Wuzhen is an ancient watertown under the city of Tongxiang, in Zhejiang Province. It has a history of more than 1,300 years, located in the boundary area between Shanghai and Hangzhou, but far enough away to escape the annoyance and influence of massive economic development.
Its antique buildings, mostly from the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, old streets and bridges are well-preserved. It became one of the first Ten Famous Historic Cultural Towns in the country in 2003.
We rented a small boat to row in the Dongshi River. The boatman, Ni Jiangen, was more than happy to be our guide. This middle-aged villager used to fish in the Jinghang canal and has been working a boat in the town since 2001.
He said all residents built dwellings with the same layout. The kitchen is always on the riverside, the dining room on the roadside and the bedroom is upstairs.
"In the past, people bought food and vegetables from boats, through the windows of their waterside houses. Even now, many residents still have a bamboo basket hung up outside the window to keep a fish alive in the river. It is also convenient for people to draw water for the washing-up," Ni said.
The everyday life of the local people was interesting to us. As our vessel passed by we could see someone knelt down to wash clothes on the riverbank; a senior watering his flowers on the balcony; women playing mah-jong, laughter flowing from an old house. No one cared about us being there. It was a living show, displaying how people have behaved for centuries.
Visible interiors
Wandering the old streets paved with bluestone was great fun. On the roadside, ancient buildings of timber construction reminded us of the past. There were no iron gates or window-grilles like those city residents use to protect against burglary, instead, low wooden doors stood in the doorframes, enabling us to easily see inside where a young mother held her baby doing a slow dance around the table and an old man sat peacefully enjoying a pot of green tea.
Below the roof covered by black tiles, there were bamboo poles for drying clothes and hanging salted meat.
There were more than 100 bridges connecting the streets, with some built between the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and Ming Dynasty. Each bridge has its own character, locking up their stories over the water.
The town is dotted with many craft workshops - wood carving, printing and indigo print cloth and brewing of "Three White Alcohol" for instance.
I am not a spirit drinker, but I was still driven by the mellow smell to walk into the workshop to see how the transparent beverage was made. It was a nice surprise to discover so many urns piled up in the open yard. Try a bowl of the drink with a full plate of stewed beef and you will definitely dream you are a hero in the Chinese classical novel "All Men are Brothers."
When we were exhausted from strolling around the town, we were guided to see a shadow play. Watching "Monkey King Fights with the Ox" and sitting on the narrow wooden chairs - so aged they seemed to shine in the dark - I felt like I was back to my childhood.
The traditional play is performed by four people in their 70s. One is responsible for playing two characters, the others play musical accompaniment.
"We have been performing the shadow play together since we were teenagers," one senior said. "We used to play it in an open market to make a living, earning less than1 yuan (US$0.12) per show. Now we do it just for fun."
There are many snacks offered on the streets, such as dingsheng cake, sister-in-law cake and fried tofu. I didn't have time to try all of them, but I sampled the malt sugar candy. Watching the process of candy production was far more interesting than tasting it, because it was so sticky I was afraid I might lose a tooth.
We left before night fell over the streets of Wuzhen, although we should have stayed there overnight to see the dawn. Never mind, I know I will return to the watertown again: Wuzhen is not a place you can explore completely in just one visit.
