Wuzhen, a picturesque riverine town south of the Yangtze River
Wuzhen, ancient and beautiful, is a typical riverine town south of the Yangtze River. It is located in the "Golden Triangle" of Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang with an area of 67.22 square kilometers and a population of 57,000. The town offers convenient transportation and rich tourist resources.
Rewarded as one of the first batch of Chinese Historic and Cultural Towns, the Top-10 Charming Chinese Towns, Chinese Towns and Townships with Beautiful Environment, and a 5A National Tourist Attraction, Wuzhen has been reputed as "the last riverine town in China" with a civilization history of 7000 years ago and 1300 years of town history.
Wuzhen enjoys a long history, numerous famous people, profound culture and colorful folk customs. The ancient Grand Canal bypasses the town and the crossing rivers divide the town into “eastern, southern, western and northern” four blocks. Currently, a large number of folk houses with unique style of water towns in the South of Yangtze River during Ming and Qing Dynasties are still preserved within the region. There are several national and city (county)-level key cultural relic protection units.
An ancient town offering a lingering impression
Wuzhen has initiated the project of ancient town protection and development since 1999. After fourteen years of development, it has successfully created the brand of “Wuzhen Tourism” and founded the “Wuzhen Mode” for ancient town protection. In 2013, Wuzhen Scenic Spot successfully received about 6 million tourists and reaped a ticket income of RMB 373 million. The booming of Wuzhen tourism has created a miracle in the tourism industry.
The East Scenic Zone, called Dongzha, features the riverine houses and traditional life. There are also various handicraft workshops and folk museums. Numerous tourists from home and abroad are attracted here every year.
The West Scenic Zone, called Xizha, consists of twelve closely neighboring isles. Its ancient scenery is well kept under preservation projects and the harmonious relationship between human and the environment is realized through considerate protection and restoration of historical streets. The cultural surroundings and quality services make this place an ideal destination for sightseeing, leisure, business conferences and exhibitions.
Development priority in a health-care tourism
In order to build a new health preservation destination in China, Wuzhen succeeded in the introduction of Yada International Health Industrial Park and the Safe Retirement Service and Health Preservation Project in 2011.
Yada International Health Industrial Park, located in Baimadun Village of Wuzhen Town, is a high-end leisure and health preservation project with a planned land area of 1516 mu and a total planned investment of RMB 10 billion. After its completion, it will become a feature park of medical rehabilitation and health leisure with the most perfect functions, most developed facilities, most diverse modes and maximum scale and capacity.
The Wuzhen Project of Tongxiang Health Preservation and Retirement Service Community with a land area of 1235 mu and an investment of RMB 8 billion is located in the north of Yada International Health Industrial Park, positioned to be “the second residence” of leisure and health preservation for urbanites.
Unleashing vitality by means of new culture
Wuzhen is at its economic turning point towards faster development of cultural tourism and aims to build a 5A cultural tourism theme zone. Thus the town has started a series of cultural tourism projects. 2013 saw the completion of Wuzhen Opera House as well as the first opera festival held in it. Muxin Fine Art Gallery will be open to the public in 2015. Other projects are to be started successively, such as Wu Village, Oriental Bullring, Wuzhen International RV Holiday Resort, Wuzhen Wuyue Cultural Innovation Park Project and Chinese Art Culture Park. These projects will promote wider and further integration of culture and tourism. The tourist influence and market position of this ancient town will be uplifted with its superiority in the cultural market and eventually it will benefit both socially and economically.
A construction blueprint for Wuzhen tourism
Wuzhen International Tourism Zone was established in July, 2010, with a planned area of 20 square km with the core of Dongzha and Xizha. The Tourism Zone aims to become “the top-one tourism town in China” and “a first-class charming town in the world”. Ultimately, the town is to develop into an international tourism complex of tourism, leisure and health care, cultural entertainment, conference and exhibition service.
In 2014, Wuzhen International Tourism Zone will carry out two evolutions in two districts (which means to build the township into a beautiful and fully-covered scenic spot), based on the concept of “big tourism, big industry, agglomeration, upgrading”, and build the new industrial pattern of “Four Blocks Drive Four Suburbs Forward”.