Zhouzhuang Hotels

Zhouzhuang is located in Jiangsu province, about 50km from Shanghai, and is China's oldest water town. It is the Venice of China (a description given to a number of towns). Be warned that there are a lot of tourists (although predominantly from China), which means high prices and lots of people hustling you to buy things. On holidays and weekends the old town will be so packed that it is difficult to move around. This aside its worth the visit. 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. Zhouzhuang, one of the most famous water-towns in China, is situated in Kunshan City, 30 km southeast 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 Yaocheng, 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) Temple. 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 Yongan 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 Yongan 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 York gallery owned by 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.