The town of Wuzhen, in the southern region of the Yangtze River , is one of the top six ancient water towns in China. With more than six thousand years of history, it truly is a destination unto itself, rather than a side trip from Shanghai.

Wuzhen’s rebirth is a wildly successful example of tourism development in China, according to the NY Times, with nearly seven million tourists visiting per year.

Our English speaking tour guide picked us up from our hotel in Shanghai at 8:00 am and had us back by 4:00 pm. In hindsight, we probably should have spent the night in Wuzhen.

Enjoy pictures from our visit.

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