Wuzhen Xizha Museum Village

30.751172222222 120.47988888889Coordinates: 30 ° 45 ' N , 120 ° 29' E

The northern main path

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The museum village Wuzhen Xizha ( Chinese 乌镇西栅 , Pinyin Wūzhèn Xīzhà , for example: western picturesque area of Wuzhen ) is a Chinese village in the architectural style of the late 19th century. It is located around 120 km southwest of downtown Shanghai , roughly halfway between Suzhou and Hangzhou . It stands on islands separated by canals that are connected by bridges; In China, this type of construction is usually referred to as a “water village”. The “water village” belongs to the Wuzhen community in the independent city of Tongxiang , Zhejiang Province . Of the approximately 12,000 permanent residents of Wuzhen, around 600 live in the museum village. About 600 meters southeast of Wuzhen Xizha is a second, smaller residential area, also in the 19th century style, called Wuzhen Dongzha ( Chinese 乌镇东栅 , Pinyin Wūzhèn Dōngzhà , roughly: eastern picturesque area of Wuzhen ).

Appearance

Arch bridge

The "water village" to the west of the center of Wuzhen was saved from deterioration in the early 1990s by gradually converting its one or two-story houses into a large open-air museum that has been advertised internationally as an attraction for tourists since 2007. The museum village is approximately 1.5 km long and 300 meters wide. It extends along a central canal running in an east-west direction , from which side canals branch off, which in turn are connected to other canals and encircle Wuzhen Xizha. As a result, Wuzhen Xizha consists of a dozen islands connected by several dozen bridges, including various arched bridges . On both sides of the central canal there are two paved main paths, from which numerous narrow alleys ( hutongs ) lead off, so that the entire village consists of a tangle of waterways, alleys, backyards, small squares, green areas and ponds. In the nearby on the western edge of the village pagoda has a view over the grounds and the adjacent village to the Grand Canal , the Beijing with Hangzhou connects.

The consistently paved streets of Wuzhen Xizha cannot be used due to the many bridges, so barges are the main means of transport; only on the northern edge of the village is there a path that has also been prepared for electric cars. Even the access from the main portal in the visitor center to the “water village” is by boat.

Accommodation and museums

Chair by the front door

Cormorant fisherman

Several hotels, guest houses and the Wisteria Youth Hostel (a youth hostel with a communal kitchen) offer accommodation and food for around 900 guests. Especially along the two main routes there are also small fast food stalls reminiscent of cookshops, tea houses and various shops - for food, tea, clothing, pottery , books and carvings , among other things . Since several hundred employees and their families live in the museum village, Wuzhen Xizha also offers a certain insight into the current living conditions of people in the wealthier villages of China at all times of the day.

In addition to the architecture of the place, which is based on 19th century China, partly original, partly in the old style with wood and stone construction, Wuzhen Xizha has an open-air stage (“water theater”), an open-air cinema and a hall for traditional Chinese stories to show. In addition, several museums and factories can be visited. This includes a museum for the history of the lotus feet , in which, among other things, hundreds of special shoes for lotus feet are exhibited and a memorial for the writer Mao Dun from Wuzhen and his grave. In other buildings the blue printing process is practiced, soy sauce is produced, silk production is explained and the history of the Yichang iron foundry is retold. On a farm - in ecological agriculture - rice , white chrysanthemums for a herbal tea and jujube are grown. Every now and then a cormorant fisherman is out on the water . Round trips by boat can also be booked, which allow a completely different view of the place from the waterfront than from the footpaths, as some of the houses have winter garden- like rooms over the water; after nightfall, the walls of the buildings facing the water are also illuminated.

Entrance fees

Admission for adults costs approx. 16 to 18 euros, depending on the exchange, children between 1.10 m and 1.40 m pay half, for children under 1.10 m admission is free (as of 2013). There are combination tickets for Wuzhen Xizha and Wuzhen Dongzha. There are bus connections to Wuzhen from Shanghai, Hangzhou and Suzhou, a rental car from Shanghai-Pudong Airport to Wuzhen costs around 120 euros.