Shuhe was a delightful unexpected surprise, a recommendation I received when I was visiting Lijiang, to get away from the tourist crowds. A 30min taxi toward the northwest, and you’re there. It’s an ancient water town offering tranquility, peace, and
Visions of Shuhe ancient town : Yunnan China
Roaming around Yunnan I visited most of the obvious tourist destinations, starting from Kunming, then Dali, and finally Lijiang. What I didn’t plan, but found a delightful surprise, was an ancient water town about 30 minutes north-west of Lijiang called
People of ZhouZhuang Watertown : Shanghai
Zhou Zhuang is one of the loveliest watertown daytrips from Shanghai. It has magical narrow canals with atmospheric old Chinese houses and ancient temples. But what’s a place without the people? Though there’s no doubt Zhou Zhuang has become commercialized
ZhouZhuang Watertown : Shanghai
Although I’ve been to a number of watertowns around Shanghai and Suzhou (see Qibao and Xitang1/Xitang2), I can’t get enough of them, and with Zhou Zhuang you can really see why. Though somewhat touristic and a bit over-commercialized, those watertowns
Xi Tang Ancient Water Town
Xi Tang, an ancient water town about 30 minutes from Shanghai, is a well-deserved day trip out from Shanghai or Hangzhou. Pushed into sudden fame by Hollywood, this little down became a bustling somewhat over commercialized tourist attraction, but it
Qi Bao–Shanghai’s local ancient water town
When you picture old China, what comes to mind? If you want to feel more of old Chinese-style Shanghai you need to move away from the colonial areas and the modern skyscrapers and venture onto the water towns surrounding Shanghai
