Every year, we will choose a different place to greet the New Year. After experiencing the ups and downs of 2020, we discussed with our little sisters to go to the gentle water town in the south of the Yangtze River to open the new 2021. We finally decided to go to Zhouzhuang in Suzhou to have a few days of life in Zhouzhuang.

About the itinerary

Day1 Shenzhen Shanghai Zhouzhuang Latte Stone Art Inn Carton King Theme Creative Park Quangong Building Fashion Restaurant Zhouzhuang Night View

DAY2 New Year's Day Opening Ceremony - Hanfu Experience - Writing Couplets - Eight Bowls at Shenting Restaurant - Visiting Shenting Restaurant - Taking a Cruise on the Caidao Road - Zhenfeng Twelve Floors - Chunsi Resort Hotel - Ancient Stage - Night Tour of Zhouzhuang by Boat - Flower Lane Rain Lane

DAY3 Xiangcun · Qizhuang Era Show Homestay - Afternoon Tea - Xiangcun Pastry Making Experience - Window Flower Handmade - Xiangcun Hefengli Restaurant

DAY4 return trip

About Transportation

Zhouzhuang is about the same distance from Shanghai, Suzhou, and Kunshan South Station. It is possible to take a high-speed train directly to Kunshan South Station, or fly to Shanghai Hongqiao and take a taxi or drive there. It takes about an hour and a half to reach Zhouzhuang.

About Accommodation

We stayed at two inns this time, one is the Latte Stone Art Inn in the ancient town of Zhouzhuang, and the other is the Era Show Homestay in Qizhuang, Xiangcun, near Zhouzhuang.

-Latte Stone Art Inn

This inn is located within the Carton King Creative Park, very close to the entrance of Zhouzhuang, and has an excellent geographical location. As its name suggests, it is an artistic inn with a lot of iron art displayed in public areas and rooms.

The rooms in the inn are very clean and comfortable, and you can also see some scenes of the ancient water town from the window.

-Xiangcun Qizhuang Era Show Homestay

This Xiangcun Qizhuang homestay has been renovated with the theme of "Era Show", and each building has been transformed into a different era style.

We are staying at the No. 3 homestay in the style of the 1990s. This No. 3 homestay was built around 1993 and is a very typical rural style villa. The whole villa has five rooms and a yard, which is very suitable for a large family to come here for vacation.

【 First encounter with Zhouzhuang, dream of a water town in Jiangnan in winter 】

The Jiangnan water town, where the cold winter has descended, remains gentle and romantic. The sun rises during the day, creating a warm, lazy and comfortable appearance.

We arrived at Zhouzhuang and the sky was gradually getting dark. We visited the Carton King themed creative park near our inn, which is an art and creative park that uses cardboard boxes to create everything. From large cardboard box artworks in the yard to small cardboard box artworks in the store, they are all made to life.

For the last dinner in 2020, we chose the Golden Bull Spring Festival Reunion Dinner at Quangong Building Fashion Restaurant in Zhouzhuang Ancient Town. The dishes are traditional delicacies with Jiangnan characteristics. The most famous Wansanhoof in Zhouzhuang must be the most important one on the table. With round Soy egg, it means the reunion of wealth and wealth, as well as the sweet and sour Jiangnan famous dish Squirrel and Mandarin Fish, which are necessary for reunion meals every year.

The entire reunion banquet package consists of 12 dishes, along with a sweet fruit dumpling soup and a New Year candy plate. Each dish has an auspicious blessing. In addition, booking such a table for reunion dinner can also give you 4 universal tickets to the Zhouzhuang scenic area.

The fashionable restaurant of Quangong Building leads out to the lakeside path with various patterned lanterns. Walking leisurely along the lakeside, the old houses on both sides of the lake are lit with warm lights, and the mottled ancient walls are filled with the flowing feeling of water waves. Although the winter evening breeze is a bit cold, it has also become less desolate and lonely in such a beautiful night.

Welcoming the New Year and Opening the Year of Wealth in Zhouzhuang

Early in the morning on the first day of New Year's Day in 2021, it was the most grand opening ceremony of Zhouzhuang. We also got up early, bathed in the warm winter sun, and came to the Hanfu rental store. Yes, yes, we are ready to change into special Hanfu and attend the opening ceremony.

From a distance, many people gathered in front of the ancient archway of Zhouzhuang, preparing for the opening ceremony. In order to celebrate the opening of Xikai Village, the "Lord" of Zhouzhuang brought everyone to light incense and toast to pray for the year 2021, and also sent greetings and blessings to all guests. He then led everyone to open the door of Zhouzhuang, and the whole scene was lively and bustling, welcoming the new year with great enthusiasm.

This year is the Year of the Ox, and Zhouzhuang has placed a huge golden bull at the entrance to welcome guests. There is also a saying about this golden bull: "When you touch the head of the spring ox, good luck comes from you; when you touch the waist of the spring ox, money rises up; when you touch the tail of the spring ox three times, good fortune and longevity do not end." Passengers passing by are also happy to touch this big golden bull, all of which also indicate that Zhouzhuang's financial year is about to begin.

We heard that a teacher was writing couplets to celebrate the New Year on the other side, and we couldn't wait to personally experience it. The teacher had already prepared pens, ink, paper, and inkstones in the room. He wrote the same beautiful "fu" character in different fonts and gave it to us as his best wishes.

For lunch, we chose the Wan San Family Banquet at Shen Ting Restaurant. Shen Wan San specially hired a famous chef to cook delicious dishes with local specialties, hence the name "Wan San Family Banquet". The main dishes must include the famous fat but not greasy Wansanti, braised eel tube, snail stuffed meat made from a mixture of fresh snail meat and pig leg meat, as well as the essential braised mandarin fish and gluten stuffed meat for Jiangnan family banquets. Each dish retains the original flavor of the ingredients, making it fresh, delicious, and nutritious.

Next to the Shen Ting Restaurant is the Shen Ting built by the descendants of the wealthy man Shen Wansan from Jiangnan. Located on the south side of Fu'an Bridge in the ancient town of Zhouzhuang, Shen Ting is known as the "most residential area in Jiangnan". Every person who comes to Zhouzhuang will definitely come here to explore.

After entering the foyer, there are lights and decorations inside, which are said to be used to decorate the facade. Looking up again, a golden treasure pot is carved on top, which is the treasure of the Shen family's residence. Placing it at the door indicates that there will be treasure upon entering.

Walking further into the main hall of the Shen family, there is a very interesting small detail here. There are small windows on both sides of the walls, not for ventilation. This is specifically designed for Miss Shen. Whenever a young man comes to the Shen family for a blind date and Miss Shen is inconvenient to come downstairs to receive her, she will open a small crack in this small window and secretly take a look. If the young man satisfies Miss Shen, she can throw a embroidered ball. If she is not satisfied with the other party, Miss Shen can quietly close the window. In fact, it seems that in that era, wealthy families like the Shen family were relatively democratic. The children of the Shen family have some degree of freedom of choice.

As the saying goes, "water leads to wealth." When Shen Ting comes out, it's the cruise ship dock. If you want to have good financial luck in the new year, of course, you need to take a boat ride on the first day of the new year to explore the water wealth path of Wansan.

A boat can accommodate up to six people, with a unique Jiangnan water town charm. Tea and snacks have been prepared for guests early on, and they can enjoy drinking hot tea and eating red date cakes while watching the scenery on both sides of the water town, swaying leisurely on the water.

The Water Treasure Road travels all the way to the God of Wealth's residence. After disembarking, one must walk through the copper coin road covered in copper coins, then "drill" through the huge copper coin eye, and then pay homage to Shen Wansan and worship the God of Wealth to make a wish, hoping that the money eye will "fall" in the coming year.

When I returned from the House of God of Wealth, Zhouzhuang had been dyed a layer of warm yellow by the setting sun. I suddenly remembered that there was a picture album about Zhouzhuang at home when I was a child. What impressed me most was one of the pictures of Zhouzhuang in the setting sun. At this moment, this scene is just like the picture in my memory.

Accompanied by the sunset, we visited the "Zhenfeng Cultural Street", represented by the "Zhenfeng Twelve Blocks". The twelve blocks refer to iron shops, shoe art blocks, bamboo weaving blocks, carving blocks, wine workshops, earth cloth blocks, brick and tile blocks, brocade halls, Su embroidery blocks, tofu blocks, and noodle blocks. The craftsmen in the workshop are mostly elderly grandparents, who have been working diligently for decades for a single craft. The spirit of craftsmanship is probably what describes them.

I chatted with my grandfather from Tiepu Fang for a while, and he said that he has been making iron all his life. He loves this craft very much. Although iron is cold, as long as he touches it, my grandfather's heart is hot.

In the evening, we had dinner at the Chunsi Resort Hotel by the South Lake. There is also a story about homesickness about this hotel. Zhang Han, a literary figure from the Western Jin Dynasty and now from Suzhou, Jiangsu, recorded in his biography: "Zhang Han was in Luoyang, and when he saw the autumn wind rise, he missed Wuzhong Chuncai and sea bass soup." He resigned from his position to return to his hometown in memory of the local cuisine, and retired to the South Lake bank at the border of Zhouzhuang and Luxu in Wujiang. "Chunsi" became synonymous with homesickness. This hotel was renovated from an old building in the 1990s and is located in Nanhu Bay, named "Chunsi". The touching stories and the picturesque scenery of Nanhu Bay have made this hotel a must visit destination for many people.

The hotel's catering also combines traditional cuisine with fashionable creativity, still indispensable Jiangnan specialties such as Wansanti, Squirrel Guiyu, Braised Eel, Three Flavored Round Grass Chicken Casserole, and creative Tangshao Snow Flower Beef, Bran Perch Rice Cake, etc. Compared to the previous two dishes with Jiangnan traditional characteristics, this meal has some new feelings in the taste buds.

After drinking and eating, walking towards the ancient stage in the gradually evening sky, the people of Zhouzhuang love to listen to the opera. It is said that Shen Wansan and his family are famous Kunqu opera fans, so the ancient stage in Zhouzhuang was renovated and upgraded into the Qingfeng Mingyue · Zhouzhuang Pear Garden. The pear garden is designed to be very elegant and elegant, and visitors can enjoy Kunqu opera, the "ancestor of all kinds of opera", while tasting tea.

During the day, I experienced a boat ride on the Water Finance Road, and at night, don't miss the night boat ride in Zhouzhuang. The boatman's grandmother warmly and kindly greeted us to board the ship, lit up the kerosene lamps at the bow of the ship, and then took us through the flowing water alleys with the oars, admiring the charming night scenery of Zhouzhuang from a different perspective.

We happened to be on the last available night boat, and the boat that had finished work quietly docked by the gentle water bay. There were still flickering lights on the fishing boat, perfectly blending with the hazy night. "Maple Bridge Night Mooring" is probably such a touching scene.

In addition, the ancient town of Zhouzhuang has created a very beautiful lighting display area on the section from Fuhong Bridge to Zhenfeng Bridge, with the theme of Flower Alley and Rain Alley. Through professional light and shadow installations and interactive new media integration, Zhouzhuang is illuminated in a new and creative way.

The "Rain Alley" created by the projection of image lights displays the visual effect of raindrop ripples on the ground. On the mottled ancient wall, there are oil paper umbrellas with staggered heights, and there is also a dedicated space next to the oil paper umbrellas for tourists to take photos and check in. On the other corner of the wall, a folded windowsill is projected, with petals falling from the sky. On one side, there is a Jiangnan girl sitting by the window watching the scenery, and on the other side, there is a cute little cat looking around. The breeze and petals gently brush around, creating an overly beautiful scene.

Flower Alley is a flower path covered with flowers. Under the projection of images, flowers of various colors bloom together on the ground, holding an oil paper umbrella and slowly walking along this flower path.

【 Xiangcun Qizhuang, celebrate the most traditional New Year in the countryside 】

After staying in Zhouzhuang for two days, we fully felt the unique New Year flavor of the water town. We heard that there is a Xiangcun Qizhuang near Zhouzhuang, where we can experience the most traditional New Year in Jiangnan. We decided to find a homestay for two days. On the recommendation of a friend, we stayed at Xiangcun Qizhuang Shijixiu Homestay, a stylish and stylish small villa with a courtyard.

When you come to Xiangcun Qizhuang, you will have a feeling of returning to your childhood. Short and small bungalows, large vegetable fields, and rice paddies allow you to run freely on rural roads.

We found a small cafe where the sun could pour in for afternoon tea. The weather was particularly good at the beginning of the New Year. The warm afternoon light hit the table. A pot of hot tea, a few desserts, a plate of fresh fruit, and several good sisters were really nice moments.

I made an early appointment for the pastry making experience in the afternoon, and from a distance, I saw the grandma at the Xiangcun pastry shop busy preparing materials, waiting for us to go and experience.

The pastry shop has a very retro style, with pastry samples with purple red prints placed by the window. It immediately pulled me back to twenty years ago, which was the appearance of the pastry in my memory.

What we are about to make is pumpkin plum blossom cake. Grandma taught us how to mix noodles, add pumpkin powder, put it in a mold, steam it on the lid of a pressure cooker, and pour it out of the mold. We can't wait to taste it. It's soft, sticky, and has the sweetness of pumpkin. It's really the warmest thing in winter.

After strolling back to the inn in the countryside with satisfaction, the innkeeper said that he wanted to add a little flavor of New Year to the room, so we began to make our own Paper Cuttings, put up window decorations and decorate the room with a festive flavor.

At this moment, the owner of the neighboring and Fengli restaurant called us to have New Year's dinner. As we entered the restaurant, there was already a table full of steaming hot food. Although we couldn't miss the traditional dishes we had often eaten in the past two days, each place had its own unique flavor. This time, there were also fresh vegetables freshly picked from the vegetable field in the afternoon on the table, which were sweet and delicious.

Returning to the yard at night, we set off fireworks with a very ceremonial feeling. For our generation, as the New Year's atmosphere in the city gradually dissipates, new clothes, New Year's Eve dinner, and fireworks and firecrackers are deeply rooted in our hearts. The deepest memories of the Chinese New Year are rooted in our hearts, and the traditional New Year spent in Xiangcun Qizhuang has given us a long lost touch and warmth.