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Wuzhen Pictures – Wuzhen Photo Gallery

Monday, April 1st, 2013

Wuzhen is a historic water town which lies in the center of a triangle formed by Hangzhou, Suzhou and Shanghai. Wuzhen Water Town is located in the city of Tongxian in the northen Zhejiang Province, 80km to the northeast of Hangzhou, 80km to the south of Suzhou and 140km to the southwest of Shanghai. There are daily long-distance buses going directly to Wuzhen from Hangzhou, Suzhou, Shanghai and Jiaxing.

If you are planning your Hangzhou tour, Suzhou tour or Shanghai tour, a side trip to Wuzhen is highly recommended. Wuzhen is the typical water town in the Yangtze river delta region. It has well preserved the layout and the style of a water town in Ming and Qing dynasties.

The waterways crisscross Wuzhen Town, mainly dividing the town into 4 areas Dongzha (east), Xizha (west), Nanzha (south), and Beizha (north). The water paths are incorporated into the ancient grand canal. Wuzhen ancient town dislays its charm and history through its ancient stone bridges, stone pathways, ornate wood carvings.

Beside its waterways, stone bridges and ancient buildings, Wuzhen also gives you the opportunity to appreciate the ordinary life in the Ming and Qing dynasties through its well preserved old house-turned theme museums, shops and organizations such as Ancient Bed Museum, Folk Custom Museum, Wine Distillery Workshop, Indigo Fabric Workshop, Woodcarving Museum, Coin Museum, The Former Residence of Mao Dun, Shadow Play, Fanglu Teahouse, Huiyuan Pawnshop, Wedding Museum, Zhaoming Academy, Chinese Footbinding Culture Museum, Wuzhen Post Office, Wuzhen Grand Theater, Heal town Pharmacy, and Yida Silk Workshop.

Follow me to have a photo tour of Wuzhen Water Town.

Wuzhen Water Town is dubbed as “Venice of the East”. The waterways form the water streets or lanes connect bridges and street buildings and houses.

Wuzhen Water Town is dubbed as Venice of the East.

A humpback stone bridge over the canal linking two blocks of the traditional houses.

The slab paved lanes flanked by the old wooden houses in Wuzhen.

The slab paved street flanked by the old wooden houses in Wuzhen.

A stone beam bridge spans the waterway.

A beam stone bridge over the canal

The old wood houses built by the water pathway.

Many building protrude above the water for more spaces with stone pillars supporting in the water.

Many building protrude above the water

The narrow street with long chairs goes along the canal

Wuzhen Water Town is not a artificial replica of the historic town, and it is a natural town still inhabitated by the local residents.

Wuzhen Water Town is not a artificial replica of the historic town, and it is still inhabitated by the local residents.

Washing clothes by making the water of the canal.

Local residents still keep the original water town life.

A traditional shop for local wine and liquor

A traditional shop for for local wine and liquor

Stroll on the narrow lane paved with stone slabs with the hanging laundry that sways overhead

A traditional kitchen

A local souvenir shop

A traditional Wine Distillery Workshop

An indigo Fabric Workshop

What’s in his mind? Can the historic town survive the internet age?

Can the historic town survive the internet age

Wuzhen Water Town is akin to a scroll of Chinese painting.

Painting a beautiful life! We need a slow life, we need clean water and fresh air more than the growth of GDP.

Painting a beautiful life! We need a slow life, we need clean water and fresh air more than the

Any questions, just drop a line.

Tags: Wuzhen photos, wuzhen town photos, Wuzhen water town photos
Posted in Hangzhou Travel, Jiangsu Travel, Shanghai Attractions, Shanghai Travel, Suzhou Travel, Zhejiang Travel | No Comments »

Guozhuang Garden Hangzhou

Thursday, November 22nd, 2012

Plan your Hangzhou tour? Hangzhou is a garden city with a slew of gardens circling the West Lake. Most of the gardens around the lake are free of charge except one garden called “Guozhuang Garden” (郭庄). Guozhuang Garden is the only paid attraction along the West Lake.

Guozhuang Garden (郭庄) is one of the most beautiful private gardens in Hangzhou. Also popularly known as Songzhuang (Song’s Villa), Guozhuang Garden was originally built in 1907 in late Qin Dynasty by a local silk merchant named Song Duanpu. In the Minguo period (Republic of China), Song’s family declined and sold the garden to Guo Shilin from Fengyang. Later the garden was dubbed as Guozhuang (Guo’s Villa).

After revamping, the garden was opened to the public in 1991. Guozhuang Garden is located on the south of the famous garden called “The Lotus Breeze in the Curved Garden”(曲院风荷) along the Yang Gong Causeway and on the west of the West Inner West Lake (西里西湖). It has two gates, namely north gate (abutting the Lotus Breeze in the Curved Garden) and the west gate adjoining the Yang Gong Causeway (杨公堤).

Guozhuang Garden is mainly divided into four parts – the large lake, the small lake, the rockeries and residential area and the West Lake area. Within th garden, two separated lakes in the garden present different views. The bigger lake appears flat and spcious with a slab zigzag bridge and a long corridor. The smaller one is circled by the pavilions and rockeries and residential area.

One whitewashed wall separated a slender area abutting the West Inner West Lake (西里西湖) from the lake and residential area. This slim area is the highlight of the classical gardening in the Guozhuang Garden. It borrows the larger scene from the Su Causeway and the Northern Hill of the West Lake, a unqiue gardening feature in the Chinese clasical gardening. Guozhuang Garden takes an area of about 10,000 square meters with 3,000 suare meters on the surface. Guozhuang Garden is often cited as the most beautiful classical garden along the West Lake.

If you are going to visit Hangzhou, don’t miss your trip to Guozhuang Garden. Then how to get there? You may take the tourist bus no.1 or 2 and get off at the stop of Huanpu (花圃) and walk there. You may also add it to your circular walk along the West Lake after your stroll along the Lotus Breeze in the Curved Garden.

Entrance fee: RMB 10

Enquiry: 0571 87179617

The big lake area: one slab zigzag bridge crosses the lake with a long corridor passing its west side.

The big lake area

The black eaved long corridor runs along the lake and the whitewashed wall.

The black eaved long coridor runs along the lake and the whitewashed wall

The sleeping lily is booming on the lake.

The sleeping lily is booming on the lake

The small lake area：pavilions, geese and rockeries.

The small lake area： pavilions, geese and rockeries.

A goose of the autumn time

The double-fan shape windows frame a stunning view.

The double-fan shape windows frame the stunning views.

A whitewashed wall with a moon gate screens a small area from the rest of the garden. This small area abuts the West Inner West Lake (西里西湖), constituting a borrowing scene, connecting the garden to the outside bigger spots like the Su Causeway and the Northern Hill of the West Lake, the most beautiful part of the garden.

A whitewashed wall with a moon gate screens a small area from the rest of the garden.

A whitewashed wall with a moon gate screens a small area from the rest of the garden

Connecting the garden to the outside bigger spots like the Su Causeway.

connecting the garden to the outside bigger spots like the Su Causeway

Borrowing the scene from the Northern Hill of the West Lake.

Borrowing the scene from the Northern Hill of the West Lake

Any question, just drop a line.

Tags: Guozhuang, Hangzhou Guozhuang, Hangzhou Guozhuang Garden
Posted in Hangzhou Travel, Zhejiang Travel | No Comments »

Beishan Road Hangzhou

Wednesday, November 21st, 2012

Plan your Hangzhou tour? Having a bike ride around the West Lake or take a stroll along the lake is a must for the first time visitors coming to Hangzhou. On your circular lake tour, you are highly recommended to have a romantic walk along the Beishan Jie (Beishan Road or Beishan Street ). Beishan Jie literally means in Chinese “Northern Hill Street”, known as Beishan Road or Beishan Street. It lies between the Precious Stone Hill (宝石山) and the Northern Inner West Lake (北里西湖), a 3km long asphalt road starting from the Lingering Snow on the Broken Bridge (断桥) to Yanggong Di Causeway.

Beishan Road is lined with the plane trees, which arch across the street, providing great shade. On the south of the Beishan Road is the Northern Inner West Lake (北里西湖), separated from the main West Lake by the Bai Di Causeway (白堤）bridged by Lingering Snow on the Broken Bridge （断桥), the Jindai Bridge （锦带桥), and Gushan Island （孤山）linked to the Beishan Road by Xileng Bridge （西冷桥).

On its northern side is the Precious Stone Hill (宝石山) with the slender spire of Baoshu Pagoda on its top. Between the Beishan Road and the Precious Stone Hill ( Baoshi Hill) is teeming with the old mixed style of west and Chinese villas and historical sites. Most of the structures are the former celebrity homes and residences from the military, the government and the business circle in the 1920s.

Today, part of the old houses have been revamped and turned into trendy and fashionable bars and cafes. They also offer western food. Wandering the Beishan Street, you are immersed in the mesmerising view of the lake, bridges, arch plane trees, the causeway, the Gushan Island where the “wife and crane son” happened.

The Beishan Road starts from the Lingering Snow on the Broken Bridge.