It was a sunny Saturday and I had no work do to. After a slow start I decided I hould make the most of the day and explore the end of the new Metro line 17. To get there you have to go to Hongqiao Station at the end of line 10 or line 2 and then look for the new line 17. The train was smart, new and illuminated in a blue hue.
There was no shortage of seats and before long, we were flying through the outskirts to the south west of Shanghai towards Suzhou city.
As well as the predictable fields of new and half built residential tower blocks were rice fields, small garden plots and orchards. I was pleased to also see some uncultivated areas, something rarely seen here.
It was a long journey, and my plan was to get to the end of Line 17, look around me, and then get back on the metro and return one stop to Zhujiajiao, the water town which I had never visited.
However, when I got off at the end, there was a huge waterfall and a fountain. I was curious, but as I got closer I could see it was some unattractive Chinese theme park called Oriental Land, full of plastic rides, screaming children and loud music being pumped out of speakers, spoiling what peace and quiet was available.
I saw a bus stop and was seized by the desire to hop on a bus and see where it went to. I could see on my phone that there was a lake nearby (DianShan Lake) and I wondered whether the bus would take me there.
I was in luck, I got on a bus and soon, to the right hand side, the lake appeared. Trees provided shade for picnickers and day trippers who had erected tents on the shore of the lake. On the lake there were fishing boats and around it, a few restaurants and local shops. The lake was so large that you couldn’t see the other side.
We drove at break neck speed along tree lined roads getting occasional glimpses of the lake as we crossed bridges. Rice fields and orchards came and went and the villages and town we passed were full of large brick built houses and smaller concrete houses rather than tower blocks.
I saw on the map on my phone that there was a place called Shanghai Grand View (Dianshan Scenic Area) and my plan was to get off there but alas, it was named more in hope than reality. It resembled a building site and I didn’t much fancy getting off there so I stayed on.
After 50 minutes we arrived at the terminal bus depot where we all got off and were greeted by a line of illegal taxis and e.bikes offering rides. I didn’t know where they were offering to take me but I decided to jump in a car with a couple of elderly Chinese and after a couple of minutes we were dropped off in ZhouZhuang.
Wow – what a great place. I couldn’t believe I had never heard of it. I have been to some Unesco World Heritage water towns but they were much smaller than ZhouZhuang and much harder to get to. It was quite busy here but not unpleasantly so.
I wanted to get on a boat on the canal but didn’t want to pay 150rmb for a while boat so persuaded a Chinese family to take me along too and gave them 25rmb. It didn’t take much persuasion because they wanted their fat little son to practice his English on me!
Apart from the numerous tourist shops selling plastic tat, there was the opportunity for you to have your Chinese name painted on a banner by a famous calligrapher for 10rmb, to buy a Starbucks coffee and a MacDonald’s ice-cream.
That’s how you make money from historic water towns in China – turn the houses into retail outlets for multi-national fast food chains. Line the narrow cobbled streets with shops selling plastic Eiffel Tower souvenirs and embroidered slippers, cheap jewellery and boiled sweets.
After a couple of hours I decided to start the long journey back to Shanghai. I got the 261 bus from ZhouZhuang town to the bus depot and then waited for the 17:00 back to Metro Line 17. In total, from Hongqiao station to ZhouZhuang town (and vice versa) took just under two hours.
But you have to get your timings right. I had to wait 45 minutes for the bus on the way back. They run every 40 minutes from Zhujiajiao in the mornings, but less frequently later in the afternoon with the last bus at 17:00.
Overall, it was a great day trip from Shanghai, and even better for me because it was unplanned and therefore quite accidental. Another good alternative would be to get off by the lake and spend the day there lying under the trees.
It doesn’t seem like you’re even in Shanghai down there. In fact, you’re in the outskirts of Suzhou and I could see buses leaving from there to Suzhou.
There are few places to get to easily for a day trip from Shanghai, especially without joining an organised tour but this one of them. If you have a Shanghai travel card and a sense of adventure, it’s an unforgettable adventurous day out.