Wuzhen – 乌镇

The city of Wuzhen in photos

Presentation of the city of Wuzhen

Wuzhen is a water city located in Zhejiang Province near Tongxiang City. It is 80km from Hangzhou and Suzhou and 140km from Shanghai. The particularity of Wuzhen is that it is built around canals.The current town was founded in the 9th century under the Tang Dynasty. Historic buildings date back hundreds of years to some. The local economy is essentially based on crafts: dyeing, foundry, weaving, soybean oil, Baijiu (Chine traditional alcohol), sculpture … Tourism has only developed in recent years, in other wortds, if you want to visit this water city, it’s now …The canals of the city form a grid that divides it into 4 parts: Dongzha (East), Nanzha (South), Xizha (West), and Beizha (North). Nanzha and Beizha offer little to visit, only a few traditional houses. And so Xizha and Dongzha welcome the majority of visitors.Note, however, that while many visitors come to Wuzhen every day, locals continue to live in the old homes of Wuzhen without changing their habits.3 kind of tickets:- Ticket for Wuzhen West: 150RMB per adult, valid for one day- Ticket for East Wuzhen: 120RMB per adult, valid for one day- Ticket common to both parties: 200RMB per adult, valid for one day

Wuzhen West

(Wuzhen Xizha – 乌镇西栅)This part of the city is the most extensive. It has been renovated or rebuilt in the 2000s. It has more charm than the eastern part and it is much more pleasant to walk there because less people.It is the largest, the most airy and especially the calmest part. Very clean, Xizha is really nice to visit, you can discover a floral park, a Chinese garden, a factory of soybean oil, an artisanal foundry, a Pagoda …It is also in Xizha that you can visit the Museum of Foot Bands which presents this ancient Chinese tradition where, in order to have pretty feet, women had to have small feet. To do this, young girls saw themselves deforming their feet by bandaging them in a radical way.Xizha is a succession of meanders of small streets and canals to cross by bridges of different sizes, architectures, constructions … You can also let yourself be transported by gondolas to visit this western part.

Wuzhen East

(Wuzhen Dongzha – 乌镇 东 栅)Smaller than Xizha, Dongzha is also less pleasant to visit. It feels quickly oppressed by the crowd of visitors. However, we can visit a museum of ancient beds, a museum of local customs, a museum of coins (silver), a factory of Baijiu (Chine traditional alcohol) …The dye factory: The dyed indigo fabric in China is recognized around the world, and Wuzhen is one of the big producers. Originally located in the Nanzha (South), this handicraft factory was relocated in Dongzha at the end of the 19th century.It is also in Dongzha that you can visit the home of the writer Mao Dun (1896-1981). This house, renovated in 1984, was opened to the public the following year.You can also watch a free Kungfu show every hour for 10 minutes. The peculiarity of this show is that it takes place on a small “barge” moored.Here, too, you can take a gondola ride, but Dongzha is centered around a central canal and only a few perpendicular channels …

Useful information

Plan 1 to 2 days for the visit.Chinese name: Wūzhèn – 乌镇Ticket prices:- For West Wuzhen: 150¥- For East Wuzhen: 120¥- For both together: 200¥ for a dayOpening hours:- Summer season: From 7:20 to 18:00 (7:20am to 6pm) for the eastern part, from 9:00 to 22:30 (9am to 10:30pm) for the western part.- Winter season: From 7:20 to 17:30 (7:20am to 5:30pm) for the eastern part, from 9:00 to 22:00 9am to 10pm) for the western part.Tip: If you decide to visit all both (Xizha & Dongzha) in the same day, start early in the morning on the east side, then go west.

360 ° photo of Wuzhen