In the tranquil little village of Wuzhen, the light hangs over the Dong ShiRiver in a soft summer pallour, as though the clouds are making a deliberateeffort to protect the residents from sunburn. Along the river, a select group ofday-trippers enjoy a cruise aboard a pole-steered barge. I'm highly privilegedto be visiting the very last of China's ancient "water towns" to be opened tovisitors.
When the authorities opened the 1,300 year old riverine settlement ofWuzhen to visitors in early 20__, they were determined to avoid the tacky mix oftourist restaurants and kitsch souvenir shops that has swamped other estuarytowns such as Zhouzhuang (which also lies in the Yangtze River delta). Wuzhen'sold buildings, an architectural symphony of stone, wood and tiles, have beenpreserved rather than restored, and lovingly maintained rather than tarted up.The result is a place that is a sheer joy to explore on foot.
Wuzhen is still a living town, where daily life goes on life goes on as ithas for the last thousand or so years. Coppersmiths, wood-carver andsilk-spinners work at their age-old crafts. Bicycle rickshaw drivers exchangestories as they wait for passengers. People cart water, cook meals, and tendtheir gardens, each flower-plot the size of a postage stamp.
The townsfolk of Wuzhen gather in the town square around mid-day - talking,smoking or playing mah-jongg. They seem laidback and contented. Most of all,they seem to enjoy observing the passing parade, which provides a constantsource of amusement. I started to wonder whether it was the town or the strangeforeign visitors like myself that was the main attraction. Western visitors arestill a rarity here.
Wuzhen lies in the far north-east of Zhejiang province, about 90 minutes byroad from Shanghai. The name "water town" is especially apt; besides lying onthe Grand Canal, the settlement is completely encircled by two rivers - the DongShi and a smaller tributary, which meet at a T-junction. No matter where youstand, water provides the backdrop, the raison d'être of the whole town.
About 250 families used to live in the old quarter of Wuzhen. However,following the "restoration" of the town, many townsfolk have been moved out tothe "new" Wuzhen, an attractively landscaped but otherwise characterlessapartment block 15 km down the road towards Shanghai. Those who remain aremainly the elderly and craftspeople. While I was assured that there is nothingto stop new residents moving into the old town, young people nowadays seemstrangely absent.
The old wooden shops of Wuzhen look ageless and immovable, as though theirtimbers have totally defied the ravages of time. At first, one suspects that thecustodians of the town have tried to cover up the decomposing processes ofnature. But look more closely and you find slow rot setting in around the basesof the doorframes, and splinters breaking away from the lintels. What littlerestoration has been done is so inconspicuous as to be totally indistinguishablefrom the original.
All the buildings in Wuzhen are in Ming or Qing Dynasty style. One palatialestablishment is the "Double Happiness" Marriage Shrine. Twin hearts are joinedin a nouveau-Chinese character in gilt upon a flaming crimson background,presumably depicting the inseparability of marriage - perhaps the Chinese knowsomething that we Westerners don't.
Wuzhen also has some unique attractions, including Yu Liuliang's Coin andPaper Money Exhibition. Nearby (would you believe) stands a Pawnshop Museum, asif to prove that usury is universal. (Maybe fortunately, Wuzhen has the onlysuch establishment I've ever come across). I tried looking for a Qing DynastyDVD player in the pawnshop, but was sadly disappointed.
No fewer than eight stone bridges cross the Dong Shi River, the grandest ofthem being the Fengyuan Double Bridge. The bridge is separated into two parts bya wooden sluice gate. Cyclists carry their bikes across the high arches of thebridges, which are designed to let boats pass underneath without difficulty.
Back in the main square, the elders are still hanging out. On the villagestage, a performance of Peking Opera is underway. Across the square, a masterpuppeteer entertains visitors with a shadow-play of the type known in Java aswayang kulit. But while the Javanese version of shadow puppetry is subtle andrefined, the Wuzhen style has the protagonists attacking each other with theferocity of tigers.
Whether by accident or design, this town seems to have been dropped intoits watery setting by a master town planner from another galaxy. A more perfectlocation for a settlement would be difficult to find. It is fervently to behoped that tourism will augment rather than destroy the unique ambiance ofWuzhen.