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Situated in Jiangsu province's Kunshan city, only about 50 kilometers from Shanghai, Zhouzhuang offers typical southern Chinese riverside scenery, which features numerous small and ornate bridges, murmuring streams and elegant dwellings. It is an ideal holiday destination when a break from the big city is sorely needed.
Zhouzhuang has been "rediscovered" in recent decades thanks to the unique beauty of this ancient water town. It has won new popularity and aroused the interest of conservationists. It has also become a popular scenic spot and cultural relic.
Zhouzhuang features zigzagging waterways breached by many elegant stone bridges. The small town is surrounded and divided by lakes and rivers, with 14 stone bridges crossing the waterways, each offering distinctive views of the town.
In the 1980s, a base for TV and film was established in Zhouzhuang. Since then, more than 100 TV series and films have been shot there, including the award-winning movie Shanghai Triad, which was directed by Zhang Yimou and starred Gong Li.
Taking a gondola, the most convenient form of transport in Zhouzhuang, visitors can enjoy the lovely watery views in a peaceful way, along with typical ancient buildings found along the southern reaches of the Yangtze River, with plenty of local color and customs mixed in.
Among them, Twin Bridges (Shuang Qiao) is the most famous because of a painting by the internationally renowned artist, Chen Yifei. The two bridges, the Shide and Yong'an, were built in Wanli era (1573-1619) of the Ming Dynasty. The structures are considered the symbol of Zhouzhuang.
Zhouzhuang dates back to the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), when it was called Zhenfengli. In 1086, during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) it was renamed Zhouzhuang in honor of a benevolent Buddhist named Zhou Digong.
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