If it is not obvious yet, Zhouzhuang is a water town, water permeates the lives of the people in every way. Not only to they live on top of the water, but the also live with and by the water. When visiting other places, I try to take in the culture or at least try to understand a little of it. In Zhouzhuang, this probably needs to be done by a very touristy approach. There are numerous boats which ply the waterways of Zhouzhuang, it just so happens that this is the perfect way to know how the people in a water town survive.
In my first visit, I wasn’t really interested in taking a boat ride, not when the mood was already ruined by numerous camera toting tourists who where there at the time of my visit. Not surprisingly, my companions where enamored at the prospect of taking a boat ride in Zhouzhuang, it is quite romantic to be exploring the town by boat. There are numerous jump off points for the boat ride and the price is controlled too. Boatmen queue up for passengers so there will be no harassing of passengers here. I believe the system is fair and it is convenient for the boatmen and the passengers alike.
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