The Jiangnan region has always been a rich land of fish and rice, and its rich historical heritage and fresh water town style have always attracted many tourists. And the most representative of the Jiangnan water town style is the six ancient towns in the south of the Yangtze River: Jasper Zhouzhuang, Futu Tongli, Fenglu Zhi, Mengli Xitang, Shuige Wuzhen, Fujia Nanxun. Among these six ancient towns, Zhouzhuang was the first to be developed and protected. Although its fame has been surpassed by Wuzhen (located in Tongxiang, Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province) in recent years, it still retains the title of "China's No. 1 Water Town".

The ancient town of Zhouzhuang can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and is the fief of Prince Wu and King Yue. And what makes Zhouzhuang a little mysterious is because Shen Wansan, the richest man in Jiangnan during the Yuan Dynasty, made a fortune here. Zhouzhuang is located at the junction of Kunshan, Wujiang and Shanghai, covering an area of 38.96 square kilometers. The ancient town is surrounded by water on all sides, and the internal rivers and ports intersect, and the water area is almost the same as the land area. More than half of the famous residences maintain the architectural style of the Ming and Qing dynasties, and a large number of houses live on the river, taking the street as the market. The ancient town is full of beautiful scenery in the south of the Yangtze River, and only the popular and representative scenic spots are selected here for introduction.

Twin bridges

It can be said that Zhouzhuang can now be famous far and wide, and the allusions that happened in Shuangqiao are indispensable. The twin bridges consist of a Shide Bridge (stone arch bridge) and a Yongan Bridge (Shiliang Bridge). The former is 16 meters long, 3 meters wide and has a span of 5.9 meters, while the latter is 13.3 meters long, 2.4 meters wide and has a span of 3.5 meters. The two bridges cross the north and south city rivers and Yinzibang respectively, and the two rivers are connected, and the two bridges are built together, which is very chic. Because the combination of two bridges and one circle is similar to the keys used by the ancients, the double bridge is also called the key bridge. In the early 80s of the last century, Chen Yifei, a famous painter in the United States, came to the ancient town to "sketch" (first take pictures, and then return to the studio to create), and created the oil painting "Memories of Hometown" with Shuangqiao as the main body. The painting was then acquired by American oil tycoon Armand Hammer and gifted to Deng Xiaoping during his visit to China in November 1984. The following year, Chen Yifei processed "this oil painting" and printed it on the first day cover of the United Nations Association of the World, and Zhouzhuang's fame soared. However, it should be pointed out that the picture of the first day cover is actually the Nantang Bridge in Jinxi Ancient Town, which is not the same as "Memories of Hometown", and Zhouzhuang's fame has a bit of a "yin and yang" flavor.

Nowadays, Shuangqiao has long become a landmark in Zhouzhuang, and almost every person in Zhouzhuang remembers and knows the name of Chen Yifei. On the north side of the double bridge, a "Yifei House" was also built to commemorate Chen Yifei. The museum is arranged according to the style of the Republic of China, displaying a lot of Chen Yifei's works and life introductions, and interested tourists can visit.

Shen Hall

Shen Hall is not the former residence of the legendary richest man in Jiangnan, Shen Wansan, but his descendant Shen Benren built the mansion in the seventh year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (1742 AD), which is the most representative house among the hundreds of ancient houses in Zhouzhuang, and was rated as a key cultural relics protection unit in Jiangsu Province. The ancient house was originally called Jingye Hall, changed to Songmao Hall at the end of the Qing Dynasty, sitting east and facing west, with a total of more than 100 rooms, covering an area of more than 2,000 square meters. During the Cultural Revolution, the Shen Hall was badly damaged and was not restored until 1983. The Shen Hall is divided into three parts, the front part is the water wall gate and the river port, which is a typical Jiangnan water town building; In the middle is the wall gatehouse, the tea room, the main hall, which was once the exclusive building for hospitality; At the back is the former living clubhouse. All the houses are high-angled, beautifully carved, which shows the pride. The fifth entrance of the Shen Hall is quite popular, and there is a statue of Shen Wansan here, among which the golden cornucopia is very eye-catching.

Zhang Hall

Zhang Hall is a building built in the Ming Dynasty, and it belongs to the respected "old-timers" in the town. According to legend, it was built by the descendants of Xu Kui, the younger brother of Xu Da, the king of Zhongshan in the Ming Dynasty, and was bought by the family surnamed Zhang in the early Qing Dynasty, so people called it "Zhang Hall". There are seven houses in the ancient house, more than 70 houses, covering an area of more than 1,800 square meters. The couplet at the door, "the sedan chair advances from the door, and the ship passes through the house" image points out the characteristics of the Zhang hall: in ancient times, the host's family only went out from a dark and deep companion on the east side of the hall, and the door was only open for weddings and funerals or when VIPs visited, welcoming the sedan chair; A small river called "Zhenjing" sticks to the root of the wall and passes through the backyard from the bottom of the alley, which makes people feel very novel.

Information Reference

Tickets: 100 yuan for a day tour; 80 yuan for the night tour

All attractions are open for the day tour, and the night tour is only available to enter the park after 16:00 on the day of ticket collection, including only 2 scenic spots: Zhang Hall and Shen Hall.

Opening hours: The ancient town is open all day; The small attractions in the town, Zhang Hall and Shen Hall, are open from 8:00 to 20:00 in summer, 8:00 to 19:00 in winter, and 8:00 to 16:30 in other small attractions