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Zhouzhuang: a hidden gem
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Li Dan
STEPPING off the plane at Huangtian International airport, I was suddenly struck by summer in Shenzhen. But several hours ago and hundreds of miles away, it was still spring in Zhouzhuang Village.
Every place has its best season, I always believe, and spring is the best season on the southern bank of the Yangtze River. At this time of year, Zhouzhuang is especially beautiful and pleasant, with the warm sunshine, gentle breezes, green grass and quietly blossoming wild flowers.
When it occasionally rains, as it did the day I arrived at the ancient village, you do not feel let down, but, rather, awed by the pavilions and bridges covered by tiny gentle raindrops. Surrounded by water both in the air and the rivers at your side, you begin to wonder if it is really the 21st century or still the Ming or Qing Dynasty.
Zhouzhuang's serene beauty was first revealed to the world through an oil painting by Chen Yifei, a Shanghai artist in New York who portrayed the twin-bridge as a tribute to the reminiscences of his hometown. Perhaps encouraged by Chen's success, I frequently came across young students painting under big trees along the riverbank.
Built back in the Ming Dynasty, the twin-bridge consists of a stone arch bridge joined to a flat stone board bridge. With the two bridge openings being round and square, the twin-bridge appears like an old-fashioned Chinese key, earning it the nickname "key bridge". Or is it a key to fortune and glory?
Long ago, Shen Wansan was the wealthiest man in the village. His house, constructed in the early Ming Dynasty, still stands at the centre of the ancient town. With yards joining the waiting room, meeting room, living room, and numerous bedrooms for friends and servants, the house is incredibly spacious.
The bedrooms for Shen's own family are upstairs, simply carved wooden windows allowing a view of the green yards and letting in some breeze. Shen's daughter also used the windows to peep at her suitors, a villager told me, but sadly she never found a husband.
Furniture in the house are generally traced back to the Ming Dynasty. Carved out of red wood, the chairs and tables look simple and comfortable, in contrast to luxuriously decorated Qing style. Most of the furniture also has marble panels embedded in the frame, perhaps to make the chairs feel cool in summertime along with making the pieces more attractive.
A grand screen of marble and red wood stood at one corner of the meeting room, which, according to the villager, helped Shen to judge the weather. If the marble surface felt moist, it would probably rain and Shen would stay home rather than go out for business.
Another big house belonging to a Zhang family is unique in its dock design. The river actually runs through his house so that his servants can run errands for him in small boats that set off from the yard.
Houses line the narrow rivers in the village, their corridors connected by stone bridges every two or three blocks. Along the chief lane, villagers have set up the ubiquitous tourist site stalls that sell all manner of souvenirs and special foods. It seems that everyone in the village has learned to cook "Wansan Tipang" -- a delicacy from the upper part of a leg of pork, which Shen Wansan once served to his good friends and important clients.
CAPTION 2: A corner of the yard in Zhang's house. The boat can sail out through the tunnel beside.
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