Wuzhen

Well, we actually visited Wuzhen on 9/11 through 9/12 (for future readers the year was 2008). Anne and I went with a group from Medtronic (thanks Medtronic!). It was a couple hour drive from Shanghai with not much to see on the way. We past a lot of geese, rice, and taro farms, and a few small patches of corn. When we arrived we took a little walk around the “town”. I use quotations because the area we stopped at was just a tourist trap to buy souvenirs and because the buildings were ancient and unlike any town I have ever seen. We ate dinner at a local restaurant serving local cuisine, try the sparrow (yes, I am talking about the small bird, deep fried) After dinner we went to the famous canal area and checked into our hotel.

Wuzhen reminded me a lot of Venice, from what I have seen and heard at least as I haven’t made it to Venice yet. Only instead of a large Italian city, Wuzhen is delightfully small, ancient, and Asian. We took two small boat rides, one during the day and one at night. They added lights to most of the buildings to add to the ambiance at night. I am not a well traveled man, but I have done some traveling and I can honestly say that Wuzhen is one of the most beautiful and peaceful places I have ever been. If you are ever on this side of the world I would highly recommend a boat ride here at night!