Wuzhen

 city, water, town

Lying 25 km to the west of the city of Jiaxing, in the north of Zhejiang Province, Wuzhen is a well preserved ancient Venetian township in both the Lake Tai Basin and the Grand Canal water system. In the 5th century BC, it was called Wushu, where the Wu Kingdom positioned its troops to guard its frontiers. The township came into being in the 9th century. In the 10th century, it became an important entrepot of agricultural produce owing to its convenient navigation and the fertile land. The period from the 14th to the 19th century witnessed this great township with developed economy and flourishing business activities, and numerous men of letters in particular. The ancient township of Wuzhen is laid out somewhat in the shape of a cross, covering an area of 23.2 ha. Surrounding or running through this township are crisscross rivers, mainly including the Grand Canal (the Suzhou-Hangzhou Section and the Hangzhou-Shanghai Section), the Jinniu River, the Baima River, the Shangtamiao, River, the Sanlitang River, the Fulanqiao River, the Township River, the Hongqiao River, etc. Eighteen antique bridges here built during the time from the 14th to 19th century bring themselves into a natural harmony with rivers, alleyways and houses here. The canals running parallel with alleyways, and houses with alleyways in front and canals at rear, constitute a striking picture. Traditional buildings line both sides of the canals with mooring stones, stairways, stone railings, mansions, unique archways, pavilions over water. The characteristic water township thus boasts a fine example of a harmonious relationship between human activities and Mother Nature. There are hundreds of well preserved traditional Chinese houses and dozens of gate towers with carved brick ornamentation, among which, those completed from the 17th to 19th century occupy approximately 80,000 square metres, accounting for 50% of the total floor space of the houses in the township of Wuzhen. To date, there is one cultural relic site under the state protection, another under provincial protection, and still another three under the protection of Tongxiang city. It was listed by the People's Government of Zhejiang Province as the historic and cultural township.