern art with history, nature and culture. Those waterways, narrow alleyways, elegant stone bridges, wooden terraces and timeless white-washed walls, will make you feel like you’ve opened a giant time capsule.
Water town
China has more than one town with canals. Zhouzhuang and Tongli are also similar towns near Shanghai.
But what makes Wuzhen stands out from the others? Its tourism development.
Back in early 2000, the local government started turning the historic town that into a tourist hot spot.
Unlike many townships in China where old houses were torn down and new apartments were built, in Wuzhen, the local authorities did the opposite. They demolished new apartments, repaired the old houses, moved out the factories, cleaned the rivers and limited the number of shops on the streets to avoid being too commercialized.
Local authorities also asked residents to move back into the renovated old houses and open up a guest house business for tourists. In addition, the prices of accommodation and souvenirs were set by authorities to avoid a price war. The efforts of local authorities paid off. After years of planning, Wuzhen now maintains the original appearance of ancient water towns in China.
In 2001, UNESCO listed Wuzhen on the reserve list of world cultural heritages. In 2014, about 7 million tourists visited the town, more than 230 times the number of people in 2000, according to the China Youth Travel Service’s annual report.
Beauty of Wuzhen
My friend and I took the bus from Shanghai to Wuzhen. When we arrived after a two-hour trip, we could immediately feel the difference.
In Wuzhen, time goes by slower. You can see town folks smoking, drinking tea and playing mahjong. We have expensive watches, they have time.
From a distance, the town looks like a Chinese ink wash painting.
Wuzhen, literally means “black town,” is full of houses made with black bricks and gray tiles, with white walls standing in sharp contrast.
There are many stone bridges in Wuzhen, but if you ask a local how many bridges they have exactly, they will probably tell you that you’re going to come across a bridge for every 100 steps you take.
What’s more interesting is that they all look different. Each bridge has its own story. Crossing a bridge is seen as a blessing in Wuzhen.
According to local custom, you should cross at least 10 different bridges before you cross the same one again or else you will get bad luck. With this in mind, you’d better have your walking route planned.
Don’t worry about getting lost. To attract foreign visitors, they have prepared English directions on wooden signs and have local menus in English.
Oh, and don’t worry about the weather. If it rains, then congratulations! Wuzhen looks even more beautiful and peaceful on rainy days. Just stop somewhere to enjoy the view and listen to the sound of the rain hitting the rooftops.
Xizha and Dongzha
The majority of attractions in Wuzhen are split into two sections – East and West. The western part of Wuzhen, Xizha, is entirely composed of tourist spots and has the best views at night; while the eastern part, Dongzha, is where a majority of the attractions are and where the local people live. We started our day-trip by strolling through the stone alleyways in Wuzhen West scenic section because it is three times bigger than its East.
It’s open from 8:00 to 22:30 and a ticket is 120 yuann ($20). If you pay another 30 yuan, you ou can visit both scenic sections together. ether.
To enter Wuzhenen West you can travel by bus, boat or on foot. It usually takes aboutt three hours to see the whole area, , but if you don’t have much time, I suggest you don’t bother visiting Wuzhenzhen East.
One of the highlights for foreigners in Wuzhen West is the foot-binding museum.
If you have no idea dea what that is, a look at the feet of the fake model at the entrance will give you a hint.
OK. Here is the sad truth about Chinesese women who boundd their feet: Foot binding ding was a widespread custom in ancient China that hat lasted more than 1,000 years. In n olden days, girls would started wrapping pping up their feet to keep them from m getting any bigger around age 4 to 9.
How? Their toes s would be bent backward and squeezed into a hoof-like shape. By doingng so, their feet would stop growing g and remain as small as “lotus feet,” as they called them. What was thehe purpose behind all this? It was considered a form of beauty.
My great-grandmother had her feet bound. I askedd my grandmother if that made it inconvenient for greatgrandma to work and she replied saying her mother didn’t need to work, or even walk,k, as her family was rich enough to hire e someone to carry her wherever she went.
If you are feeling ng upset after seeing this twisted form of beauty, you can go check out some performances that mightt cheer you up, such as bamboo poleole climbing, a performance unique ue to Wuzhen; or a shadow-play, a 2,000-year-old00- year- old folk art that uses articulated ed figures in front of an illuminated backdrop to create the illusion of moving ving images.
One of the most t popular attractions in Wuzhen West is the old post office. It opened in n 1903 and is still in operation today. Its architectural style is different than an other wooden houses in town. It has a Westernstyle iron gate that makes it easy to recognize. My favorite place ce was the indigo fabric workshop that produces and distributes indigo cloth. It is hard to miss because it has such a large clothe othe drying space tilled with poles and nd cloth frames. It is the perfect place for a selfie!
Everything in Wuzhen is centuries-old. This workshop kshop was founded in 13th century andd still in business now. Across from the workshop is a weaving factory. You ou can watch the whole process of coloring and weav- ing.
In the afternoon we took the free shuttle bus to to Wuzhen Wuzhen East. We visited the ancient bed museum and the folk customs museum.
Old and modern
Wuzhen has a rich history, yet it is as modern as it is old.
A must- must-go go place is the Mu Xin Art Museum, which is dedicated to the famous Chinese artist Mu Xin, who was born in Wuzhen but later immigrated to the US.
It was designed by New Yorkbased firm OLI Architecture and opened in 2015. Seen from afar, the two-storetwo- store museum looks to be “floating” on the water. When you walk inside, it looks like a series of concrete boxes.
Another modern side of of Wuzhen Wuzhen is the Internet. The water town hosted the first World Internet Conference in 2014. Many believe the reason it was chosen to hold such a high- high-tech tech conference is because of the town’s beauty. Last year, over 2,000 participants including top Internet executives, government offi- offiffifficials from 120 countries and regions attended the conference.
However, tourists are reportedly not allowed to enter when confer--