The Watertown of Zhouzhuang

Another town we visited during our 2017 trip to China was Zhouzhuang, popularly called the “Number One Watertown.” The town is located in Jiangsu province, about two hours drive from the city of Hangzhou, and made for an interesting one-day side trip.

I was fortunate to visit Venice during my 1989-1993 residency in Italy. But, quite honestly, until this visit I did not know towns similar to Venice existed in China. The water town of Zhouzhuang is laid out in a very similar style, but with a Chinese flavor to the architecture. It very much deserves it’s colloquial title of “Venice of the East.”

The ever-wonderful Wikipedia describes Zhouzhuang as:

A famous 1,000-year-old water town known as the “Venice of the East”. Zhouzhuang is a cluster of small islands surrounded with and divided by lakes and rivers. It is renowned for its well-preserved Ming and Qing dynasty architecture, crisscrossing canals, and stone bridges like the Twin Bridge. It offers a glimpse into traditional Jiangnan water life.

Zhouzhuang is classified as a AAAAA scenic area by the China National Tourism Administration. CNN ranked it the third most beautiful water town in China in 2017 and included Zhouzhuang in its 2019 collection of Asia’s 13 most picturesque towns.

The town features 14 ancient stone bridges from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, with many residential homes built along the waterways. About 60 brick archways and 100 courtyards date back to the original founding of this town.

This is my small collection of photos of this lovely, fascinating “Number One Water Town” of China.

Photo Gallery

modern building with chinese lettering and underneath the sign "Zhouzhuang Tourist Ticket Center" in english — Tourist Entrance to The Water Town of Zhouzhuang
The tourist entrance to the historic "Water Town" of Zhouzhuang, in Jiangsu Province. A "Chinese Venice" this town is renowned for its well-preserved ancient architecture, stone bridges, and serene waterways, often described as resembling a traditional ink wash painting

a ornate chinese-style archway across a modern roadway with cars and bicycles entering and leaving through the gate — The Road Entrance to Zhouzhuang
The roadway entrance to the water town of Zhouzhuang. The road is a modern expansion, as this town was once only accessible via boats. The parking area on the other side of this arch is as far as cars are allowed to go into the town. Past that parking area, all traffic is by foot, bicycle, or canal boats (also called sampans).

large pagoda on the edge of a waterway with plants at it's base. — The Yunhai Pagoda of Zhouzhuang
The Yunhai Pagoda is a historic Landmark in the ancient watertown of Zhouzhuang

a lagoon with an ornate chinese-style water gate as entrance to a town, with a building behind it. — A Water Gate of Zhouzhuang
One of the "water gates" of Zhouzhuang. This gate opens to allow boats to enter or leave the town, and navigate the many canals.

a large stone arch bridge across a wide canal with trees behind it. — A Large Canal Bridge in Zhouzhuang
A bridge across one of the wider canals in the water town of Zhouzhuang. The building on the left is undergoing repairs. Bamboo scaffolding is common throughout China.

a chinese-style arched stone bridge crossing a narrow canal with buildings on both side of the canal. People are walking across the bridge. — A Canal Bridge of Zhouzhuang
One of the stone arch bridges connecting walkways across the many small canals. I observe that Venica, Italy, features very similar style stone bridges over her canals.

a narrow canal with shops on the left side and a stone wall on the right side with a pedestrian walkway. — A Canal in the Business District
Canals are central to daily life in this town, traditionally used for transporting goods and people. Even today cars are banned, so all traffic through this town is by foot, bicycle, or boats.

narrow canal with canal boat and the back side of houses on left side. — A Canal in the Residential District
A canal running through what appears to be a residential area of the town.

wooden sampan canala boat being sculled by a man standing up in back wearing a woven conical grass hat. The stone arch bridge is covered with green vines. — Canal Boat Going Under A Bridge
ANother view of a traditional sampan, being sculled under a vine-covered stone arch bridge.

narrow canal lined by stone houses on either side. The buildings are reflected in the still water of teh canal — A Peaceful Canal in the Residential District
Another canal bisecting what appears to be a residential district.

wide canal lined with stone buildings on each side. Many of the buildings have stone steps leading down to the water, and there are several sampan canal boats in teh canal. — A Busy Canal
A canal lined with boat landings, bustling with boats and people.

a narrow alley between whitewashed stone buildings with a pavestone walkway — An Alleyway
Besides canals, there are numerous narrow alleyways for people to walk.

a small wooden boat with blue cloth awning roof, in a narrow canal with white building behind it, propelled by a man sitting in the back using a sculling oar. — A Traditional Tourist Boat of Zhouzhuang
Commonly referred to as sampans, these boats are traditional wooden craft in the waterways of Zhouzhuang and similar "water towns" of China. They are propelled by a boatman using a long sculling oar. The town is laced with a network of shallow, narrow canals and people use these boats to move around the town. No cars are allowed, so all other traffic is by foot.

a wide doorway set into a dirty-white stone wall topped with traditional chinese roof — The entrance to the Zhouzhuang House of Shen Ting
This historic house was built in 1742 by the descendants of Shen Wansan, a legendary wealthy merchant in the early Ming Dynasty. It is a classic example of Jiangnan-style residential architecture.

a small door flanked by ornate carved brown panels leading into a small room with a wall sculpture, covered with a tile roof — A Traditional Chinese Courtyard Entrance in the House of Shen Ting
One of the side entrances in the house of Shen Ting. This is an example of a traditional Chinese courtyard entrance, part of a siheyuan (four-sided courtyard) complex within this house.

a formal chinese garden in a central courtyard of a residential home. — Interior Gardens in the House of Shen Ting
The house of Shen Ting includes a central courtyard with formal Chinese gardens, typical of the large estates of the Jiangnan-style residential architecture.

back view of a narrow canal boat being sculled under a stone arch bridge. — A Canal Boat Passing Under A Bridge
This view shows one of the many passenger canal boats passing under a stone arch bridge. Note these boats use sculling as their primary means of propulsion.

wide canal lined with stone houses on each side. One house on the right side is covered in green leafy vines — A Residential Canal
a canal through a residential area.

narrow canal with walkways on each side, and a group of sampan canal boats moored across the width of the canal. — A Canal Parking Lot
The sampans need to be parked somewhere when not actually in use.

a flat-topped stone bridge with people walking across the top and a sampan canal boat passing underneath. — A Stone Bridge in Zhouzhuang China
In addition to the many stone arch bridges in the Chinese "Venice of the East" there are several of these squared-off bridges.

looking down at a stone arch bridge to see the staircase steps aiding pedestrian walkers. — Top View of A Stone Arch Bridge
Looking down on the top of a stone arch bridge. Having stairs greatly helps people walk across the high arch.

narrow canal with a small plaza with tree on the left, houses built right up to the right edge. — Canal With A View
A nice view of a canal with a view for the people living along the edge

alleyway with a group of bicycles parked along the left house wall, ornate chinese-style roofs top the buildings — Dry Alleyway
No cars are allowed inside Zhouzhuang, so transportation is limited to walking, bicycles, and boats.

a curved walkway of pavestones winding through an alley with small buildings on each side. — A Sidewalk in Zhouzhuang
No cars are allowed inside Zhouzhuang, so transportation is limited to walking, bicycles, and boats.

a straight walkway of pavestones winding through an alley with small buildings on each side. — A Sidewalk in Zhouzhuang
No cars are allowed inside Zhouzhuang, so transportation is limited to walking, bicycles, and boats.

a stone bridge with flat walkway crossing over a canal, with a tree on the left side — A Flat-Top Bridge
One of the few flat-top bridges in Zhouzhuang. Most bridges are built in a high-arch style, which allows room for sampans to pass underneath even in narrow canals.

A sampan passing through a section of canal with wide plazas and step landings on the left side. Many people are on the plazas — A Sampan In A Busy Canal
A sampan moving through a busy canal.

A stone arch bridge covered in leafy vines with a tree on one side — A Vine-Covered Bridge
This town isn't all stone buildings and water

a waide canal with a canopy of trees, a pedestrian walkway on the right lined with shops and a canal boat in the distance. — A Tree-Covered Canal
One of the wider canals with a canopy of trees.

narrow canal lined with stone houses on each side and a stone arch bridge crossing the canal with people walking across. The bridge is reflected in the calm waters of the canal — A Residential Canal
A canal through a residential area

wide canal lined with stone buildings on each side. The images of the buildings are reflected in the calm water of the canal — A Residential Canal
Another canal winding through a residential neighborhood

an ornamental detail on the corner of a tile roof — A Detail of a Roof
A detail of a tiled roof

canal with a landing plaza covered with a highly ornate chinese-style roof supported by posts — A Ceremonial Landing
A ceremonial landing along a main canal

ron and winnie charest standing next to the famous stone marker at the entrance to Zhouzhuang, stating the town is the number one watertown and national tourist attraction as listed by the AAAAA — Our Intrepid Adventurers in Watertown
Ron and Winnie in a necessary with gratuitous tourist photo.

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Boats Ships and Subs : My collection of photographs of boats, ships, and submarines, taken during my many traveling adventures.
Italy : My collection of photos from Italy. These images were taken in 35mm film, and I am slowly converting them to a digital format and posting them online.

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The Watertown of Zhouzhuang

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