The Venice of Asia that is!
There are a few cities in Asia that have been given the title "Venice of Asia", mostly because these cities work on, or have many canal systems like the european Venice. Bangkok, Suzhou, and Zhujiajio are all famous for their Canals, and now that I have been to Zhujiajiao I can almost cross Venice (the real one) off my list. This small city is quite similar to Venice, right down to it's Gondolas. The only real difference is the language, the people and, unh, the location... haha.
Iwas picked up at 8am sharp on Saturday morning and had already been told that we were headed to Zhujiajio (roughly pronounced jew-jyah-joe with soft j's) but that morning, they decided to start me off at the Grand View Garden.
The Grand View Garden was built in 1984 around one of China's famous love stories "Dream of the Red Chamber". The park itself is massive, spanning just over 13 hectars, and shows fantastic examples of chinese architecture. We arrived early enough to miss most of the tourists and I couldn't help but unwind and listen to the trees rustle in the wind... it was so peaceful and so beautiful.
To read up on Dream of the Red Chamber: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_of_the_Red_Chamber
Beautiful Architecture
Amazing use of colour!
I want to live in a house with a roof like this...
Part of Grand View Park was it's beautiful Plum Blossom tree park (Mei Yuan). They had three prominent species - a pink, a green, and a pink variety, and they were all incredibly pretty and fragrant.
In March, when plum blossoms are in full bloom, the Mei Yuan is a stunning sight. One of Mei Yuan’s scenic areas, Meiwu Chunnong, is already known as the best place in Shanghai to see plum blossoms.
Here are a few shots:
Located on the banks of Dianshan Lake in the western suburbs of Shanghai, Zhujiajiao covers a total of 138 sq. kms, including an ancient-town area of 2.7 sq. kms. It was found almost 1700 years ago, and there are numerous rivers criss-crossing the town, 9 long streets run along the river, thousands of ancient buildings stand on the banks of the rivers with more than 30 old bridges adding to the beauty of the town and every bridge is unique and has its own story to tell.
We didn't spend much time in the actual town of Zhujiajiao, but focused mostly on the old town within it.
The first stop was Fangsheng Bridge (Setting-fish-free Bridge), which the longest, largest and tallest stone bridge. I've been told that to visit Zhujiajiao without seeing the bridges means that you have not really been to Zhujiajiao at all, and ever bridge in the town are distinctive and old, built during Ming and Qing Dynasties. The old town is thoroughly connected by 36 delicate spans in different shapes and styles, from wooden to stone to marble.
There are many sellers trying to sell you fish to "set free" on these bridges, mostly Fangsheng Bridge, and I almost purchased two for 5rmb (just under a dollar) that I could throw off the bridge and "set free". Unfortunately, I was told that the bridge is lined with nets underneath the water and those poor fish are just caught once more to be thrown off again. I didn't want to stress out the poor fish so I skipped that idea.
Once we crossed the bridge, we were welcomed into the small alley-like streets that make up most of this small town. Many street vendors have stalls and sell anything from knicknacks to silk, to tea, to candies, and other speciality items. I fell in love with modern paintings that depicted scenes in Zhujiajiao but the artist didn't want to sell his paintings for less than 80rmb each, and I wanted a few so it just wasn't meant to be. If I go back I'll try my luck again and see if I can find something similar for less.
We spent the afternoon enjoying the scenery and one teacher was generous enough to give us a tour of the school he worked at nearly 30 years ago. He had been posted there after working the fields during the revolution, mostly because he could speak a little english and was told he would be a benefit to this small community. He has been teaching ever since.
Here are a few pictures:
Fangsheng Bridge
Gondolas!
Fishermen selling their catch of the day
Beautiful little canals and gondolas
Little alley way with tons of things to buy...
Beside the tree that mr. Zhu planted when he taught at this school. The school has since been turned into a museum of sorts. The red ribbons are wishes that people have left on the branches and roots.
Riding the Gondola
More beautiful views from the vantage point of the gondola
Hope you've enjoyed this... (I certainly did... )
love! xox