Venice?

Well no not exactly Venice but a very interesting “Water Town”.  It is actually one of the many water towns in the Shanghai area.  Here we get a glimpse of a “real” Chinese town (as opposed to the “surreal” Shanghai experience).  Just after arriving in ZhuJiaJiao, we were greeted by this wonderful street vendor selling amongst other things; live chickens.  Although rarely seen in Shanghai, it is a common site in the more rural areas.  We do actually have a “wet market” just up the road from our place that also sells live chickens amongst many other live fish and other interesting meat sources.

Actually the town was very interesting, albeit very crowded.  It is about a 1 hour drive from our place into the country side.  This is a very ancient city which is now a popular destination for the local population (more than the expat community).  It is like a little Venice as it really is built on a small waterway.  There are many interesting shops selling everything Chinese and many restaurants but we opted for a nice place in a very up market country club in a nearby town. 

We were with our good friends (and boss) who speak pretty good Chinese so we were able to take a “Gondola ride” (Chinese Style), and visit a Buddhist Temple.  The weather was great and we really enjoyed a great day out in “Old China”.  It was nice to experience life in the “good old days”.

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