Revisiting China's Past

Wu Zhen is an ancient waterside town in the northern end of Tongxiang City, Zhejiang Province, about two hours drive from Shanghai. It has only been open to foreign visitors for about 9 months so is not well-known. The 1500-year old Grand Canal, which connects Beijing and Hangzhou, runs closeby and rivers and small canals crisscross the whole town. Narrow flagstone alleys run between ancient shops and houses while picturesque stone bridges arch gracefully across waterways.

The joy of Wu Zhen is in walking the town and taking in the atmosphere. You see the ancient docks and waterside pavilions and can walk the miles of corridors and winding streets. There is also a chance to be part of the local culture through shadow plays and the local open-air opera. Modern restaurants serve excellent food and there are some hotel accommodations for those who want to stay longer.

Quick Tips:

Although Wu Zhen has been set up as a tourist attraction with an entry fee, you can, in theory, visit independently and without cost. We did not do this and doubt that this is worthwhile unless you speak Mandarin or have a local contact. I recommend a full-day tour from Shanghai as the best way to visit. Your tour will include the entrance fee to the village and to many of the attractions – Hundred Beds showroom, Blue Cloth workshop, shadow puppetry hall, etc. The tour we took also included an excellent lunch.

There is plenty of time to walk around by yourself after lunch and just enjoy the atmosphere and local colour. You can visit the local shops and pick up some herbal medicine, local food, or a souvenir at very little cost.

Best Way To Get Around:

Day tour from Shanghai. We used Helen Wongs Tours (www.helenwongstours.com) and found them excellent. You can email their Chinese office at hwtpek@helenswongtours.com. Once in Wu Zhen, you should walk the alleyways. It is also possible to take a ride on the canals and this give another view of the town. It is peaceful on the water but boatmen do not appear to speak English so you don’t get any information about what you are seeing. Guides at the various showrooms and workshops do speak some English.

This came as a complete surprise. Wu Zhen has done a marvellous job of retaining the traditional atmosphere of this 1000-year old town. There are no modern signs, no glass fronted shops, no air-conditioning. As we walked towards the restaurant, we passed several small local food shops offering noodles, small seafood, frogs and other morsels. Frankly, they looked rather unappealing. Then we entered the Jiujiang Building and we were back in the modern world. Here was smart décor, comfortable tables and chairs, air-conditioning, and more importantly, some great food.

Fresh watermelon juice and cold beer were offered and gratefully accepted. As we were in a group, we were served banquet-style. The food just kept coming. The waitress explained what each dish was and we ate with relish. My favourite was the duck soup and I had three servings. It was probably the best soup I had in China. We also enjoyed the sweet and sour pork, the steamed fish, and the pork stew. The day was hot and it was nice to have a break in modern surroundings. We all appreciated the opportunity to wash our hands and the clean toilets.

The meal was included in the tour cost so I do not know if it was good value but it certainly was a big hit with our group and renewed our energy for the afternoon’s activities. In fact I noted that some of the group were very reluctant to leave.

Weaving and dyeing has long been a tradition in Wu Zhen and this workshop continues to make the traditional blue cloth that is very typical of this region.

We entered the workshop and saw craftsmen at work, and the process was explained by the English-speaking guide. There was a very small museum with some explanation of the history of the dying process but the most interesting area was undoubtedly the outdoor drying yard where the finished cloth was hung on high bamboo rails. This was a photographer’s delight.

Material was on sale but this was a very low-key exercise and did not intrude on the experience.

The opera is performed on an outdoor stage in the square adjacent to Xin Hua Road. The performances are for locals, not tourists, but we found it very interesting and fascinating. We visited Wu Zhen on a Sunday and were fortunate to stumble onto a performance. We made inquiries to find out how often a performance was held but failed to get a satisfactory answer. You will just have to try your luck.

As a visitor in the crowd, we found that we were just as popular with the crowd as were the performers but after getting used to the stares and giggles we settled in and enjoyed the show. We had absolutely no idea what was happening but the colour and noise on stage, and the movement and faces in the crowd made this a memorable experience.

This is a museum consisting mainly of magnificent carved ancient beds. It is established in one of the old two-story houses and the upper level is still used by the family for living purposes. Visitors are confined to the rooms and courtyards of the ground floor area.

It was great to be able to explore the old building. While the furniture was amazing, I found it equally fascinating to see the small private courtyards with their single tree and paved area, accessed through ancient timbered-louvered folding doors. Certainly these Chinese architects knew much about space and form that most modern Western houses have lost.

In one room we were shown the traditional wedding bed of a wealthy merchant. In another there was a great example of a bed which combined the functions of the modern bathroom, walk-in wardrobe, and bedroom. The standard of carving and inlay work surprised us all.

There is more movement and noise in a Chinese shadow play than in any modern Western musical. We sat on small benches in front of a cloth screen. When the room had filled, the action started. It started fairly slowly, but before long the action and noise was furious. Puppets did amazing jumping tricks as they fought with gangsters, tigers and dragons. The children in the audience were fascinated.

The performance only lasted about 5-10 minutes and afterwards we peeped behind the screen. All the action came from a single puppetmaster, but the noise was provided by a group of four people playing drums, gongs and other instruments. It was fun.