A Night Discovery

The locals told me that tourists can go into Zhouzhuang Town without fare either before 7:00 am or after 7:00 pm. So one evening after dinner, we did as they suggested, headed for a natural and unique Zhouzhuang Town beyond my expectation.

It was a dimly lit everywhere and people were sitting outside and chatting with each other happily. We roved through the groups of people and found a strange place in the dark. It seemed like a blind alleyway, but when I got closer, I found it was a narrow sidestreet. To my surprise, the distance between the walls only accommodated one person, approximately half a meter! The further you walk into it, the darker it becomes. But just when I began to feel frightened, I heard voices on the other side of the wall. I kept along the wall and discovered a wooden door to someone's home! I couldn't believe that there were people living in such a narrow, dark alley. It was very interesting to come closer in this way to the true life of local people.

Zhouzhuang Breakfast

The next morning I got up early and was eager to have breakfast in the town. It was to be my second visit to Zhouzhuang Town. In the early morning it was peaceful and quiet. The streets are narrow and paved with stones. On both sides of the street are located tiny stores. I saw a lady open the door of her restaurant and began to sell soy milk and breakfast food. Naturally, I entered the room and was attracted by seeing the real wooden equipment used to grind soybeans and produce soy milk. I was curious about it, and seeing my interest, the kind hostess began to teach me how to use it, so I ended up making my breakfast by myself! Although Zhouzhuang Town has  been extremely developed for commercial tourism, there are still some special things left. After breakfast I visited a clothing workshop where all the clothes were made by an old loom I had never seen before.

Out of curiosity, I went again to the narrow alley we visited last night. It looked better under the sunshine, and this time I noticed a tablet hanging at the top that read: "The first Jiangnan alleyway, constructed in 1660 AD with a length of 58.3 meters."

Famous Scenes

Shuang Qiao (Double bridges)

If you know the Chinese artist Chen Yifei, you may know his famous oil painting named "Memory of a Hometown" which was based on the Double Bridge. Since then, the Double Bridge has became well known both at home and abroad. The Double Bridge is composed of the Shide and Yong'an bridges. They were built in during the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty and connected with each other. Because the Double Bridge looks like a key of ancient times, it is also called the Key Bridge.

The Hall of Shen's Residence (Shen Ting)

The hall of Shen's residence was built by Shen Wansan's offspring in the seventh year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty. As an extremely rich man in Chinese history, the hall of Shen's residence shows it, possessing seven courtyards and five entrances. More than 100 rooms are connected and form into one large hall. It ranks as the epitome of folk dwellings. Additionally, a river runs across it, reflecting the typical architectural features of the waterside town. But to be honest, I wasn't so much interested in such a grand construction as the simple and pure style of the riverside town.

Departure

In the afternoon we left Zhouzhuang for Shanghai because the transportation between the two places is very convenient. On the way to Shanghai, I recalled the construction style of the river town and tried hard to keep it in mind. It is my favorite memory of the visit to Zhouzhuang, and I felt sorry that Zhouzhuang has been so excessively commercialised for tourism, making it lose its natural and pure characteristics. However, it is still beautiful nonetheless, and the natural scenes of the waterside make it still worth going.

(CRIENGLISH.com)

Other famous water towns in China: Xitang  Tongli  Luzhi  Wuzhen  Nanxun

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