Discover China

Nanxun Town (南浔镇) is an ancient water town located in Eastern China’s Zhejiang province. It is one of the most well-preserved ancient towns in the region and is known for its cultural heritage – you can explore it in the China Daily photo gallery The water township of Nanxun.

For insights into some other ancient Chinese water towns see Shaoxing – the Venice of China and 1,000 year-old Zhujiajiao water town.

China’s long and complex history has given rise to a range of different architectural styles. They not only fuse cultures’ structural and decorative forms, but are also influenced by Chinese concepts such as feng shui and yin and yang. The Shenzhen Daily presents the ten best examples of Chinese architecture in this series of articles:

• Ten best examples of Chinese architecture (I) – Kaiping diaolou and Wang Family Compound
• Ten best examples of Chinese architecture (II) – Imperial Prime Minister’s Palace, Fujian tulou and Qiao Family Compound
• Ten best examples of Chinese architecture (III) – Dayi Liu Manor, Hongcun Village and Xidi Village
• Ten best examples of Chinese architecture (IV) – Kang Baiwan Manor and Yulin Manor of Jiang Yaozu

I had the pleasure of visiting the Hongcun and Xidi ancient villages on my trip to Henan, Anhui and Zhejiang in 2009.

Tai’er Zhuang, a city in Shandong Province, is renowned for a successful campaign against the Japanese invaders in 1938. Now the city has a new tourism attraction – an Ancient Town. The Town has so far created 80,000 jobs and has helped raise the city from the least economically-active to the second most active one in the Province. Step inside and find out more in the CNTV Culture Express story Historic town reinvented in Shandong Province.

Shaoxing in eastern China’s Zhejiang Province is a typical ancient water town where there are many rivers to cross. And a visitor can do so on more than 4,000 stone bridges of various styles and sizes. Abundant waterways and the number of stone bridges are among the most memorable features in this fascinating town – read more in the China Daily article Venice of China.

In recent years, an increasing number of small ancient towns in China have come to the public’s attention through the movies. If you have been enchanted by some of the scenery you have seen in a Chinese movie, see these Shenzhen Daily articles to for some places you may like to visit:

• Escape to a movie scene (I)
• Escape to a movie scene (II)