The Jiangnan Water Towns · 江南水乡

China Cultured · 品味中国Province Book

China Cultured · 品味中国

Province Book · 省份之书

The Jiangnan Water Towns

江南水乡

Days spent sleeping on the water — Zhouzhuang, Tongli, Nanxun, and the slowest way of life in China.

The water towns of Jiangnan are less a place than a way of life: white walls, black tiles, little bridges, and sculling boats creaking under stone arches. Pick one — Zhouzhuang, Tongli or Nanxun — stay a night, and open the window at dawn.

What to See 好玩的

Zhouzhuang is the first water town of China, its twin bridges the postcard and its sculling boats the daily transport. Tongli is quieter, its Tuisi Garden hidden down a lane, bridges outnumbering households. And Nanxun is the water town with the world in it: European villas tucked behind Jiangnan gardens.

A sculling boat on the canal — the water town's daily transport. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

What to Eat 好吃的

Hairy crabs are the autumn ritual: the roe-rich crabs of the lakes, cracked open, dipped in ginger vinegar with rice wine. White fish from Lake Tai is the seasonal delicacy, best simply steamed. And grandma's tea is the water-town afternoon: neighbours gathering over tea and snacks, sitting half the day.

Folk Customs 民间习俗

A wedding on waterIn the old days, the groom rowed to fetch his bride in a boat hung with red silk, sweets thrown to both banks — a wedding on water, with water as the road. And grandma's tea is the ritual of neighbourly life: a pot of tea, a few plates of snacks, a whole afternoon of talk.

Want the full province atlas — all 34 provinces, what to see, what to eat, and the folk customs nobody tells you about? chinacultured.com/guide/province-atlas.html →

China Cultured · 品味中国The Jiangnan Water Towns · 2026

← Previous: Shandong

Photos: Tongli, Zhouzhuang canal — via Wikimedia Commons, CC-licensed. Licenses and authors available on the original file pages.