There are many water towns in the south of the Yangtze River, such as Zhouzhuang and Tongli in Jiangsu; Wuzhen, Xitang, Nanxun, Shaoxing, etc. in Zhejiang. In October 2005, the reporter's last stop on his self-driving Jiangnan tour with his car from Beijing was to Wuzhen and Nanxun Ancient Town in Zhejiang. These two different styles of water towns were carefully planned and selected according to the actual situation of the entire trip, making motorists feel worthwhile after sightseeing.

The motorcade goes to Wuzhen (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

In the early morning of October 5, 2005, the motorcade left Shaoxing for Wuzhen. The rainy weather still has not improved. Li Ruicheng, a fellow driver of a publicity car, joked to reporters that he didn't look at the almanac when he came out, and only then did he catch up with the continuous rain for five consecutive days. After more than two hours of travel, the motorcade arrived at Wuzhen Water Town in Tongxiang City in drizzle.

Arrive at Wuzhen, the water town (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Tongxiang is located in the west of Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province. It is located at the intersection of water and land between Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou. It covers an area of 723 square kilometers and has a population of 640,000. The Jiangnan Ancient Canal runs obliquely through the entire territory and is a typical Jiangnan water town. National Highway 320 and Shanghai-Hangzhou Expressway both pass through it.

Photo taken by Wuzhen Water Town (Photo: Cao Qun)

Tongxiang is not only famous for its developed economy, but also famous at home and abroad as a cultural country with celebrities. The construction of celebrity culture with Wuzhen, an ancient town in the Yangtze River, which is famous across the country, and the four "golden phoenixes" as the main frame has become the characteristics and advantages of Tongxiang's tourism culture.

Wuzhen Water Town Waterway (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Wuzhen, the water town, is located at the northern end of Tongxiang City, bordering Huzhou City in the west, and Wujiang County in Jiangsu Province in the north. The Yaozhen Line of the county-level highway runs through the township. Through the Yaozhen Highway, it can connect with the Provincial Highway Salt Lake Highway, National Highway 320, Highway 318, and the Shanghai-Hangzhou Expressway.

Rain scenery in water town (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Wuzhen is 13 kilometers away from Tongxiang City, 27 kilometers, 45 kilometers and 60 kilometers away from the surrounding cities of Jiaxing, Huzhou and Wujiang respectively, 80 kilometers away from Hangzhou and Suzhou, and 140 kilometers away from Shanghai.

Boating in Wuzhen, the water town (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Wuzhen has a history of more than 1300 years and is one of the top ten famous historical and cultural towns in China. Wuzhen has been prosperous since ancient times. For thousands of years, houses in the ancient town have been built close to the river and close to the bridge. The folk customs in the town are simple and are a model of "small bridges, flowing water, and people's homes" in the Jiangnan water town. At the same time, Wuzhen also has water-facing buildings that other towns do not have. -Shuige, Wuzhen has been called "China's last water-pilling family."

Watertown Langting (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Wuzhen has a long history and is a typical Jiangnan cultural town. Wuzhen Water Town has a complete style and maintains a complete pattern of Jiangnan Water Town. Wuzhen is rich in folk customs and is a living fossil museum reflecting life in Jiangnan water towns. Wuzhen's economy is developing rapidly and is a famous prosperous town in the Yangtze River Delta region.

Overlooking Wuzhen, the water town (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

In 2001, Wuzhen was included in the World Cultural Heritage Preparatory List; in 2002, it was awarded the title of National AAAA Scenic Spot; in 2004, it was named as the first batch of China's Top Ten Famous Historical and Cultural Towns by the Ministry of Construction and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, ranking first among the Top Ten Most Popular Tourist Attractions in Zhejiang Province, and won the "2003 Asia-Pacific Heritage Protection Outstanding Achievement Award" awarded by the United Nations; Wuzhen has been selected as one of China's "Golden Week" holiday tourism forecast statistics list for four consecutive years. Wuzhen is gradually growing into a world-class tourism brand.

Watertown shoreline buildings (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Walking into Wuzhen Scenic Area, the unique features of Jiangnan Water Town will immediately be displayed in front of people. In the narrow waterway hidden in the shade of greenery, there are wupeng boats constantly commuting. Tourists comfortably appreciate the customs of the water town in the boat. Along the river, there are old residential houses built by the water's edge; on the other side is a stone road adjacent to the water. Not long after a while, there will be a small bridge across the two sides. Standing on the small bridges with different architectural shapes and looking around, the unique water town style is like beautiful pictures that are fascinating.

The Commercial Street of Wuzhen (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

In the Jiangnan water town, there are many ancient towns like Wuzhen, which are as beautiful and peaceful as pearls. In addition to having the small bridges, flowing water, people's water town customs and exquisite and elegant residential buildings that everyone has, Wuzhen has a strong historical and cultural atmosphere. This may be the reason why it has the longest history and the most developed culture.

Shopping for tea in Wuzhen (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Wuzhen not only has beautiful water town scenery and well-preserved Ming and Qing dynasties buildings, but also gave birth to a generation of literary heroes Mao Dun. Mao Dun's former residence is an old house inhabited by the ancestors of revolutionary writer Mao Dun (Shen Yanbing). It was built in the middle of the 19th century and has a building area of 650 square meters. It is a residential residence in the south of the Yangtze River in the Qing Dynasty.

Mao Dun's former residence in the courtyard (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Opposite Mao Dun's former residence is the Lin family shop. Back then, the Beijing Film Studio was adapted by Xia Yan based on Mao Dun's work in 1959;"Lin Family Shop" filmed by director Shuihua left a very deep impression on reporters. And my childhood feeling of Jiangnan water towns also came from this movie. I came here decades later and looked at the real Lin family shop in front of me. Although it was completely different from the scene in the movie, it still gave the reporter an indescribable feeling about this place.

There is a dazzling array of small commodities (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Unfortunately, the tourism boom during the National Day Golden Week has caused a steady flow of tourists here. The narrow streets and alleys are crowded with tourists visiting and shopping. Squeezing into Mao Dun's former residence, I finally paid a more complete visit to the former residence of the literary master with the crowded crowd.

Taking a photo with his car friend Wuzhen (Photo: Lin Lan)

It is understood that Mao Dun lived here for thirteen years from his birth on July 4, 1896 to his hometown to study in the spring of 1910, and remained in contact for decades. Mao Dun's former residence includes a study that Mao Dun personally designed and renovated in 1934, hand-planted bamboo and palm trees. It was listed as a provincial-level cultural protection unit in 1982. It was prepared for restoration in August 1983. It was completed and opened to the public in July 1985. In January 1988, it was announced as a national key cultural relics protection unit.

Water Pavilion in Wuzhen (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

After the opening, auxiliary buildings and exhibition halls were successively expanded, with a total construction area of 1,731.5 square meters. In August 1994, it was renamed the Mao Dun Memorial Hall in Tongxiang City. It has three basic exhibitions: "Wuzhen, Mao Dun's Hometown","The Road Mao Dun Traved" and "Mao Dun's Former Residence (Restoration)". The east of the former residence is Mao Dun's alma mater, Lizhi Academy, which is now renamed the Mao Dun Memorial Hall.

Watching a movie in the rain in Wuzhen (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Mao Dun's former residence, together with the Cultivation Theater, Tang Dynasty Ginkgo, Zhaoming Book Room and Wuzhen Water Town customs, is integrated into a vivid living dictionary of Mao Dun's research. The reporter thought that when visiting Wuzhen, Mao Dun's former residence was a must-see.

Tea House in Wuzhen (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

In Wuzhen, the water town, the unique snacks and local products are dizzying. Like sister-in-law cakes, mouth-fragrance, rose crispy candy, peanut crispy, black sesame crispy, etc., looking at the big bags and small bags one by one; the happy drivers can see that purchasing local specialties with folk characteristics here must be very happy.

Purchasing local products (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

It is reported that the tourism brand of Wuzhen Water Town has also opened up unique and novel promotion methods in the national tourism market. They used the form of tourist caravans to show people the unique charm of Wuzhen, a water town, through vivid pictures of Wuzhen and the water town on the car.

The customs of Wuzhen, a water town (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Gao Yuping, the manager in charge of sales at Wuzhen Tourism Development Company at the time, told reporters: "No matter which big city our tourist caravans drive to, those pictures of the water town customs with strong visual impact will attract many tourists to stop and watch. Today, our tourist RV has visited many places in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, as well as Beijing, the three northeastern provinces and Guilin, Guangxi. We hope that through this intuitive publicity and promotion method, tourists across the country can gradually understand the characteristics of Wuzhen, our water town. This will also make some contribution to promoting the development of tourism." (Photo and text: Feng Ganyong)