Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Wuzhen
0573
Like Zhouzhuang and other water towns in southern Jiangsu, Wuzhen's
charming network of waterways and access to the Grand Canal once made it
a prosperous place for its trade and production of silk.
Sights
With its old bridges, ancient temples, age-old residences, museums and
canal-side Ming- and Qing-dynasty architecture, Wuzhen
(
www.wuzhen.com.cn
) is an appetising and photogenic if over- commercial-
ised slice of old China.
The old town is divided into two areas: Dongzha ( ¥100; east scenic zone)
and Xizha ( ¥120, ¥80 after 5pm; west scenic zone), with a combined ticket for
both areas (¥150). Buy your ticket at the
main visitor centre
( rukou; Daqiao
Lu; through ticket ¥150; 8am-5.30pm)
, where money exchange and an
ATM can be found; you can also take a boat from here across the lake.
The main street of Dongzha scenic zone, Dongda Jie, is a narrow path
paved with stone slabs and flanked by wooden buildings. Some of these are
workshops, such as the
Sanbai Wine Workshop
( Sanbai Jiufang), an actual
distillery churning out a pungent rice wine ripe for the sampling.
MAO DUN'S FORMER RESIDENCE
( Mao Dun Guju)
Revolutionary writer Mao Dun was a contemporary of Lu Xun
and the author of
Spring Silkworms
and
Midnight
. His great-grandfather, a
successful merchant, bought the house in 1885 and it's a fairly typical example
from the late Qing dynasty.
Historic Building
HUIYUAN PAWN HOUSE
( Huiyuan Dangpu)
The Huiyuan Pawn House was once a famous pawnshop
that eventually expanded to branches in Shanghai.
Historic Building
