Chinese Venice(1)
Less than an hour from Hangzhou is a millennia-old watery world of canals, boats and bridges.
SANDWICHED between the bustling commercial metropolis of Shanghai to the north and the cultural city of Hangzhou to the south are a cluster of quaint villages considered by many to be among the most charming in China.
For more than a thousand years, life in these “water villages” (shuixiang) has revolved around the canals and waterways that criss-cross the region. In the past decade, several of these hamlets have been restored and one of the most well-known is Wuzhen whose western divide (Xizha) is flanked by the Grand Canal.
It was raining when we arrived at the reception centre of Wuzhen’s Xizha which opened to the public only in 2007. Because of the weather we had to forego the boat-ride that would take us to the village proper via a canal that runs right through the settlement. Instead we boarded open shuttles that traversed a quiet stretch of cultivated land. After 15 or 20 minutes, we alighted at some vernacular-style buildings with pale walls and dark roofs that, in the early evening gloom, appeared deserted.
Wuzhen’s Xizha on a quiet morning. The canal was its main transport artery in times past. We made our way through the dimly-lit corridors and soon found ourselves on Xizha’s flagstone-paved main street.
Some of the Qing period buildings along the street have been converted into guesthouses, each with several rooms. Those fronting the canal have windows that open into romantic views of water, boats and bridges. I was assigned a guesthouse away from the canal with no view but my quarters were bigger and less damp.
Xizha’s facilities are reasonably well-appointed largely due to the fact that both rooms and rates are standardised under central management, unlike at some historic towns where lodgings are operated by individual families. Interestingly, the employees at the inns are former local residents who moved to new homes to make way for a refurbishment that, according to the company, cost nearly a billion yuan (RM550mil).
