Zhouzhuang is a water village about an hour west of Shanghai. The old town dates from 1076 and is connected by canals and bridges. About 3000 people live in the quaint and beautiful town, which also has great crafts and food in addition to the old residences and tea shops.
Here's the KodakGallery album from the day
We hired a driver for the half day, leaving Shanghai a little before noon. He dropped us at the main gate, where they sell tickets to enter the old town for 100rmb.
The beginning of the walk towards the heart of the old town is a little kitschy... strange inflated dolls and new old-looking buildings. We saw the rehearsals for the big cultural show that runs in the evening (not sure if we'd go back for that)
The entrance to the main street of town is where the shops start and continue all through the alleys by the canals. Zhouzhuang has some great food and crafts, and spurred an unexpected shopping spree...
- Wansan pork leg - this smoked pig leg is a Zhouzhuang specialty and they have it everywhere. Even our driver bought three to bring back to his family in Shanghai. You can get the hoof or parts of the leg, and price depends on where on the pig the part came from (10rmb for foot, up to 35rmb for front flank). Looks really fatty but actually not super greasy and delicious.
- Stinky tofu - yes it smells but it is yummy. They fry it up and then put a sweet
soy based sauce and dabs of spicy, I liked it a lot.
- Sweets - so many kinds and oh so good. I really like the peanut-sesame pieces that they pound into blocks. Lai Yun had some malts and the beard candy, which really does look like a beard when it gets stuck on your chin. They also had baked sweet breads and hard candy.
- Art - the beautiful canals and bridges inspire some great art. Little shops sell traditional Chinese paintings and scrolls. There are four famous bridges in the town, which seem to be the primary theme for most of the art.
- Carved stone teapots - a trade passed down over generations, the crafts people carve stone from nearby Tai Hu Lake into intricate tea pots.
- Pottery - stores sell antique pottery, but I was drawn to the little Shin-chan figurine that you pour water on, and well, it pees. For dear my brother :)
- Combs - we saw others crafting horns into combs.
- Silk - as with a lot of shopping areas, handmade clothes and other trinkets as well as bedding are plentiful here.
- Grandma's tea - local blend of flower tea, was ok.
- And tons of other chochkies - jewelry, watches, stamps, notebooks...
The early part of the afternoon was serene and peaceful, low murmur of voices and water. While we sat in the tea shop to eat our tea eggs and try some Grandma's tea, we started to see hoardes of flag waving tour guides with their red capped followers. One after the other after the other. The narrow streets were packed and people yelling everywhere. The late afternoon is indeed the most beautiful time of day, with the light playing off of the water and buildings. However, beware the 3-5 pm tourist scrum that happens every day (we were saying perhaps the morning light might be nice also).
We made our way to the docks for a boat ride (100rmb per boat). There is a set course through the main canal during the busy afternoon, but it was wonderful to be on the water and away from the crowds. The boat driver sang a few "boat songs" as he rowed, though he did ask for an "enjoy song fee" later.
The highlight of the day may have been back in Shanghai. Our driver invited us to dinner with his family in Shanghai. We visited his wife at the silk store that she runs on the north end of the city. Then his elder daughter, a local design student, joined us for a wonderful meal at the eatery next door. She is a lovely girl and we had some really interesting conversation with Lai Yun, my Singaporean friend who graciously translated for me.Here's more information from wikitravel.
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