The first stop for the day was the village of Zhouzhuang known as the Venice of Asia. The village is over 900 years old and is incredibly well preserved. Like Venice it is full of canals and bridges.
The streets are lined with shops, tea houses and restaurants. There is also a residential area. You can see the residents washing their clothes on washboards and cleaning the streets. The bridges criss cross the canals so that it is easy to wander throughout the area.
There were quite a few visitors there and yet it was very peaceful. As you walk along you can see artists painting and young students sketching.
There were lots of beautiful sights to paint.
We even got to take a ride on one of the boats. All of the boat masters are women and as you drift along they will sing ancient songs about the village and the lotus blossoms and the river. It was unforgettable.
As we neared the back of the village, we entered the area where the fishing boats and nets are kept. After a day's catch is brought in the nets are hung to dry and then stored for the next day.
We alighted in the part of the village where many of the artisans live. We saw all sorts of craft work being done including embroidery, painting on glass vessels done from the inside, brick making and spinning to name a few.
Like any good village there is even a haunted house.
After working our way through Zhouzhuang we exited the gates and leapt forward in time once more.
No comments:
Post a Comment