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Me again, yes I know I haven't given you much rest bite since the last and I am sorry; but I am true to my word and the time has arrived to deliver a short passage on my excursion to Zhouzhuang ( Joe Jung).
Originally this quaint little village was not on the agenda; but due to the confusion of buses bound for Tongli, the original choice, this is where I ended up. Planning is of course an important part of any travelling experience, even more so when running to a minimal amount of allotted time; however, it often transpires that the unexpected moments are those which end up exceeding all expectations - that's probably been said before but in any case - I quite like that.
Zhouzhuang lies around an 1 ½ hour long bus journey from the bright lights of Shanghai but with a mere population of 20,000 inhabiting the ½ kilometer square town, a 1000 times less than that of Shanghai, they are truly worlds apart with regards to atomosphere, lifestyle, pollution and much more.
The fact that there are numerous daily coach tours, indicates that this charming water village is not an unknown treasure that you simply stumble upon. The ending of Mission Impossible III was filmed here but it is most famed for its' cultural and historical importance and is in fact a popular tourist spot, although western faces were still few and far between.
On arrival, seeing the theme park styled entrance to the village I felt disappointed that the authenticity of the place may have drained and succumbed to the might of tourism. In some respects this was true with designated areas of incessant tourist tat salespeople lining and with all due respect spoiling an otherwise idealistic ambience. Although in retrospect and after contemplating my selfish mindset I cannot blame them, a topic of conversation that I will return to in a future blog.
Aside from the 'lucky price for you Mr' areas, the ancient architecture, intricate waterways and witnessing of locals carrying out their daily activities all made for a highly picturesque setting; which you can (and I did) spend hours simply wandering around, admiring and capturing endless textbook photographs of - please see the accompanying photo album.
My aimless 'wandering' took me past a number of open doorways, through one I noticed a sign for the sale of tea. A frail old woman looked bemused at who had entered her relatively derelict house and even more so at my request for a cup of tea. Over that tea, I had the chance to practice the limited Chinese phrases / questions I knew and from her enthusiastic responses you would have thought I was her long lost son. She didn't seem too interested by the Mission Impossible III filming and contrary to Mr Cruise, she didn't have time for Scientology either.
I don't know how many customers she receives a day but I would imagine that I am the only Western man she has entertained - I came away pleased having simply provided her with a little company.
I think I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking....
Next time round - Spring Festival in Harbin!
If you do wish to read up a little more on Zhouzhuang please visit the following website:
http://www.shanghaiholiday.net/jiangsu/zhouzhuang.htm
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