Tag Archives: wuzhen

Lunch at Wuzhen

At Wuzhen, Mao Mao gave us a thorough tour of the history, lifestyle and culture of the Wuzhenites. You have to go there to appreciate it.

We walked pass this restaurant a few times but dared not step in. What if it serves dog meat?

Eventually, overcome by hunger, we took a seat. This food appeared in my photo album although I don’t remember eating it. According to Uncle Lee, one of the signage in chinese says it does serve exotic meat. He might be pulling my leg though. I hope this wasn’t an exotic meat I don’t remember eating!

I ordered a bowl of really superb lamb noodles. The meat was so tender, it almost evaporated. The broth was rich in flavors.

We ordered two bowls of wontons to share. Its fillings crunched when I bit in.

We also had two baskets of dumplings wrapped in dumpling skin that’s thinner than tissue paper.

We ate till we couldn’t eat anymore. After resting for awhile, we heaved our heavy bottoms and walked back to the entrance of the village. Along the way, we came upon a humble little shop offering Black Sesame Seed dessert.

The proprietor claims his wife grinds the sesame seeds for half an hour each load to turn it into paste. What a wonderful wife.

We decided not to let her hard work go to waste. The sesame seed paste is fragrant. We sprinkled it with sugar.

After all that eating, we some how managed to squeeze through the door of the bus back to Hangzhou. Along the way, the bus stopped us at a silk factory. It was just as Uncle Lee, a seasoned China traveler, had told us to expect. :grin:

At the Thousand Year Old Village of Wuzhen

After about 2 hours on the bus including a visit to the tea factory, we were so glad to finally arrive at Wuzhen!

It was as though God have turned back the clock on China. I felt surreal to be surrounded by such ancient architecture.

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Getting to Wuzhen from Hangzhou

Booking Mao Mao’s tour to Wuzhen is very easy. All you have to do is walk up to your hostel receptionist, let her know know you’d like to go to the thousand-year-old village of Wuzhen, she will help you call Mao Mao’s tour company. The next day, Mao Mao’s bus will come and pick you up at your hostel early in the morning.

The entire package including entrance fee costs RMB120 per person. However, before we could get to Wuzhen, we were invited for a complimentary cup of tea at a tea factory along the way. According to a fellow traveller, the free cup of tea at the tea factory was made compulsory by the chinese government who owns the tea business.

Near the end of the highway, the bus detoured down a sidestreet and pulled to a stop. We stepped down the bus and was ushered by Mao Mao into a small dining room. We were served with glasses of “Hang Bai Ju” i.e. Hangzhou White Chrysanthemum Tea.

Here’s dad victoriously holding up his second glass. Refills are also complimentary.

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What Mao Mao did for us

Despite what I wrote about Mao Mao earlier, I actually truly appreciate her. During our bus trip to Wuzhen, Mao Mao tirelessly poured out sound advice on the local customs and etiquette. She taught us what actions can be misconstrued in the local context, taught us what bargains to look out for and what scams to avoid.

Throughout our tour of Wuzhen, Mao tirelessly poured out her deep knowledge of the entire history and culture and social behavior of the entire village of Wuzhen for the past thousand years.

Here’s Mao Mao calling out for her six Malaysian tourists to make sure they do not to wander too far away without her. Mao Mao worries that her six Malaysian tourists will easily lose their way in the labyrinthian village of Wuzhen.

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Meet Mao Mao from the Golden Dragon

I was sleepily enjoying every mouthful of my hot scrambled eggs with ham and cheese when a piercing voice broke the silence.
“Are you guys the six Malaysian tourists?”, shrieked a petite Chinese lady who had just walked in.

Bleary-eyed and groggy, I continued chewing my eggs while the ever enthusiastic Simon and Min Yee entertained her question.

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