Water-town wonder

Vasudha Sahgal

An hour and a half car ride away from the cosmopolitan city of Shanghai lies the Chinese water town of Wuzhen. Although there are a couple of water towns around the area, Wuzhen stands out for being ‘national 5A’ rated scenic area and also regarded as one of China’s top 10 historical and cultural towns. Wuzhen, which lies on the lower reaches of the Yangtze river, is 1,300 years old. The oldest canal in the world, Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, a Unesco World Heritage site, flows through it. The eastern part of Wuzhen remains crowded, but the western side is more tranquil and gives the feel of an ancient resort. A quick tour of traditional homes turned into guest houses in the western part transports one back in time. One such guest-house ‘77,’  has Chinese themed rooms, equipped with ‘in-room basins’ and painted tiles engrained in meshes.

The neat wooden houses facing each other across the canal, the low-lying bridges forming half moon on the calm river and the gondolas wafting through the languid waters appear to be straight out of a painting.

There is plenty to do in Wuzhen. Many souvenir shops dot the river, each displaying a unique Chinese artefact. You are likely to stumble across stores selling feather pens, hand-painted umbrellas, Chinese lanterns or wide varieties of tea. Maybe you could just scribble some calligraphy on a parchment while enjoying some fresh corn on the cob. The town boasts of interesting stores like these as well as tiny ‘home-style’ restaurants, which serve everything from traditional dumplings to an Italian sandwich. The area abounds in bars and music for party lovers. A climb atop a pagoda gives a panoramic view of the city.

Wuzhen has far more to offer besides its ‘Instagram worthy’ picturesque views. The quaint city also plays host to the World Internet Conference, which makes it an interesting choice — the ancient backdrop lends itself to technological ideas of the future. 

The highlight of Wuzhen could be a gondola ride after sunset. The entire area resembles a set out of a Chinese movie where one imagines what it must be like to live a simple life, bartering goods of necessity, along the river banks. The bridges and wooden houses are lit with carefully chosen orange hues and the lanterns come alive against a serene ink sky. The town, which is home to the famous 20th century writer Mao Dun, provides inspiration enough to any artist.