Zhouzhuang

Last Sunday, we took a day trip to Zhouzhuang, one of the many nearby water towns. The area surrounding Shanghai is very flat lowland, just a few feet above sea level so there is water everywhere. Centuries ago, several towns were built in and on the water. Many of them still exist today and are promoted as historical attractions. Zhouzhuang bills itself as "Venice of the Orient" but that might be stretching things a little. While it is neat to see this, the primary focus of these towns is tourism and shopping, not history. Still, it was a fun day that we wrapped up with some good Mexican food at a place called Zappata's. Here is a link to more info about the town http://english.people.com.cn/english/200004/26/eng20000426_39741.html.

And here is a link to some pictures http://picasaweb.google.com/baamick/Zhouzhuang