China's "Water Town" -- Wuzhen
09/07/2011 - 14:35

With a history of 1,200-year, Wuzhen is about one hour's drive from Hangzhou,the capital of Zhejiang Province.

The small town is famous for the ancient buildings and old town layout, where bridges of all sizes cross the streams winding through the town. It has a residential area, traditional workshop area, traditional culture area, traditional dining area, traditional shopping area, and even a scenery area that features local traditions and customs.

The streets there all run alongside rivers with bridges for intersections. Houses are built along the rivers, and they are typically imposing dwellings with spacious courtyards, overlapping roofs and high eaves.

In 2007, the reconstructed western part of town, Xizha, was opened to visitors. Xizha used to be the largest and most prosperous area of town, and dozens of intact Ming-and-Qing style buildings line the streets.

Visitors can also experience the old lifestyles in Xizha. Either sipping tea in the ancient tea house or enjoying a traditional opera in the theatre, people can find totally immersed in a feeling of what it was like to live there long ago.