a visit to Water Town
Zhujiajiao is a "small" town (60,000 people) on the outskirts of Shanghai. It's also called Water Town because of its canals. The town has relatively narrow streets and several stone bridges. It is also near China's Grand Canal which stretches over a 1,000 miles from a city to the south of Zhujiajiao to Beijing. While in Water Town, we visited a traditional doctor's office and a Qing Dynasty post office (one of the oldest in existence).
We also visited a Tao temple. It had an abacus over the entrance because of the commercial history of the area. The first 3 numbers on the abacus were a little disconcerting -- but we were told that the numbers stand for peace.
We ended our visit with a sampan ride through the town -- crossing the Grand Canal -- and then lunch at a local restaurant.
Afternoon and evening were free of organized tours. Some people took the opportunity to travel on the mag train to the airport and back (just to say that they rode on such a fast train). We took the opportunity to take a better look at the Olympics venue nearby to the hotel.
Then we walked to the shopping area. Here is a view from one of the pedestrian bridges. We took the subway back to the hotel. It was surprisingly inexpensive.
I almost forgot.... Midday, we visited a silk factory in Shanghai. Here are some of the rugs produced there. They also had silk scarves, silk ties, and silk sheets and comforters.
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