Wuzhen Water Town

Wuzhen has more than 1,300 years of recorded history, and much of the old town took shape during the Tang dynasty in the 7th century. Like other towns of the Jiangnan region, it prospered through the canal network that carried rice, silk and other goods across the Yangtze delta.

The novelist Mao Dun, one of the leading figures of modern Chinese literature, was born here, and his family house from the mid-19th century opened as a museum in 1985. The painter and writer Mu Xin also had his childhood home in Dongzha, and an art museum in his name stands in Xizha.

In recent decades Wuzhen has been carefully restored and has become a cultural venue as well as a tourist destination. It hosts the annual Wuzhen Theatre Festival and has been the permanent home of the World Internet Conference since 2014, a striking mix of old and new.

Wuzhen's life has always revolved around water. Boats were once the main means of moving goods and people, and houses were built with steps down to the canal for washing and loading. Today residents still live in parts of the old town, alongside workshops that keep traditional crafts alive. Communal events such as long-table street feasts and local festivals give visitors a glimpse of the sociable side of water-town culture.