'''Zhouzhuang''' (____) [http://www.suzhou.gov.cn/English/Travel/25.shtml] 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.

Get in

By bus

The easiest way to get to Zhouzhuang is by bus. There are tourist buses which leave from Shanghai Indoor Stadium. They appear to leave approximately every half hour in the mornings (as of February 2007). There are at least buses at 0900 and 0930, and probably as early as 0700. You can get to the stadium by taking Shanghai Metro Line 1 or Line 4 to the Shanghai Indoor Stadium station or taxi. Round trip tickets to Zhouzhuang cost 150RMB, and include the 100RMB fee to enter the tourist area of Zhouzhuang, and the sites therein. The bus takes about 90 minutes, and leaves Zhouzhuang around 1530, giving you 5.5 hours in the town.

See

From the Fuguiyuan (_x??_jbus parking lot you can either walk straight west into the entrance of Old Town, or you can deviate slightly south and walk through the tourist area under development, featuring a rather surreal collection of wide streets, brand new buildings and totally empty shops. Spend a few hours in Old Town. Quanfu Temple (Buddhist) and Chengxu Temple (Taoist) are worth a look. Other sites, such as Mi building, where "Liu Yazi and Chen Qubing, sponsors of Nanshe Community had orgies for 4 times, singing merrily and improvising poems in joyful mood," will keep you entertained for a few minutes at most. When you get tired of walking along the canals and being accosted by people selling the same junk you have seen everywhere else in China, walk out of the tourist area and poke around in the alleys. It is surprisingly easily to get away from other tourists here. In one little alley straight west of the Ancient Memorial Archway (Gupailou--___v_O_jthere is a cormorant fisherman whose cormorants all live in a little courtyard.

Be aware that Zhouzhuang, while indeed old and beautiful and cool, has garnered a somewhat unpleasant reputation as a scene of rampant hyper-commercialism aimed at tourists...the peddlars, beggars, etc. etc. etc. can be extremely annoying and aggressive and can spoil your visit. Suzhou-area locals seem to strongly concur with this perception. It's a bit better in Tong Li (although catching up), and there are many other little water towns throughout this area of southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang.

Do

Try Zhouzhuang's specialties: Grandma's tea and roasted pig trotters. They also make a delicious fudge confectionary here.

Drink

Sleep

To fully appreciate Zhouzhuang, you should consider an overnight stay, especially if you enjoy a romantic setting. Accommodation can be found near the bus station, but is also easy to find by the canals. Cheap, basic, but comfortable. Four-poster beds are available too to complete a wonderful evening.

Get out

The bus station (NOT the sightseeing bus parking lot at Fuguiyuan) is located at the north end of town on Daqiao Lu. According to the 3RMB map sold by old ladies in various parking lots around town, the bus schedule runs like this:

To ___Y(Qingpu) from 0630 to 1720, every 30 minutes.

To ?_B (Suzhou) from 0610 to 1700, every 30 minutes.

To ___C_iShanghai) 0600, 0830, 0915, 1140, 1250, 1420, 1620

To __? (Jiaxing) 0850, 1235