One of Chinese well-known ancient poets, Ma Zhiyuan, once wrote a poem which was read with admiration by Chinese people. That is the “Autumn Thoughts”: Withered vine and an old tree with a crow at dusk. Tiny bridge and a family stand aside a flowing river. Ancient path and a poor horse in the west wind. A heartbroken man is walking towards the westering sun to the skyline. Time goes by and we can still to that place of his heart by reading his poem. In fact, the place he describes is the water village in china, a typical southern town with beautiful scenery. If you want to take a closer look at the ancient town of south china and make your china travel more memorable, Wuzhen may be your best choice during your China Tours.
Located in Zhejiang Province, in north end of Tongxiang, Wuzhen is a water town with more than 1300 years history. It was awarded to be the Provincial Ancient Town of History and Culture in 1991, raking first among the six ancient towns (Zhou Village, Tongli, Jiaozhi town, Nanxun and Xitang) south of the Yangtze River for it is the best preserved ancient town up to now. Though time flies by, the name, address, river system, wooden structures, stone bridge and people’s way of living in this town remain the same. Here are some must seen spots in Wuzhen:
1. The bridge
As a typical water town of south of the Yangtze River, Wuzhen can not go without bridges. It is said that Wuzhen once possessed more than 120 bridges. But only 30 of them remain now. Most of the bridges are made of stone with elegant designs. What is more, there is a sight called “Bridge within a Bridge”. Sounds quite special, right?
2. Yuanhongtai Dye house
I
n ancient time, people in china used special juice of plant to dye their clothes. By using different kinds of natural plant, they can dye clothes into various kinds of colors. In the Yuanhongtai Dye house in Wuzhen, you can see the whole process of dying clothes into different colors and patterns. It must be a precious souvenir if you can dye a piece of cloth of your own.
3. Exhibition hall of Beds of Southern China
As the first exhibition to show beds, the exhibition of beds located in No.210, east street of Wuzhen. It shows the bed of a girl, the bed of wealthy, the bed of the poor, and the bed for wedding in Qing Dynasty. Because one third of people’s time is spent in a bed, people in China cares very much about their bed. One of the most precious beds was made by box wood, it took three years to make such an excellent carved workmanship.
4. Gaogongsheng Wine Shop
You are embraced with a nice smell when you walk into this wine shop. The Gaogongsheng wine shop becomes famous of its “Three white wine”, that is wine made of sticky rice, wheat flour and water (these three ingredients have a character” white” in their Chinese name). The wine shop sells wine in different packages. What is more, there is a big jar of wine for tourists to have a taste.
All the spots I mentioned can be seen within one day. But if you have enough time, I recommend you to book China Hotels in advance in Wuzhen and spend a night time there. With the red lanterns turning on, it looks much more beautiful than in the day time. Hope you enjoy your China vacation in this beautiful water village—-Wuzhen.
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