LegendThe general Wu Zan
The town's name is said to come from Wu Zan, a Tang general who died here fighting rebels; a silver gingko is said to have grown from his grave.
Source: A local story told in Wuzhen
The story
Wuzhen grew up where canals cross on the flat delta between Hangzhou, Suzhou and Shanghai. For a thousand years boats brought silk, rice and tea to its markets, and merchants built their houses with their backs to the water, on stone piles, so that goods could be lifted straight in from the boats: "pillowing on the river", as people say here.
The writer Mao Dun was born here in 1896. By the 1990s the old town was crumbling; from 1999 it was restored, first the East Zone, Dongzha, and then the West Zone, Xizha, rebuilt as a town of hotels, workshops and theatres around its canals. Since 2013 it has held a theatre festival every autumn, and since 2014 the World Internet Conference meets here.
What is here
Dongzha and Xizha are separate areas with separate tickets; guests of Xizha's hotels enter it free.
| Part | Ticket |
|---|---|
| Xizha (West Zone) | 150 yuan |
| Dongzha (East Zone) | 110 yuan |
| Dongzha and Xizha combined | 190 yuan |
If you have one minute
On a bridge in Xizha at dusk
Stand on one of the stone bridges as the lights come on. Below, the canal runs between two rows of wooden houses on stilts; the lanterns along the eaves and the windows of the inns light up one by one and are doubled in the water, and a boatwoman rows past standing at the stern.
The TV series "Fleeting Years" (2003) was filmed here, and its shots of the canals made the town famous. Take a boat at dusk and frame the arched bridge from the water, as the series did, for a still of your own.
Things people often get wrong
"It is untouched old China." Much of Xizha was rebuilt and is run as a resort; Dongzha is closer to the old town, and the parts outside the gates are where people live.
"One ticket covers everything." Dongzha and Xizha are separate areas with separate tickets, about two kilometres apart.
People who stood here
We searched Chinese sources first for this list, then English ones.
- Xiao Tong (Prince Zhaoming, 501–531)The Liang crown prince who compiled the "Wenxuan", the great anthology of early Chinese literature, is said to have studied here with his tutor; a memorial academy stands in Xizha.
- Mao Dun (writer, 1896–1981)Born in Wuzhen, the author of "Midnight" grew up in the house in Dongzha that is now his memorial; China's top novel prize bears his name.
- Mu Xin (painter and writer, 1927–2011)Born here, he spent decades in New York and came home to die; the Mu Xin Art Museum in Xizha shows his work.
- Huang Lei (actor and director, born 1971)He starred in "Fleeting Years" here and later helped found the Wuzhen Theatre Festival.
- Stan Lai (theatre director, born 1954)A co-founder of the theatre festival, whose plays are staged in the town's theatres.
Go deeper: Dongzha by day, Xizha by night, six stops7 stops · about 1 min to read
Spend the afternoon in Dongzha and the evening in Xizha; if you can, sleep in Xizha, where hotel guests enter free.
1. Dongzha's old street
A long street of wooden shopfronts with lattice doors, workshops making rice wine and printed cloth, and the family house of Mao Dun.
2. Mao Dun's former residence
The house where he was born, with his study and the school he attended next door.
3. Xizha's canals
The longer, quieter zone, with dozens of bridges, workshops and old shops rebuilt as inns. Take a rowing boat along the main canal.
4. The Zhaoming Academy and the post office
The memorial academy to Prince Zhaoming, now a reading room, and an old post office where you can send a postcard.
5. The theatres
The Wuzhen Grand Theatre and smaller stages, busy during the festival in October and November.
6. Xizha at night
After dark the canals are lit; this is the reason to come.
The town and the same years elsewhere
Mao Dun was born in 1896, the year the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens.