The Town of Zhou-Zhuang is a bit disappointing as far as ancient town goes — it is way too commercialized to my taste. However, there still are some nicely preserved part of the original old houses alongside the waterway. It was towards the end of our trip that we found “the” best of Zhou-Zhuang. It was the “Cardboard Art Garden & Shop” — so new and yet intriguingly becoming and fits the town better than anything else. So, come with me and let’s start from the very beginning.
A pagoda, newly built but in ancient style:
The river is their highway:
Well-preserved old houses:
One of the coolest (because I’m in the pic, hahaha)! Real reason? It’s so narrow that it makes you wonder how petite people were hundreds of years ago — narrow allies between blocks of old houses:
What are these birds for? They are working birds who help fishermen catch fish!
Beautiful goldfish in the temple pond (I was feeding them, so they all came up):
Now this is the real cool place that I was talking about at the beginning. The “Cardboard Art Garden & Shop”. Everything here is made of cardboard — those outside in the open air were made of a special kind of paper so that they are totally fine when it rains or even when put into water for a long long time. Be prepared for a lot of pictures! (some are taken with my cellphone, though, so they are not so clear, but I’m just so excited and have to share).
Inside. Everything can be used as the real thing, not just for display:
The local “god of wealth” in his paper form:
Lanterns made of paper:
In the end, we had to say, “every place has its beauty”, although beauty may not always be where you expect them! 🙂
Experiencing Life 