Saturday, December 27, 2008

Wuzhen

Wuzhen

wuzhen river boat
I planned this trip to Wuzhen because firstly of its close proximity to Shanghai and secondly because this is the place where some parts of Mission Impossible 3 was filmed.

And of course because I've heard and roughly seen a few pictures of the scenic water villages in China... I knew I would be in for a picturesque holiday!

So, I've put Wuzhen as my next stop from Hangzhou. And after 2 hours journey from Hangzhou, I arrived in the new Wuzhen's bus station.

wuzhen trishaw
There, I was offered a ride to my hotel on the traditional rickshaw. But at the station as well, one of the budget hotel owner offered me to check out his hotel, which I did and eventually agreed to stay for 2 nights.

wuzhen old townThen the rickshaw rider offered me once again - to bring me sight seeing in the old town of Wuzhen (with payment). The place is really old - but in a way, charming.

wuzhen old townHe brought me along the old tiny streets... which felt very authentic.

wuzhen old streetIn fact, of my trip here, I enjoyed this a lot as I felt this as the most authentic part of Wuzhen - seeing the way the people really live in their usual lives, and not for the tourists.

After my 2 hour ride ended, I continued my journey on my own along the old Wuzhen streets.

wuzhen square restaurantI visited one of the open air square which had restaurants.

wuzhen restaurantThe people were preparing & cooking their food in the middle of it - mainly using charcoal!

wuzhen vehicleI also saw the 3 wheel vehicle - looks familiar heh? :) (btw, I think it's also available in other towns in China).

wuzhen night marketI also passed their night market - where they were selling a fair bit of fresh produce from fruits & even seafood (don't think wanna put them up! - it was even hard to photo some of them... think exotic food and you'll get an idea).
wuzhen old bridgeAnd finally, I also got a glimpse of what the payable 'scenic' & 'preserved' (not to mentioned reserved for tourists) areas of Dongzha & Xizha had to offer.

wuzhen river
And that's coming up next! :)

*I didn't pre booked any Wuzhen hotels in advance - the reason is mainly because there aren't much info for hotel bookings in English. Neither did I know how to get to Wuzhen from Hangzhou... yet, I had put this on my itinerary.

But with the help from the hotel staff in Hangzhou (and some stress), I managed to buy the bus ticket (at 33 yuan with commission). In fact, they were so nice that they actually found a hotel for me too in the Chinese website, but which I didn't stay in the end.

6 comments:

  1. I went to this village in Wuzhen as well. It's beautifully preserved just like walking through an ancient town. Very nice pics too

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  2. Oh, I didn't know MI3 was filmed in Wuzhen! I agree it's a charming place. That building (6th picture) has a very "Chinese" roof shape, which you can also find in ancient chinese tombstones.

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  3. Nice pics you have there. Just too bad I don't have the money to travel.

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  4. hi quachee,

    yes! i was in this village with my wife last 2 years too. the feeling is so nice to be there, the people are still living the way they have used to be for the past centuries. a nice place for discovery.

    Ken

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  5. Now, there is more life here. I especially like picture #3 and the last one. I am surprised the rivers are so clean - free of floating debris, I mean. Very nice.

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  6. @acura
    yes, its really has the atmosphere heh :)

    @foongpc
    wow i didnt know bout that! lol :)

    @kellaw
    thanks. actually, try saving some if you can, and book during discount periods - china is relatively affordable still for us :)

    @ken neoh
    wow, there's lots of us having gone there heh :)

    @happysurfer
    pic 3 is actually the real village itself thats why got more life. even the last pic is around the non paying part of the places. its only in those paying parts where the place looks more deserted. quite a pity heh :)

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Oh hey, thank you for commenting! :)