Zhouzhuang embraces the beauties of all the water towns in China - old bridges, traditional buildings and small streets on the banks of waterways. Its Shuangqiao Bridges (Twin Bridges) became famous worldwide because of the painting Memory of Hometown by w eU-known painter Chen Yifei (1946-2005)and its display in a New York gallery in 1984.Another bridge in the town, Fu'an Bridge (Wealth and Peace Bridge), is the only existing structure in southeastern China that perfectly combines a single-arch bridge with abddge tower.
Zhouzhuang lies at the middle between Shanghai and Suzhou, is an ancient town of Kunshan City, Jiangsu Province, where abounds with rivers and lakes. So it is thought by many to be the best waterside town in China.This ancient town has a history of more than 900 years old with many houses built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are about 100 houses with courtyards, and 60 of them have arch gateways made by carved bricks.
With lakes on four sides, the beauty of Zhouzhuang is specially to be found along the waterside lanes and around a number of the stone bridges. A different vista at every turn can be found here. All those make a visit most enjoyable. Also, one can enjoy the fairyland atmosphere of the evenings here when the myriad stars twinkle as though in communication with the glittering lights.
Shen's House
Shen's House is located to the southeast of Fu'an Bridge, on Nanshi Street. It was built in 1742 during the Qing Dynasty by Shen Benren, a descendant of Shen Wanshen who was a man of wealth in southern China in the late Yuan (1206-1368) to early Ming Dynasties.
It consists of seven courtyards, five archways, more than 100 rooms of different size along two sides of a 100-m-long axis road, covering an area of 2000 sq.m, offering a unique traditional Chinese architectural style.
It has three sections. The first includes the water gate and wharf for mooring boats and washing. The second one consists of the Tea Hall and Main Hall for receiving guests and holding wedding or funeral ceremonies. The rear part serves as living quarters.
The Main Hall covers The 6-m-high carved brick archway, facing the Main Hall, is the most magnificent among the five, with a horizontal inscribed board bearing the inscription, Jihouliuguang (do more good for ever). Around the board are relief sculptures of figurines, animals, pavilions and opera characters.
Twin Bridge
It consists of the Shide and Yong'an Bridge built between 1573 and 1619, and is situated to the northeast of the town.
The area is crossed by the Yinzi and Nanbei rivers, and the bridges are built in one in the direction of north-south and the other east-west, with one square and one round opening. Because they look like an ancient key, it also known as Key Bridge.
Chen Yifei, a young artist residing in the U.S. created a picture "Memories of Hometown" based on the Double Bridge in 1984. The painting, with Chen's other 37 works, were exhibited and bought by Dr. Armond Hammer, an American oil tycoon, and later presented to the late Deng Xiaoping. The painting symbolizes the friendship, cooperation and peace between the two countries. In 1985, the painting was used on a first day cover issued by the UN, so that more and more people come to know Zhouzhuang's beautiful.
Zhang's House
Zhang's House is located at the south of the Twin Bridge on Beishi Street. Built between 1436 and 1449 by the offspring of Xu Kui, the brother of Zhongshan King Xu Da, it was sold to Zhang's family in the early Qing Dynasty, after which it was called either Yuyan (Jade Swallow) Hall or Zhang's House.
It has 6 courtyards and more than 70 rooms, covering more than The first courtyard has side buildings on the east and west, with long and short windows. Yuyan Hall is the main building, large and bright with grand column on big nanmu pier bases, a rare Ming style. A river flows under the hall, with a square pool built in the middle section to allow boats to turn round. Its rear hall has open windows and balconies facing the water with a backyard of various plants and flowers.
The place now is an important cultural relic under protection of the provincial government.
Situated in Yangtze River Delta, Zhouzhuang's climate is typically subtropical with winds from southeast. Generally, Zhouzhuang's annual precipitation is 1063mm, while hours of sunshine reach 2165 per year.
The average annual temperature is 15.3 ºC. The lowest temperature is -5ºC in the coldest January. The highest temperature is 36ºC in July.
local products and specialities
wansan brand wine and liquor: wine – making industry in zhouzhuang is very flourishing as the paddy area around teems with rice. wansan brand liquor or spirit is the best of the wines.
wansan pig’s upper leg: it is famous dish promoted as the no.1 course among all the dishes in zhouzhuang. the pork of leg is chosen from among the best as the material and stewed in brown source over slow fire. the cooked pork is very tender and easily boned. though, it looks fat, yet not greasy. it suits to the taste of all different people.
xiangjiang(white clam river) aquatic products: aquatic products in zhouzhuang are available all the year round and the bests of them are perches, white clams and fresh – water white baits, which have long been known as the three treasures of xiangjiang. in addition, the water area is teemed with eels, soft – shell turtles and shrimps and so and so forth.
tourist attractions
zhouzhuang is maily famous for the small water lanes and the riverside ancient buildings. highlights in zhouzhuang includes waterlanes & st one bridges, the twin bridge,fu’an bridge,shen’s house, zhang’s houseand so on
Zhouzhuang Tourism:
Zhouzhuang, one of the most famous water-towns in China, is situated in Kunshan City, 30 km southe
ast of Suzhou. It is noted for its profound cultural background, well-preserved ancient residential houses, elegant waters and traditional lifestyle with a strong local flavor.
In the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 B.C.), Zhouzhuang was a part of the fief Y aocheng, called Zhenfengli. Zhouzhuang got its present name in 1086 during the Northern Song Dynasty, in the memory of Zhou Digong, a very devout Buddhist, who donated this piece of land to the Quanfu (Full Fortune) T emple.
The town covers an area of 3600 hectares. Most of its residential houses, about 60 percent of the total, were built during the Ming and Qing dynasties, during the period from 1368 to 1911. Shuangqiao (Twin Bridges): As Zhouzhuang is surrounded and at the same time divided by lakes and rivers, the 14 stone bridges crossing the rivers form eye-catching views in town. Twin Bridges, or the Shide Bridge and Y ongan Bridge, in the northeast of the town, are the most famous and have been considered as the symbol of Zhouzhuang. The bridges were built during the Wanli reign (1573-1619) of the Ming Dynasty. Shide Bridge lies east-west and has a round arch, while Y ongan Bridge goes north-south and has a square arch. Joining each other after crossing the two rivers, Yinzi Creek and Nabeishi River, respectively, the Twin Bridges look like an old-fashioned Chinese key. In 1984, Chen Yifei, a promising contemporary Chinese painter, exhibited 38 of his canvases in a New Y ork gallery owned b
y Armand Hammer, chairman of the Occidental Petroleum Corporation. One of his works, Memory of Hometown, which depicts the Twin Bridges, drew worldwide attention to Zhouzhuang. The painting was chosen as the design of the first-day cover of the United Nations' postage stamps in 1985.
Fuanqiao Bridge: Located at the eastern end of Zhongshi Street, Fuanqiao Bridge was built in 1355 during the Y uan Dynasty. The unique trait of the bridge is the consummate combination of the single-arch bridge and the bridge towers used as tearooms, restaurants and stores, as well as a venue to appreciate the water views.
The Shen House: Located at the southeast side of Fuanqiao Bridge, the Shen House was Built in 1742 as a private property of the descendants of Shen Wansan, the first millionaire in the area south of the Y angtze River in the early Qing Dynasty. The whole complex is of the Qing architectural style. It occupies an area of more than 2,000 square meters and has over 100 rooms divided in three sections. The first section includes the water gate and wharf, where the Shens moored boats and washed clothes. The middle section includes the gate tower, the tearoom and the main hall. The bricks of the gate tower are carved with lively and ingenious figures, which either tell historic stories or express good wishes. The tearoom and main hall, where the owner met his guests, are very elegantly furnished. The last section, which consists of several buildings in a different style, is comfortably furnis
hed. In Datang Tower, a colored sculpture of the legendary Shen Wansan is displayed, while precious cultural relics collected by the family are exhib ited in Xiaotang Tower and Back Hall.
The Zhang House: It was built by Xu family in the Zhengtong reign (1436 - 1449) of the Ming Dynasty and bought by the Zhang family in the early Qing Dynasty. Located to the south of the Twin Bridges, the Zhang House has more than 70 rooms in an area of about 1,800 square meters. The Ruojing River winding through it makes the Zhang House a dapper and graceful residential house with a tranquil courtyard, a pond and various halls.
Milou T ower: Once called the Des' Tavern, Milou Tower perches next to Zhenfeng Bridge situated at the southwest corner of Zhouzhuang. It is famous for being a rallying place of the literati in old times. Numerous poems, songs and stories about Milou Tower have been widely spread in the country.
relic
Chengxu T aoist T emple: Standing on Zhongshi Street, on the opposite of the Puqing Bridge, Chengxu Taoist Temple, also known as Shengtang Hall, was built during 1086-1093 of the Song Dynasty. After several expansions, it became one of the most famous Taoist temples in the Y angtze River Delta. In an area of 1,500 square meters, there are masterpiece Taoist architectures in simple but majestic style, including the Shengdi and Doumu halls, and the pavilions of Y uhuang, Wenchang and Shengdi.
Besides these historic sights, the local folklore, traditions and legends of this water-town, such as
the dragon boat race, the "granny tea" and the Wansan home-style banquet are also indispensable elements of a tour to Zhouzhuang.
Zhouzhuang Attractive points:
Zhouzhuang is the most developed 'water town' of jiangnan. Because of that it is very commercial.
I guess I have to admit that it has the best scenery.
Description:
Known as a collection of beauty, Zhouzhuang, once called Zhenfengli, is an ancient water town of Kunshan City in Jiangsu Province and where rivers and lakes abound. It is located between the cities Shanghai and Suzhou. The town has stood up well through the years, 900 to be specific, and remains as it was so long ago. The typical style and features of the w ater town and even its inhabitants' way of life remains unchanged. The houses built by the streams have sidewalks, which have naturally evolved into streets used for transportation, together along with the water lanes. Overhead stone bridges span over the water lanes, providing convenient passage for the local people. Murmuring streams flow unde
r small bridges and courtyards. These bridges and courtyards are each surrounded by dwelling quarters, which are typical features of Zhouzhuang and even the whole of East China.
Zhouzhuang is like a water nymph standing on a lake. The layout of its water lanes is perfectly arranged so that it looks like the Chinese character "#". Many stone bridges are built over them, linking up the households on either side of each stream. These stone bridges are very old, 14 of which were built between the Y uan, Ming and Qing dynasties. The most representative among them are the Twin Bridge, Fu'an Bridge, Zhenfeng Bridge and Fuhong Bridge. There is a beautiful saying that is popular among the folks in China-"the Heavens have their Paradise while the earth is proud of having Suzhou and Hangzhou." Zhouzhuang is just like Water Lily in-between. Moreover, Zhouzhuang boasts rich cultural resources like Grandmother Tea, and such simple local customs as fast boating.
Grandmother T ea
People of Zhouzhuang have a way of drinking tea. They use ancient tea sets, boil water in pottery or earthen jars, and have bamboo slices or branches as fuel. Several minutes after washing the tea, they pour on it boiled water. By such means, the tea, beautiful in color, is both fragrant and tasteful. But why is it called Grandmother Tea? People used to see groups of old women sitting together and drinking tea leisurely. Hence, the name.
Fast Boating
Fast boating goes far back to the Qing dynasty, originally started to raise the morale of soldiers. Later on, people held races on holidays, in weddings, and during the time of harvests. At present, travel boats are provided for tourists to do sightseeing around.
Bambooware
Bambooware and bronze braziers have also won enormous acclaim for Zhouzhuang. The durable bambooware is known far and wide for its fine workmanship, while the exquisite bronze braziers of many shapes once won a prize in the South Pacific Industrial Expo and the reputation of "Zhouzhuang Braziers".

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