Compared to Zhouzhuang, I prefer the small and free ancient town next door.

If you think Zhouzhuang is too crowded, Why not take a walk to the neighboring Luzhi Ancient Town? This ancient town, like Suzhou, has a history of more than 2,500 years. The "Wansheng Rice Shop" in the primary school Chinese textbook comes from here. There are many rivers and bridges here, and it is known as the "Bridge Capital" in the south of the Yangtze River. The quaint and natural water town scenery and the atmosphere of fireworks are really charming. - 📍Luzhi Ancient Town 🚙Suitable for self-driving, about 1 hour from Shanghai and about 30 minutes from Suzhou city. 🚌Take the high-speed rail to Kunshan South Station, and take a taxi for about 30 minutes, or take bus 111 from Kunshan South Station to Nangang and then transfer to bus 523 to Luzhi. 🎫The ancient town is free to visit, but some ancient houses and temples require tickets. - ✅Luzhi Ancient Bridge There were originally 72 ancient bridges here, and 41 are now preserved. Most of the ancient bridges were built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and some can be traced back to the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Ancient bridges of various shapes, such as large stone bridges with multiple holes, small stone bridges with small holes, spacious arched bridges, narrow flat-topped bridges, highly decorative double bridges, and sister bridges adjacent to each other on the left and right, are a unique landscape of the ancient town. The ones that cannot be missed include Dongda Bridge, Sanyuan Bridge, Wan'an Bridge, etc. - ✅Wansheng Rice Shop The prosperity of Jiangnan in the primary school Chinese textbook and the water town of Jiangnan as described by Mr. Ye Shengtao. - ✅Ye Shengtao Memorial Hall It is the former site of the "Wu County No. 5 High School" where Ye Shengtao taught. - ✅Sunk House A well-preserved luxurious mansion in Luzhi Ancient Town, the former residence of Luzhi educator Mr. Shen Baihan. - ✅Baosheng Temple The thousand-year-old temple has a history of more than 1,500 years. There is an ancient ginkgo tree in the temple, which is very beautiful when it turns golden in late November.