The area around Shanghai is well known for its water villages, where people traditionally lived around a canal system. The water supplied all their needs, served as a form of transport, and most importantly contributed to the agriculture around the region, such that this became a prosperous area.
I first heard about all this 15 years ago when I was still in high school, back in China on a visit. A friend told me about taking an overnight trip to discover Zhouzhuang, and like so many other things it just got filed at the back of my mind. In the years between then and now, I've been to a number of water villages, most of which fell to tourism much before my visit. I never entertained the thought of visiting the "original" water village to open up to tourism, because I always thought it would be awful.
And it was, in the tacky Chinese way of being overcrowded with groups and megaphones, shops and touts, terrible food, rubbish everywhere..
Yet one could not deny the natural beauty of Zhouzhuang, with canals sprouting everywhere you turn and quaint old stone bridges connecting different residential areas.. I mean tourist shops.
People still live here in these old houses, but now the whole town caters only to the whims of tourists. These blue canvas-topped gondolas were everywhere, cluttering up the canals and creating mini gondola-jams. Looking away from the crowds, one could still find a little hint of nature.
A shopkeeper stopped us and directed us to the "gondola kiosk" which I was somewhat sceptical about (thinking it would be like every other gondola trip in south China). When we got there, the shutters were closed and a mobile number was scrawled across in red paint. When we called the number, the man told us to wait while he was finishing his meal. Our Chinese family friends complained about his lack of earnestness in moneymaking, but I didn't mind the idling by the river.
One of the bridges had been redone to be "modern" and it was interesting to see what the ideas of "modern" are. It's painted entirely in red, in contrast to all the other bridges in original stone or wood. Garish lion heads poked out of random beams, and the whole thing looked like it fitted better in a playground.
I'm pretty anti touristy boat rides, but this guy was enthusiastic as he showed us around. He told us he was the only boat operator in Jinze so far (indeed his business name is No. 1 boat of Jinze), and he was praying that the tourism trade would take off as it did in so many other water towns in the region. His wife came in at the end, made us all tea in their little shop and beseeched us to advertise Jinze to the outside world. It felt like the China of yesteryear, I couldn't believe we were merely 20km from Zhouzhuang..
I first heard about all this 15 years ago when I was still in high school, back in China on a visit. A friend told me about taking an overnight trip to discover Zhouzhuang, and like so many other things it just got filed at the back of my mind. In the years between then and now, I've been to a number of water villages, most of which fell to tourism much before my visit. I never entertained the thought of visiting the "original" water village to open up to tourism, because I always thought it would be awful.
And it was, in the tacky Chinese way of being overcrowded with groups and megaphones, shops and touts, terrible food, rubbish everywhere..
Yet one could not deny the natural beauty of Zhouzhuang, with canals sprouting everywhere you turn and quaint old stone bridges connecting different residential areas.. I mean tourist shops.
People still live here in these old houses, but now the whole town caters only to the whims of tourists. These blue canvas-topped gondolas were everywhere, cluttering up the canals and creating mini gondola-jams. Looking away from the crowds, one could still find a little hint of nature.
Ivy covering an abandoned house.
Pretty little flowers by the canal
Like so many things in China, some places are super "hot" and others near it might be just the same but no-one goes there because it's not famous. We went to Jinze, the town adjacent to Zhouzhuang, and to be honest I wasn't expecting much. Was I really the first person ever to think, hey maybe the town next to this place would be similar but not so touristy??
Apparently, I'm not so Chinese in thought, for we couldn't even find the village and had to stop in the "new town" to ask for directions to the "old town".
We parked near the canal leading up to the entrance to the old town. As we approached the bridge, a local man came up to us and said (rather proudly): you can drive inside now! we've done up all the streets so cars can get in.
Jinze is famous for its bridges, which are each attached to a temple. Many of the temples are now ruined, but some were being renovated when we were visiting.
Refreshingly, there was no steep entrance fee (Y130 ~ $20 to enter Zhouzhuang) and the streets were practically deserted. A few old people came out of their houses to stare at us, and children played by the canal.
A shopkeeper stopped us and directed us to the "gondola kiosk" which I was somewhat sceptical about (thinking it would be like every other gondola trip in south China). When we got there, the shutters were closed and a mobile number was scrawled across in red paint. When we called the number, the man told us to wait while he was finishing his meal. Our Chinese family friends complained about his lack of earnestness in moneymaking, but I didn't mind the idling by the river.
One of the bridges had been redone to be "modern" and it was interesting to see what the ideas of "modern" are. It's painted entirely in red, in contrast to all the other bridges in original stone or wood. Garish lion heads poked out of random beams, and the whole thing looked like it fitted better in a playground.
An old bridge
I'm pretty anti touristy boat rides, but this guy was enthusiastic as he showed us around. He told us he was the only boat operator in Jinze so far (indeed his business name is No. 1 boat of Jinze), and he was praying that the tourism trade would take off as it did in so many other water towns in the region. His wife came in at the end, made us all tea in their little shop and beseeched us to advertise Jinze to the outside world. It felt like the China of yesteryear, I couldn't believe we were merely 20km from Zhouzhuang..
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