Ancient Town to Resume Quiet

Zhouzhuang, known as China's No.1 "watery town", will move 60 percent of its business shops in the ancient town area to other places in a move to add more relish to the originality of an ancient town and reduce some commercial atmosphere, announced Zhouzhuang Tourism Com., Ltd.

When Zhouzhuang became known to the outside world, many street vendors began to swarm in, opening shops in the downtown area. More than 60 specialty shops and 10 fake antique shops and restaurants are now congested in the old town area.

During the week-long "Labor Day" holiday, more than 200,000 tourists were attracted to the small town intending to feast on the beautiful watery scenery, but numerous shops, hawking and peddling watered down the beautiful atmosphere of the town. Some tourists said, Zhouzhuang is not as relaxed and quiet as they imagined.

The newly-established Zhouzhuang Tourism Com., Ltd. is busy preparing to get listed, once it succeeds, the company will outlay some of its funds for better protection of the ancient watery town.

Background:

Zhouzhuang Town, once called Zhenfengli, is located in Kunshan City, 30km to The Southeast of Suzhou in Jiangsu Province. Zhouzhuang is well known for its beautiful environment and simple architecture. Although more than 900 years have past, its architectural style is still well preserved. More than 60 percent of the residential houses were built during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, consisting of nearly 100 classic courtyards and 60 carved brick archways. Like a lotus on the water, the town is surrounded and bisected by rivers including Nanbeichi, Houxiang, Youcheyang and Zhongshi.

By PD Online staff member Li Yan

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